In Stuttgart, the German team—without its motor, Michael Ballack, less influential in the concluding stages than in the first, due to a painful injury—duly beat Portugal. Both goals were scored for them with fierce right-footed shots from the left by the blond Bastian Schweinsteiger, a player I’d admired in a largely mediocre German team in the 2004 European finals, but who, until then, had had a rather disappointing World Cup. Portugal replied late on when Figo, surely this time playing his final game for them, produced a perfect right-wing cross, enabling Nuno Gomes to head a simple goal.
So to the thousand natural shocks of the Final in Berlin. The first-half action held promise of a memorable Final, but as we know, it was destined not only to peter out in penalties, but to be besmirched by Zidane’s assault on Materazzi.
Barely five minutes had been played when Thierry Henry headed on a long kick which seemed to confuse the Italian defence, resulting in a desperate challenge by Marco Materazzi bringing down Florent Malouda. Zinedine Zidane took the penalty with almost casual aplomb, chipping the ball in off the underside of the crossbar.
Italy, far from demoralised, at once went on the attack, and it soon transpired that the French defence was alarmingly vulnerable to high crosses from the right, and especially from corners. First, a header from Materazzi almost provoked an own goal. Then in the ninth minute, from Pirlo’s right-wing corner, Materazzi soared majestically above the defence and fully atoned for conceding the penalty, beating a Fabien Barthez who looked very ill at ease on crosses. So much so that you wondered why, thereafter, the Italians did not try to exploit their obvious advantage in the air, though on 35 minutes, from another right-wing corner, Luca Toni’s header did clip the French bar.
But if Gattuso prevented Zidane from dominating the game, though Zizou was always potentially dangerous, then Italy found Francesco Totti, previously a key man, largely ineffectual. Indeed, he was substituted on the hour in favour of Iaquinta. At the same time, somewhat surprisingly, Marcello Lippi sent on the previously disgraced De Rossi, who would ultimately be one of Italy’s penalty scorers in the shoot-out. Flourishing, you might say, like the green bay tree.
In truth, it was a Final which fell away after the early excitement, and the longer it went on, the more likely it seemed to be doomed to go to penalties. It was perhaps somewhat ironic that, in the first period of extra time, Domenech should replace Franck Ribéry with David Trezeguet, later to miss that vital penalty in the shoot-out, with Italy putting all their penalties away to prevail. Yet how close the French had come to winning in extra time, when Zizou sent out a measured pass to the right, Willy Sagnol responded with a perfect cross and Zidane got his head to the ball, only for Buffon to flail it, one-handed, over the bar.
No such victory can be called anything but an anticlimax, but it was hard to deny Italy’s resilient captain, Fabio Cannavaro, his delight. Many thought that he rather than Zidane had been the outstanding player of the tournament, and given Zidane’s violent aberration, perhaps on moral grounds Cannavaro would have deserved the award.
On his return to Paris, Zidane was eulogised, all sins forgiven, by a now lame-duck French president, Jacques Chirac. The duck quacked, Zizou bent his head towards him, and for one hallucinatory moment it seemed as if Chirac might suffer the fate of Materazzi. But the moment passed.
*
The World Cup over, managers fell like autumn leaves. It was known that Eriksson would be on his way. Even the pitifully inept Football Association, which had not only countenanced his surreptitious dealings with Chelsea, twice, and Manchester United—incomprehensibly rewarding him, after his second meeting with Chelsea, with what might be called a ‘disloyalty bonus’ of an extra £1 million a year—could hardly ignore the Swede’s ludicrous trip to Dubai. There, he and two supposedly experienced advisors, one his agent, Athol Still, were duped by a notorious ‘con man’ journalist from the News of the World, well known for attiring himself as a fake sheikh and eliciting flagrant indiscretions from a variety of ‘celebrities’. Eriksson showed interest in leaving the FA and taking over at Aston Villa. He also made disparaging remarks about some of his players. But though this meant the end of his managerial job, his colossal contract still ran, ludicrously, until 2008; unless in the meantime he secured another managerial role.
