Germany 2006

[marinermick]

dibo said:

greenpoleffc said:

UK press reporting that the comments were terrorist/muslim related.

Having said that, fancy an experienced pro falling for that old trick, it usually stops working in under 8's (unless you are Rooney or some other thicko).

i'm not so sure - remember that madrid (zizou's home for the last few years) was the target of some really seriously nasty terror attacks a couple of years back, zidane could justifiably be a little sensitive. imagine going up to a new yorker and making september 11 related insults - they're not exactly going to be looking to swap shirts with you at full time.

saw an ABC news report today and it was from england and they had a lip reader

the lip reader couldn't see zidane's face but clearly saw materazzi say "i wish a speedy death on you and your family"

apparently zidane's mother is in hospital seriously ill

[brett]

Overall it was a fitting end for a disappointing World Cup.

There were practically no goals, particularly in the big games. None of the 'big' players stood up to be counted. The 'atmosphere' off the pitch didn't seem nearly as magical as four years ago when millions/billions fell in love with the game.

And the team that won basically did so on the virtue of having the best defenders in the world and no other team doing anything particularly special to overcome this. I think Italy deserved to win this world cup, BUT if they played at that level in most other world cups they would not win because there are usually teams lifting to much higher levels.

The few teams with better players such as England and Brazil couldn't find the right style, and those with arguably better squads such as Argentina, France, Spain and Holland didn't lift to a high enough level consistently to deserve it ahead of the Azzuri. So yeah, basically Cannavaro/Nesta and later Materazzi were flawless and their attackers did just enough to get past the rest.

I hope South Africa 2010 is much better.

[MrCelery]

I agree with Tiger.

Apart from the Socceroos spirited performance, the rest was largely forgettable.

A dour WC where the cheaters reigned supreme and were rewarded. Some really aweful refereeing. Lack of goals. And some teams that really didn't perform to expectations - Brazil, England, Netherlands, etc.

Still, a month of football that drowned out the other codes and gave us all hope for the future of the game in this country. That's gotta be good.

I can't wait to find out where the Asian Cup Final will be played next year! Would be a great away trip.

[omni]

Should be far cheaper than Germany!!

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand & Vietnam and Hurrah I speak Indonesian (which is almost identical to Malay)!