World Cup’s abiding image

THE great sadness of the 2006 World Cup was the madness of Zinedine Zidane.

When the final’s shoot-out penalty by David Trezeguet, which crashed against the crossbar and ultimately handed Italy the trophy, is long forgotten, Zidane’s headbutt into the chest of Marco Materazzi will stain the memory. Senseless. Shameful. It will be the abiding image of Germany 2006.

How desperate is that for the man voted the world’s best player three times. A man who had been France’s inspiration in reaching the final and who many believed deserved to strut the same stage in retirement as legends such as Pele and Maradona.

A man who seemed destined to end his career in his final game amid plaudits and ticker tape, holding the most prestigious trophy in the game to the Berlin sky.

Instead, Zidane’s final moments on a football pitch were ones of utter disgrace, sent off for an act of such gratuitous violence that no provocation could possibly justify.

How desperate, too, was that for a tournament which in turn had both thrilled and frustrated from the moment Germany full-back Philipp Lahm curled in the first goal against Costa Rica in the futuristic stadium in Munich.

We should not be talking primarily of Zidane, but of the rejuvenation of the hosts and how wonderful it was to behold a German side — which many feared would be among the worst in its history — throw off its pragmatic shackles and embrace a spirit of adventure.

Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who brought the swallow dive goal celebration to the Premiership with Tottenham in the 1990s, deserves so much credit. Under Klinsmann the Germans played with rhythm and tempo and a togetherness which saw them outstrip by some distance the sum of its individuals.

Miroslav Klose was a revelation up front, so was 20-year-old Lukas Podolski, who deservedly won the award for the young player of the tournament.

Germany’s mood of optimism caught on throughout the group stages. We delighted in the successes of Ghana, roared on the USA against Italy and felt for the Ivory Coast who attacked and attacked, yet failed.

It was not all wonderful, however.

Some of the refereeing left much to be desired. Yellow and red cards were handed out like confetti.

Quite how four players saw red and 16 yellow in the match between Holland and Portugal remains a mystery.

England’s Graham Poll went home early for the second World Cup running, this time having handed out three yellow cards to the same player, Croatia’s Josip Simunic. There really is no coming back from that and Poll did the decent thing when he announced his international retirement.

By far the worst thing, however, was the culture of cheating.

Too often the gentleman’s agreement to put the ball out of play when a player was injured was used to halt the rhythm and tempo of a game.

Too often we saw players diving and acting and Portugal were by far the worst offenders.

The biggest disappointment? No prizes for guessing that. It has to be England.

This was a team, we were told by manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and players alike, who were the greatest bunch of footballers ever to represent the nation. A ‘golden generation’.

Yet, they played with caution when so many others played with freedom. They were constrained in a tactical straitjacket. No imagination from the manager, no invention from the players. They got what they deserved. A quarter-final place and defeat again on penalties against Portugal after the ritual sending-off.

Predictably, the man who saw red was Wayne Rooney, the man on whom all hopes had been pinned but who arrived in Germany without his best form or fitness, following his remarkably swift recovery from a broken metatarsal.

When will England stop making such mistakes? When will they learn that gung-ho hype and rabid expectations are millstones at a World Cup tournament.

Just as disappointing, however, was that Germany 2006, for all its magical moments, did not contain one great striker, nor one outstanding team.

Not Brazil, who struggled to marry the talents of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano and Robinho into a cohesive unit. They flickered momentarily, but never looked like gaining their sixth title.

Not Argentina, for all the passion of their fans and the fluidity of their movement. Juan Riquelme was a delight to watch and the 24-pass move which saw Esteban Cambiasso score in the 6-0 defeat of Serbia and Montenegro will go down as the greatest team goal in the tournament’s history.

So, it came down to a semi-final line-up which could have been the European Championship with Germany against Italy and France v Portugal. Rarely has a match produced more technical excellence than that Germany-Italy tie. And if the same could not be said for the other semi-final then at least France brought style and elegance.

They were the best team in the final too. Until, that is, the aberration of Zidane, who in the nod of a head went from the most revered player of the tournament to its most reviled.