So the great survivor partially survived even his latest shabby episode. Just as he had survived not only his dealings with Chelsea, but the scandal of his affair with a female secretary, Faria Alam, at the FA, favours he had shared with the then chief executive, Mark Palios.
Palios had tried in vain to exclude himself from the imbroglio, using the chief public relations officer, the experienced journalist Colin Gibson, to approach the News of the World, offering his co-operation, were his own name to be excluded. An offer that was brushed aside. It also transpired that when David Davies, a senior fa executive, had interrogated Eriksson about his liaison with Alam, he had failed to confess to it.
Looking for a successor to Eriksson, the FA flew into an apparent panic. Other countries had the sound sense to wait till the World Cup was over before appointing new coaches. Not the FA. Their appointments committee was invaded by the Arsenal vice chairman, David Dein, the man who to his credit had brought the hugely successful Arsène Wenger to Highbury, but who had also been a fervent advocate of Eriksson at the time of his appointment and, reportedly, later. Disregarding what appeared to be a shortlist of club managers, among them Eriksson’s adjunct, Steve McClaren of Middlesbrough, Dein pressed the claims of Portugal’s Brazilian manager, ‘Big Phil’ Scolari.
Accordingly, the relatively new chief executive Brian Barwick, a former television supremo who had seemed anything but comfortable in the job, was sent to pursue Scolari, winner of the 2002 World Cup with Brazil, in Europe. The result was a humiliating rebuff, on the somewhat unconvincing grounds that Scolari and his family had been distressed by so much media attention. For his part, the hapless Barwick returned to London, insisting that Scolari had never been offered the job.
So, acting in absurd haste with every prospect of repenting at leisure, rather than waiting till after the World Cup the FA appointed Eriksson’s assistant, McClaren. A choice hardly met with a fanfare of trumpets. Not least because a recent interview, given by the then captain of Middlesbrough, Gareth Southgate, had alleged that early in 2006, a time when Boro lost 7–0 at Arsenal and 4–0 at home to mediocre Aston Villa, McClaren had been so affected that senior Boro players temporarily had to run the team.
Elsewhere, Marcello Lippi resigned, despite Italy’s success. He had been under extra pressure, since his son had been inculpated in the sensational Italian inquiry into referee-fixing, as a member of the player-agency ruled by Juventus’s arch manipulator, Luciano Moggi. Pekerman resigned the Argentine post before the tournament was over. He had taken his team a long way, both tactically and in World Cup terms, only, it seemed, to lose his way and his confidence when it came to the vital match against Germany.
Poland’s Paweł Janas could hardly do other than resign, after so disastrous a tournament. Serbia’s Ilija Petkovic´ went, too. Jürgen Klinsmann, weary, it seemed, of so much commuting, stood down, having emphatically if belatedly proved his point with Germany. Bruce Arena, after taking the USA to the Finals for the second consecutive World Cup, was actually dismissed. It seemed that the new chief executive of the US Association, the multi-talented Sunil Gulati, a distinguished academic who once worked for the World Bank and now taught at Columbia university, wanted a radical change in approach, abandoning the prevalence of players who had come through the colleges, and looking for those of Latin American provenance. But Raymond Domenech of France, all white suit, spectacles and endless touchline agitation, defied probability by keeping his job on the back, one might say, of Zinedine Zidane’s revival. A Zidane who was fined over £3,000 and suspended by FIFA, while Materazzi, also suspended, had to pay over £2,000. Hardly draconian punishments, you might believe.
FIFA’S attention, w
e were told, would turn in the future to the matters of verbal abuse, à la Materazzi, and the plethora of deliberate diving. A book called Foul by the indefatigable investigative journalist Andrew Jennings, published just before the tournament, made ferocious charges against FIFA panjandrums. But, as we have learned all too pungently in the past, Teflon is as Teflon does.
