World Cup 2006: Not so grande finale

It was true that Italy buried the ghosts created by Roberto Baggio in 1994 and won the World Cup in 2006. But the final match of the tournament is one match that many, most notably the French, would like to forget in a hurry because of the lacklustre performances by both sides, Italy as well as France. Except for flashes of brilliance, that were promptly forgotten after the red card to Zinedine Zidane, there was not much stuff in terms of the game that can be remembered. If it was otherwise, how did the match go into extra time and further into penalty time, where the French paid the penalty.

This 2006 tournament is devoid of truly special memories except for the semifinal between Italy and Germany, where the true spirit of football was displayed in full array with both teams firing on all cylinders in all departments. The speed, verve and tactics used in that match is unmatched in the whole tournament.
The finals, sadly, lacked any such exciting fare with the Azzuris content with making rare forays into the French bastion, while the tired and aged Les Bleus inspired by last gasp efforts from Zidane and Henry tried to infuse some life into the game with some exciting, back-and-forth game. No wonder that the match ended in penalities.

The only exciting thing about World Cup 2006 seem to be number of cards, dives and some dreadful games. Sunday night's match will be also remembered for ugliness. Some nasty blows by top top players, some feigning to earn penalties, and the referees themselves bungling up on many occasions. Uff, there are many things in this World Cup which took the sheen away from such a great occasion.

There were hardly any goals worth mentioning and there was a goal dearth too. With most of the teams bent on defending their post, it is hardly surprising that there were three crucial matches including the final which ended in penalty shootouts. It goes without saying that there was hardly any mouthwatering fare dished out in these matches.