I disagree with the rest of your post but that's all a matter of opinion so that's fine. But this part is just absurd, that's the equivalent of saying the NBA should lower the basket and use a smaller ball to increase scoring. The basic rules of the game are fine and have been in use for a very long time without ruining the sport.
This was my initial thought after the play. Still, incredibly stupid to let your team down in that situation like that.
Thanks for the findings RodrickRhodes. Can't wait to see how FIFA responses to this mistake. I think Zidane may never reveal what pissed him off and he should be regretted by himself as he was obviously trapped into that trash talking. I am the only 2 supported France in the pub against almost 60 other people I believe. I feel sorry for France losing in the PK shoot out. Ugly or not, Italy is the World Cup winner in this tournament. Congratulations to italian rockets! This thread is so much fun and I enjoy very much chatting with you folks here. It's so exciting to meet many soccer fans in this bbs, perhaps later when EPL and Euroleague begins, we can ask Clutch to open a dedicated GARM forum for soccers.
The NBA, NFL and MLB tinker with rules all the time and have in their history. Sometimes the rule changes are major (allowing zones in the NBA, coming up with the goaltending rule). It isn't like FIFA has not had changes about goal goals, PK shootouts, etc. It is my opinion but IMO because soccer is so stacked for the defense it allows better teams to too easy lose to worse teams because of blown calls, dives or just defensive mistakes. It doesn't reward the offensive playmaker so much as reward regular sound defense. Team should not be successull if their primary strategy is to bunker down.
I am a non-practicing Muslim myself...but that does not exactly mean that if someone calls me a terrorist I’d take it lightly. I know you were just letting it be known, but personally I don't think it would make a difference if you are practicing or not... getting called a terrorist would get anyone mad (IMO I don’t think that’s what happened)
That's the thing - it shouldn't have made him mad. He's a world class athlete - but a mental midget if he lets the opponent's insults affect his game. He should be above that and not let it get to him....especially in the world's most watched game of the year. I give the Italian credit for whatever he said - it obviously worked. He got into Zidane's head and he cracked.
Talk is cheap; set up a game sometime and we'll see about that. I am shocked as everyone was with Zidane but my instant thought was that the Italian player must have made a comment about his race or religion which set him off. It doesn't excuse his reaction but he's human. It is sad to see him go out like that but he's not the first great and probably won't be the last to flame out. Maradona did so in '94 by being banned for drug use from the remainder of the tourney following the Greece trashing; Legend Georhge Hagi of Romania got a red card in Euro 2000 Qtr finals (also against Italy);It happens sadly so his legacy is far from tarnished. Zidane is the greatest player of the last 10 years and deserves to be up there with the greatest ever. Props to Italy I guess for winning it all. Sometimes you just need luck to succeed and Italy had plenty of it in this tourney; from the game against the US, to the cheap PK against Australia to today's match. Congrats to them. Those saying that this is the worse WC ever are crazy. 2002 was far worse than this one and it wasn't that bad (except for the time difference). The bookings were overly used and some great players had to miss out big games, and there were lots of questionable calls but that happens. Can't wait for the club season to start in a month...gotta get my Barcelona tickets! The game is fine the way it is. I know Italy has a history of playing defensive and not attacking but I felt they played a more open style in this WC. FIFA will not and should not change the rules to appease the american audience. Americans love baseball and the games are sooooo long (4 hrs?) and pretty slow, but complain about soccer? ha. I second that sentiment. It's been great chatting about the games with you all and hope/wish we can do it for the EPL and other leagues around the worldl. I don't think Clutch would ever set up a soccer specific section though. We can start a thread and keep it alive througout the season though.
Wow? So is it confirmed that the Italian player made a racist comment directed at Zidane? If so, I can't blame him for what he did...that would be completely uncalled for.
Who confirmed it? As far as I know it's all internet rumor snowballing. Still can't excuse Zidane - he's got to be above losing his cool in the biggest game of his last 8 years
I don't know what anybody's complaining about. This was a great final, a friggin' opera. Starts out with a dive so cynical I instantly decide to root against the French. Zidane follows with a lucky break, bouncing his PK off the crossbar and just barely over the line before it pops back out. The Italians fight bravely and even it, and just miss chances to take the lead. They're clearly the better team. Then, a few minutes after halftime, my world turns upside down as the same French dude (I think) gets taken down in the box and DOESN'T get the PK he deserves, for exactly the same reason he got the original undeserved call: bad ref angle. Karma! With that, I stop hating the French. They run circles around the Italians, taking every midfield ball. We go to extra time. Zidane with the sure winner to cap his career, but Buffon saves it. Two amazing plays in a second. The French, these indefatigable geezers, incredibly continue to dominate midfield and run at the Italian defense. I salute them. Then in the second OT, Zidane commits the outrageous headbutt, and I'm appalled, furious that the ref missed it, and I turn against the French again. And then before the ball even goes back in play, the world turns upside down again: the ref consults the linesman and issues the red card, and now I suddenly feel sorry for the French, who've come to deserve the win. Incredibly, the French with 10 geezers continue to outplay the Italians, who cluster like cringing dogs in their defensive third, even with the extra man. I begin to despise the Italians. They slink into PKs, and I figure Barthez sucks but Buffon's not really a PK wizard, and sure enough he goes the wrong way every time. But on PK #2, Trezeguet hits the crossbar and, in the second karmic payback of the day, the ball, instead of bouncing barely beyond the line, as it did for Zidane in the regulation PK, bounces just in front of it. It's pure probability -- one PK call goes your way, the other one doesn't; one crossbar bounce goes your way, the other one doesn't -- and that's what seals the outcome of the game, That, and Fabio Grosso, the guy who single-handedly saved the Italians in the round of 16 and the semis, putting away the final PK and still getting zero respect from ABC/ESPN. A defender! He's my man of the tournament, and if I'm no good at predicting elections, at least I'm OK at calling the World Cup.
I respect and support what Zidane did if that was the case. After all, there is something more important than a football game, even if it was world cup final. By the way, I am just curious what would you react if somebody in this forum insults you with race or religion attached...
nothing has been confirmed, but i agree with you, i would fully understand zidane's reaction if this is true....imagine if a white nba player called a black nba player the n word and the white player got punched by the black player, i think we would all fully understand that as well....now this also happened in europe where a person doesn't technically have complete free speech like here in the u.s....there are laws in place that make it an offense to use racial, ethnic, and/or religious slurs in many countries including germany....zidane is still the best player of our generation
Pfft - you've obviously never ventured into the D&D. People regularly insult me, many of the insults are race related. I always take the approach of being the bigger man and ignoring it. Some of you guys are rationalizing this waaaay too much in Zidane's favor. The dude headbutted an opposing player in the biggest game of the world cup. Zidane cracked mentally. It doesn't matter WHAT was said, you don't do that. Zidane might have lost the world cup for France by losing his cool. I give credit to the Italian player for mentally defeating Zidane. That's a part of the game, and Zidane wasn't up to snuff today mentally.
