Ronaldo robbed of young player prize as FIFA back Podolski

SO FIFA’s technical experts bottled the decision to hand Cristiano Ronaldo the prize for the best young footballer at the World Cup.

They hid behind excuses of fair play and fell over themselves to give hosts Germany something to smile about.

Lukas Podolski takes the trophy but no-one can be in any doubt which young player made the biggest impact on a competition dominated mainly by fading stars rather than brilliant new ones. It is Ronaldo.

Arrogant? Certainly. Obnoxious? Yes. Immature? Of course. A diver and a cheat? Probably, but no worse than many others, including some in the England squad.

German hitman Podolski impressed in the group games but fizzled out in the heat of the semi-final, a stage where Ronaldo produced his best game.

It is true, Ronaldo played his part in the sending off of Wayne Rooney and his wink at the Portuguese bench was tasteless. His antics resulted in a barrage of whistles and jeers during the semi-final and little sympathy when defeat to France left him in tears.

But his performance in Munich should be remembered for his exhilarating skills.

He tore Willy Sagnol to shreds with his blistering pace and a stepover routine which bamboozled fans as well as full-backs.

For those who claim he lacks an end product, there was the free-kick which was too hot for Fabien Barthez and gifted Luis Figo a sitter which he duly missed. There was a clever backheel for Maniche to rifle over the bar and plenty of crosses which Pauleta managed to avoid. He has produced 17 shots in the tournament and carried a thigh injury in the last two games

For the ultimate end product, go back to the quarter-final shoot-out and the penalty that sent England home. Ronaldo kept his cool in a hostile bowl dominated by England fans to find the net when five had missed before him.

It was an end product for Sven-Goran Eriksson and his squad.

The tournament has not been a celebration of youth. The spring chickens of world football have not dazzled in Germany.

Rooney failed to shine.

Jose Pekerman seemed reluctant to put Lionel Messi on the pitch and Cesc Fabregas was only given two starts for Spain. The new generation failed to last the pace but a blow has been struck for the thirtysomethings.

Sometimes there is no replacement for experience. The tournament’s best player has been Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro, who is 32, and wins his 100th cap in the final.

Italy’s opponents in Berlin will be France. Coach Raymond Domenech was criticised for relying heavily on certain clapped-out has-beens who had lost their desire and their legs.

The youngest player is Franck Ribery at age 23. Domenech’s talented old-guard, however, have managed to summon an impressive final fling.

Barthez will be the oldest of five over-30s in the France team for the final. Patrick Vieira turned 30 during the tournament. Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele all came out of retirement for their country and have been rewarded with a place in Sunday’s final.