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DEL.ICIO.USBerlin bizarre
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Many of the pictures in newspapers and websites across the world tomorrow will feature the jubilant Italians winning their fourth World Cup.
And while the Azzurri richly deserve it after a magnificent tournament, the image that figures to be most indelible, most impossible to ignore, of this entire month in Germany will be the red card issued to France’s Zinedine Zidane in extra time. His inexplicable head butt of Italy’s Marco Materazzi with just 10 minutes left will be long remembered and written about, and as the details of what triggered his bizarre outburst are discovered.
That’s the only word for how the usually graceful and classy Zidane left the soccer stage. Bizarre. Truly, truly bizarre. It was a Wayne Rooney and a Charles Barkley at the same time. He got Materazzi, and he got him good, square in the chest.
What a tragedy. A tragically disappointing and sad moment. In the World Cup final.
In the dozen or so years I’ve avidly watched, followed and written about this sport, I continue to be amazed why what happens on the pitch, as well as off. There is never an end to the bizarre — there’s that word again — machinations and actions that underpin the game.
Take Italy, with all the swirl of ugly drama at home due to match-fixing scandal involving some of the biggest club teams in the game. And yet the Azzurri shrugged off what could have been an understandable distraction. Even after one of their former teammates, Gianluigi Pessotto, remains gravely injured after an apparent suicide attempt in connection with the scandal, Marcelo Lippi’s ragazzi didn’t lose their focus and instead became more resilient.
No, even while watching the happy Italians kiss the trophy before it was presented, it was hard not to think of Zidane, sitting in a locker room, a solitary, disgraced figure. It’s as bizarre and stunning as anything in a World Cup final in many, many years.
Also bizarre was David Trezeguet, the hero for France against Italy in the Euro 2000 finals, cracking the woodwork in penalty kicks, proving the final margin of victory.
With this post, Off the Ball signs off of the World Cup, sad not only that it’s ended but because of the way it ended. Unforgettable. And for all the wrong reasons.
Those thoughts of the great Zizou walking off, and past the Jules Rimet Trophy and into the tunnel after seeing red, will be on her mind as she goes through withdrawal. After she checks herself into post-World Cup rehab, with soccertine patches on her arms, and tries to convince herself that the constant scratching and spitting in baseball isn’t really all that boring after all.
And how’s this for the ultimate bizarre thought of this World Cup? The only points Italy dropped, other than the final, which officially goes down as a tie, were to — ahem — the United States.
It was a funny old World Cup, wasn’t it?
OTB will be back in about a week’s time, or whenever the folks wearing the white lab coats at the withdrawal clinic deem her fit to return to society.
Until then, ciao, everybody.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By steverino
July 9, 2006 9:44 PM | Link to this
I know I’m just a provincial, ignorant American, but if that’s the best the World Cup has to offer, then I’m afraid I’ll never get it. All the elements for excitement were there, but..no thrills. No urgency in the overtimes, and no extraordinary plays from the players. And talk about the shoot-out-they’d still be making goals if the do-nothing goalies had anything to say about it. The only reason it’s(finally!) over is because some poor schlub missed an wide-open net. Sorry, but watching a bunch of foppish floppers run up and down a field just ain’t my cup o’ tea.
By soccerfan
July 10, 2006 5:49 AM | Link to this
Another ignorant comment from an ignorant american. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world for a reason (and yes there is a world outside the US). its more than a game for some people, its something you’ll never understand. Oh and watching a 1-0 baseball game that goes on for 3+ hrs is so much more exciting….
By Football Fan
July 10, 2006 7:32 AM | Link to this
Soccer is for sissies!!!
By SoccerWuss
July 10, 2006 9:03 AM | Link to this
Soccer is for real men. Only a real man can fall down in excrutiating pain when an opponent slightly touches me on the shoulder. Will you ever see an american football player fall down and whine as well as me? I didn’t think so. Oh, and regarding that 1-0 baseball game analogy, if EVERY basegame was 1-0, you would be right = baseball would be as equally boring as soccer. Look me up when EVERY baseball game is 1-0, then I might think you have a relevant point. Until then, keep flopping like us real men.
By Henry
July 10, 2006 9:11 AM | Link to this
Will you idiots stop reading soccer blogs. You nust be insulted and have an inferiorty complex by the best and most popular game in the world. Sorry but go to sleep at the most boring game in the world, Baseball or as we called it in Germany broom stick ball.
That, by far, was the best and most exciting World Cup I have seen, and I’ve been around from the days were you could only hear it on the radio, for me on short wave in Brasil, for those who do not know about short wave go to the dictionary or Google it.