Meanwhile, as the tournament was followed by recriminations among England players who had previously stood up for Eriksson, with Frank Lampard, surprisingly ineffectual, declaring that Jermain Defoe should have been picked and Michael Owen deploring long-ball tactics, Graham Poll, the English referee, became something of a figure of farce. In the hectic match between Australia and Croatia, he had somehow managed to forget that he had given a yellow card to the Croatian Josip Šimunic´ in the 61st minute. In the 90th Poll gave him another, though Šimunic´ should have been automatically sent off for the second bookable offence. As the teams left the field three minutes later, Šimunic´ upbraided Poll, who this time did, indeed, flourish a belated red card! Sepp Blatter remarked consolingly, ‘We should not forget that Graham Poll, in his previous matches, achieved fantastic things.’ But there were those, not least aggrieved English managers, who remembered less fantastic things occurring during the course of the domestic season. One incident in particular stays in the mind: the depressing picture of Poll being followed around the field by an abusive Wayne Rooney at Highbury without taking any action against him.
RESULTS: Germany 2006
First round
Group A
Munich, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Hamburg, Berlin, Hanover
Germany 4, Costa Rica 2
Poland 0, Ecuador 2
Germany 1, Poland 0
Ecuador 3, Costa Rica 0
Ecuador 0, Germany 3
Costa Rica 1, Poland 2
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts.
Germany 3 3 0 0 0 2 9
Ecuador 3 2 0 1 5 3 6
Poland 3 1 0 2 2 4 3
Costa Rica 3 0 0 3 3 9 0
Group B
Frankfurt, Dortmund, Nuremberg, Berlin, Cologne, Kaiserslautern
England 1, Paraguay 0
Trinidad and Tobago 0, Sweden 0
England 2, Trinidad and Tobago 0
Sweden 1, Paraguay 0
Sweden 2, England 2
Paraguay 2, Trinidad and Tobago 0
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts.
England 3 2 1 0 5 2 7
Sweden 3 1 2 0 3 2 5
Paraguay 3 1 0 2 2 2 3
Trinidad
and Tobago 3 0 1 2 0 4 1
Group C
Hamburg, Leipzig, Gelsenkirchen, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Munich
Argentina 2, Ivory Coast 1
Serbia & Montenegro 0, Holland 1
Argentina 6, Serbia & Montenegro 0
Holland 2, Ivory Coast 1
Holland 0, Argentina 0
Ivory Coast 3, Serbia and Montenegro 2
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts.
Argentina 3 2 1 0 8 1 7
Holland 3 2 1 0 3 1 7
Ivory Coast 3 0 2 5 6 6 3
Serbia/Mont. 3 0 0 3 2 10 0
Group D
Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Leipzig
Mexico 3, Iran 1
Angola 0, Portugal 1
Mexico 0, Angola 0
Portugal 2, Iran 0
Portugal 2, Mexico 1
Iran 1, Angola 1
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts.
Portugal 3 3 0 0 5 1 9
Mexico 3 1 1 1 4 3 4
Angola 3 0 2 1 1 2 2
Iran 3 0 1 2 2 6 1
Group E
Gelsenkirchen, Hanover, Cologne, Kaiserslautern, Hamburg, Nuremberg
USA 0, Czech Rep. 3
Italy 2, Ghana 0
Italy 1, USA 1
Czech Rep. 0, Italy 2
Ghana 2, USA 1
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts.
Italy 3 2 1 0 5 1 7
Ghana 3 2 0 1 4 3 6
Czech Rep. 3 1 0 2 3 4 3
USA 3 0 1 2 2 6 1
Group F
Kaiserslautern, Berlin, Nuremberg, Munich, Dortmund, Stuttgart
Australia 3, Japan 1
Brazil 1, Croatia 0
Japan 0, Croatia 0
Brazil 2, Australia 0
Japan 1, Brazil 4
Croatia 2, Australia 2
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts.
Brazil 3 3 0 0 7 1 9
Australia 3 1 1 1 5 5 4
Croatia 3 0 2 1 2 3 2
Japan 3 0 1 2 2 7 1
Group G
Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Dortmund, Cologne, Hanover
South Korea 2, Togo 1
France 0, Switzerland 0
France 1, South Korea 1
Togo 0, Switzerland 2
Togo 0, France 2
Switzerland 2, South Korea 0
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts.
