Running, all-purpose World Cup thread

the french didn't allow any more goals than the italians, until pks, and then neither goalie made a save. the post did, and that's how italy, the biggest bunch of divers, fainters & actors on the field, stole the trophy.

 

The team that wins games deserves to win.

 

France is the inferior team for having a guy who can't put a PK on goal.

France is the inferior team for having all of its best players beg out of the game before PKs, either by sub or red card

 

Yeah. Except you forget that it was the French who flopped in the box to score on a PK on Sunday. And it was the French who flopped in the box to score on a PK in their 1-0 victory in the semifinals.

So France scored two goals in their last two matches. Both penalty kicks, following flops.

Yeah, sure, Italy -- which topped the host Germans 2-0 with two sweet goals late to avoid going to PKs -- stole the trophy. They're obviously the only team to drive, faint and act on the pitch.

 

not put a pk on goal? It hit the post! One centimeter lower and the diving bitches might be moping today. The italians didn't win this - they just got lucky. All their diving and histrionics paid off. Great. now they can go back to their match-fixing scandals back home.

 

The Guardian said that voting was done by halftime.  Could have been wrong, or a lot of writers got it out of the way before the match.

Small consolation, but the Nats outplayed the WC winner.

 

nope, but they are the best, and that's why they got the trophy.

 

France is the best. They've shown that the best two games. Last Italy PK came way back against the Aussies, I believe.

 

From the AP story ...

Voting for the 2006 Golden Ball closed at midnight Sunday. In previous tournaments, the ballot has closed at halftime in the final and the winner announced soon after the match.

 

Yup. The US was the only team in the tourney to truly outplay the eventual winner.

It is the one consolation that the US fans have.


As to the diving... Italy did not receive the diving calls in the game against Germany and were forced to play them straight up. In the end, Germany was beat fairly. Italy was also not given the diving calls in the final.

I don't really see the PKs as gains from flopping. Those were fouls with accentuation by the Frenchmen.

Portugal had been just as big an offender early in the tournament. I was afraid of a Portugal/Italy final for this reason.

 

I'm surprised you'd make that statement, Webster.
Zidane's decision had a ripple effect that unquestionably altered the outcome of the match. Now, it might still have been an Italy victory. No way to know that. But it had an impact.
But the ripple started with Zidane being unavailable for the final 10 minutes. France was still dangerous in that time, even with 10. Maybe a goal would have decided it.
The second element was Zidane's absence for the shootout. It's possible he would have missed, but likely not. And while Trezeguet certainly would have taken a PK, he might not have taken THAT PK. He might have gone differently in the order, and that might have been the difference in him narrowly missing and easily making. Again, no way to know for sure.
The only thing we do know is that Zizou's decision had an impact on the outcome -- and how he'll be viewed.

 

Word.