The World Cup is over! And the final match between Italy and France was totally unbelievable! I can't really say that I had a favorite between these two teams but there were plenty of mixed feelings: Should I have rooted for Italy because of some last name ancestral loyalty? Or simply because the Squadra Azzuri are the bad boys of Soccer and always fun to watch. There is no question that the Italians are the most fun of the European teams even if they always seem to be surrounded by controversy.

But what about the French? I love an underdog and everyone had written France off as an over-the-hill team. They steadily advanced by winning some of the most difficult match-ups of the tournament: A 1:3 win against Spain in the round of 16, a 1:0 win against Brazil in the quarter-finals and a 1:0 win against Portugal in the semi-finals. All while being superbly captained by the great Zidane playing his last games. How fitting would it had been to have France win the 2006 World Cup during Zidane's last game? It was he who gave France its only World Cup when France hosted the 1998 World Cup.

I thought I had my answer while watching the extra time of a hard fought match; Zidane fired a great shot that Buffon, the Italian goalie, miraculously deflected. A few seconds later everything was chaos on the field with Buffon aggressively complaining to the referee! But what was he complaining about? The replay made all it clear: Zidane viciously head-butted Materazzi for no apparent reason. The referee, after consulting with his sideline assistant, sent Zidane off in disgrace with a deserved red card. Why would Zidane lose his cool? The replay shows Materazzi  exchanging words with Zidaine but that was no chit-chat between two players on the field; That had to be some nasty trash-talk from Materazzi. Mixed feelings again: Italian bad boy vs. not-cool-under-pressure French star! The match ended up in a penalty shootout that the Italians won 5-3, a result that would have not been the same had Zidane remained in the game. I feel sorry for Zidane! What a way to write the last chapter of his playing career in the eve of his retirement.

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What about the statistics for this World Cup? I think that is better left to the pro's but I have to record my favorite goals and favorite matches. So here they are:

Favorite Goals: You have to separate these into individual vs. team efforts;

• For personal brilliance I have to start with Ronaldo's goal in Brazil's win over Ghana (3:0). Ronaldo bolted from the Ghana's defense, then beat the goalie and made a shot after beating a final desperate defender. The goal was even more amazing when you consider that it was Ronaldo's 15th in a World Cup breaking the all-time record.
• Then there is Beckman's goal in England's win over Ecuador (1:0). Beckman knows how to bend it!.
• Zidane was flawless in taking a couple of penalty shots that were crucial for France's wins. But Zidane's goal in France's win over Spain (3:0) was spectacular and showed that old Zidane could still mix it up with the youngsters.
• All the sports pundits agree, the best 2006 World Cup goal was Maxi Rodriguez goal in Argentina's win over Mexico (2:1). In a goal that defined the game, Maxi stopped the ball with his chest and while the ball was still in mid-air kicked a long-range bullet that totally surprised Mexican goalie Sanchez.



• For team efforts, I begin with the goal that Cambiasso scored after a tricky "taquito" from teammate Crespo in Argentina's trouncing over Serbia & Montenegro (6:0).
• A perfect example of a goal that involves team effort with personal talent was Torres' goal in Spain's win over the Ukraine (4:0) The goal was scored by Torres after teammate Puyol received a pass from another teammate and with a header passed it to Torres who scored a great shot.
• Klose was the top goal scorer at the 2006 World Cup. One of his best goals was scored in Germany's win over Ecuador (1:0) He was perfectly positioned and got a perfect pass from his teammates to finish it in an unstoppable cross shot.

Favorite Matches:

• Obviously, the final championship match between Italy vs. France (1:1)(5:3) there was enough drama in this game to keep the 2006 World Cup after-glow going for a few weeks.
• The semifinal between Portugal vs. France (0:1) was boring! The only goal was a penalty shot by Zidane, but this was one of the best matched teams in the World Cup. Both teams knew their adversaries and played with great respect for each other. How wonderful to see two great stars, Zidane and Figo sharing what was to be either one's last game. They had been teammates at Real Madrid for a number of years and they both had been named FIFA World Player of the Year, Zidane in 1998, 2000 & 2003 and Figo in 2001 with a second close to Zidane in 2000.
• The round of 16 match between Argentina vs. Mexico (2:1). Argentina was the favorite and Mexico had just squeaked in past the first round. The Mexican fans were not happy and the fact that their Coach was suspect Argentinean La Volpe made for a match full of intrigues. Argentina won but not easily, Mexico gave a valiant fight.
• The round of 16 match between England vs. Ecuador (1:0) How exciting to watch underdog Ecuador on its first ever World Cup battle it out against one of the all-time greats. Ecuador played fearlessly and almost advanced to the quarter-finals had it not been for an amazing goal by Beckman.
• The quarter final match between Germany vs. Argentina (1:1) (4:2). I think this would have been the dream championship match of the 2006 World Cup. How perfect if the host country Germany would have been in the final and how perfect if the final would have been between an European and a South American team. Argentina's was clearly better than Brazil in this World Cup. The game was closely disputed and ended in a 1:1 tie. Germany won the nervous shootout because of the coolness of its great goalie, Lehmann. In soccer, it doesn't get any more classic that that!

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Just as in the Super bowl, add campaigns during the World Cup were great!  Since I have been watching mostly the Spanish language TV coverage, I have seen mostly the very funny adds targeted to the US Latino market (Think Bud & Chevy!) But there were also a  number of interesting add campaigns put on by soccer equipment manufacturers. Soccer equipment manufacturers? Soccer is a simple game played with what should be a simple ball. So what other equipment is there? If you are a poor kid from Africa, Asia or Latin America, there is none! Not so fast, there are shoes to be made and dreams to be sold! And the main selling is being done by the big three in soccer shoes and apparel: Nike, Puma & Adidas.



Nike's Joga Bonito is adopted from the Brazilian's "Beautiful Play" and repackaged as "Keep Soccer Beautiful!" Supposedly, this add campaign is an attempt by Nike to slam Adidas, I liked most of the ads, specially this one showing wizard Ronaldihno cleverly interspersed with video of him as a kid.

Puma's “WILLKOMMEN ZUM FUSSBALL” is funny in a "Let's all be paranoid about conspiracy theories" nicely juxtaposed to the "joy soccer brings around the world." Some soccer players in the add are not identified to see if they can be recognized while under surveillance, except Pelé who is unmistakable even if he is speaking German.

In view of his great performance in the championship match shootout, I found the "Where's Buffon?" game to be great fun!

By far, the best campaign, or the one that struck a note with me, was Adidas' "Impossible is Nothing +10" The premise is simple: Two kids, José and his friend Pedro decide to have a pickup game in the center courtyard of what looks to be some Spanish (not Latin American) tenement. They start choosing players for their teams from some of the best in the world and a great pick-up game ensues. The adds work because José and Pedro act naturally just like kids playing street soccer, to the point that José reprimands star Cissé when he tries to take over the captain's privilege of doing the coin toss and Pedro laughs at José's pick of Beckenbauer for his team. The best part is how the game ends! What great fun! I do feel fortunate that I connect to these adds because they somehow transport me to my childhood. I could not resist picking my own +10 team. It is not a fantasy league game and the players are limited to Adidas' sponsored players but to me it was fun because there were a lot of stars, all strikers and midfielders, with very few defenders. That took me back to my eight years as an AYSO Coach & Referee when my toughest task was developing the match line-up cards; Same problems: Too many stars, strikers and mid-fielders but not many defenders. I had to force everyone to play goalie and every other postion at least once during the season!

Here is my line-up for my +10 team. Goalie: Khan, Defenders: Beckenbauer, Pope & Bergomi (Notice that when I picked my +10 team, Eddie Pope was a choice, alas he no longer is. That can only mean that Pope is no longer sponsored by Adidas.) Midfielders: Beckman, Zidane & Kaká. Strikers: Messi, Raúl & Zico. All in my favorite 3-4-3 youth formation for an attacking game. So there are +10 players, where am I? Right there in the midfield between Beckman & Zidane; Otherwise, who's going to keep all that talent together?

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The World Cup is over! What to do now? I wonder if there is some other "quirky" sports event, taking place in Europe, with some great American athletes that almost no one in the US knows or cares about?

Labels: soccer, sport