Switzerland 3 2 1 0 4 0 7
France 3 1 2 0 3 1 5
South Korea 3 1 1 1 3 4 4
Togo 3 0 0 3 1 6 0
Group H
Leipzig, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Kaiserslautern, Berlin
Spain 4, Ukraine 0
Tunisia 2, Saudi Arabia 2
Saudi Arabia 0, Ukraine 4
Spain 3, Tunisia 1
Saudi Arabia 0, Spain 1
Ukraine 1, Tunisia 0
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
Spain 3 3 0 0 8 1 9
Ukraine 3 2 0 1 5 4 6
Tunisia 3 0 1 2 3 6 1
Saudi Arabia 3 0 1 2 2 7 1
Second Round
Munich
Germany 2, Sweden 0
Leipzig
Argentina 2, Mexico 1
Stuttgart
England 1 Ecuador 0
Nuremberg
Portugal 1, Holland 0
Kaiserslautern
Italy 1, Australia 0
Cologne
Switzerland 0, Ukraine 0
Ukraine win 3–0 on penalties
Dortmund
Brazil 3, Ghana 0
Hanover
Spain 1, France 3
Quarter-finals
Berlin
Germany 1, Argentina 1
Germany win 4–2 on penalties
Hamburg
Italy 3, Ukraine 0
Gelsenkirchen
England 0, Portugal 0
Portugal win 3–1 on penaties.
Frankfurt
Brazil 0, France 1
Semi-finals
Dortmund
Germany 0, Italy 2 after extra time
Munich
Portugal 0, France 1
Third-place match
Stuttgart
Germany 3 Portugal 1
Kahn; Lahm, Ricardo; Paulo
Nowtny, Metzelder, Ferreira, Ricardo
Jansen; Schneider, Costa, Fernando
Kehl, Frings, Meira, Nuno Valente
Schweinsteiger; (Nuno Gomes 69);
(Hitzlsperger 79); Costinha (Petit 46),
Klose (Neuville 65), Maniche; Cristiano
Podolski Ronaldo, Deco, Simao;
(Hanke 71) Pauleta (Figo 77)
SCORERS
Schweinsteiger 2, Petit own goal for Germany.
Nuno Gomes for Portugal
Final
Berlin
France 1 Italy 1
after extra time, Italy win 5–3 on penalties
Barthez; Sagnol, Buffon; Zambrotta,
Thuram, Gallas, Cannavaro,
Abidal; Vieira Materazzi, Grosso;
(Diarra 56), Makelele; Camoranesi (Del
Ribery (Trezeguet Piero 86), Gattuso,
100), Zidane, Pirlo, Perotta
Malouda; Henry (Iaquinta 61); Totti
(Wiltord 107.) (De Rossi 61)Toni
SCORERS
Zidane (penalty) for France
Materazzi for Italy
SOUTH AFRICA
2010
It might be said that the World Cup of 2010 in South Africa, like the last one, ended both with a bang and with a whimper. The bang as represented by the excesses of a Dutch team indulged by a doubtless well-meaning English referee, the whimper being the consequent tedious quality of the football—itself the climax, or the anti-climax, of a tournament in which quality had been at a premium.
Perhaps, though, we should be thankful for small mercies. I was delighted and relieved to be proved wrong about the criminal menace, the endemic violence, which seemed to await all but the protected teams and, of course, officials. Constant reports of murder—allegedly one every half-hour—robbery and rape flowed through. Though it was announced that the authorities would put an extra 40,000 policemen on the streets, a high-ranking English policeman, on his return home after years working in South Africa, declared that there would be no time at all to train these recruits. Yet, in the event, the policy clearly—and fortunately—worked. Yes, there were robberies and break-ins here and there, but overall the tournament, at least off the field, was peaceful, and for the fans who came—many thousands, but far fewer than expected—all passed off in relative tranquillity.
The winners, moreover, were eminently worthy of their success. Spain had begun as the favourites. They were mine, though somewhat ominously, in the so-called Confederations Cup staged in South Africa the previous year, they had sensationally gone down 2–0 in the semi-finals to the efficient but unfancied United States team, while in their very first match of the 2010 World Cup Finals they were just as surprisingly beaten by modest Switzerland.
The Story of the World Cup Page 53