Now my withdrawal symptons set in and I have to listen to my Italian frieds bragging for at least the next two years, or untill they get eliminated in the European Cup. Only the English and the Italians remind you, forever, that they beat us Germans, even when they stink. If you watched the games you could see that, specially by the hooligans from England.
I think, by far that, the Italian team was the best after they got the wakup-call from (you guessed it) us Americans. At least we had one good moment.
Ironic that the Italian got in return what they attempted to do and succeded by faking tripps to get penalties. The Aussies must be gratified (sort of) that some sort of justice was done by the French.
Rooney, Zidahn and other so called star players do not make a team but can and are hurting them by their hot heads. I played against Pele and never found him to be better than I. But I would take a team of Peles and would beat, if the game ever finished of a team formed of Eusabios, Rooneys, Zidanes, Ronaldos, etc… Pele was an exsepliary team player, which earned him the help and resprct of the rest of the teams he played on. That kind of player should be put on the pedestal insted the irresponsible and idividualist ones now.
FIFA and its refereeing organization almost ruined this World Cup. If that Argentinian and Uruguaian referee are the best they can do, all the big shots at FIFA must resign from the most exciting sport in the word. Sorry Blater, get going and make FIFA great again for South Africa in 2010.
By Trying to Get into Soccer
July 10, 2006 9:26 AM | Link to this
I tried, I really did - but it just didnt happen. Here are my reasons why America wont accept soccer as a mainline sport: 1. Flopping - talk about childish. Will the broad-shouldered, steel worker football fan in Pittsburgh PA recognize the power and grace of faking an injury just to get a stinking penalty? NOT 2. PKs - come on, decide the World Cup on a series of kicks in which neither goalie actaulyl TOUCHES a kicked ball? Take the goalies out of the goals and the results would have still been 5-3 in the PKs. Americans want to see relentless determination when deciding something claiming to be as important as a WC. Do we decide Superbowls on seeing how many extra points the kicker can make at the end of regulation? 3. Limited play stoppage - no time for commercials, or bathroom breaks, or getting more beer from the garage refridgerator - Need I say more? 4. Not enough scoring - while there is an occassional appreciation of a 1-0 pitchers dual, or a 7-3 defensive football battle, if every game was that way, both baseball and football would be considered boring as well. Americans like scoring in their sports. TV ratings have proved that. Every major sport has modified its rules to accomplish that, except soccer. Make the goals bigger, forego the offsides call (if you cant keep up with your attacker, you should give up a goal…), do something to get to 5-4, 7-3 , etc games. That will go a long was towards increasing a fan base.
That said, if futbol does have such an incredible global fan base, then why is there such a focus on getting Americans to watch it, like it, support it? Does the global sport really need USA fanbase?
By Straight Up Truth
July 10, 2006 10:56 AM | Link to this
Face it soccer fans, your game is boring, simple, and unimaginitive. Anyone (even three year old toddlers) can kick a beach ball lying on the ground and on occasion maybe even get it into a goal that is as big the average convenience store. At least I have heard that there is occasionally a goal scored even though I have never personally met anyone who saw a live goal scored. Try letting all the air out of your beach ball then let some guy throw it around 95 mph and try to hit it with a stick, that is great hand-eye coordination and athletic ability, playing soccer requires no ability other than being able to jog up and down the field for a couple of hours. If you can kick the ball straight that is a big added extra bonus. Oh and by the way, your cry baby professional soccer players who flop and whine whenever another player gets close to them are true experts at the flop compared to the poor play acting NBA players.
By Chris
July 10, 2006 11:56 AM | Link to this
I hate confusing folks presenting emotional arguments with facts, but the Soccer will never grow in this country argument is incorrect. The sport is growing and will continue to grow. Please take a moment to ingest the facts below….
“The U.S. audience for World Cup on ESPN is up 55 percent this year from the 2002 games, with the average match reaching about 1.6 million households. ABC ratings increased 108 percent to an average 2.77 million households.
MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche says SUM expects to turn a profit from the World Cup broadcasts, though he declined to say how much. ABC and ESPN last year outbid News Corp.’s Fox network to buy the U.S. English-language rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cup for $100 million — two and a half times what SUM paid for 2002 and 2006.
For MLS matches, the average number of U.S. households tuned in on ESPN2 grew to 203,336 per match in 2005, up from 154,236 in 2002.”
By Jacky
July 10, 2006 12:30 PM | Link to this
I do believe that Henry is some nine year old child living in a make believe world. He played against Pele who was no better than our boy Henry? He uses all kinds of American slang perfectly but can’t spell simple words, he claims to be a German-Brasilian-American world class player. Give me a break.
By BassHound
July 10, 2006 1:35 PM | Link to this
Henry (and anyone who shares his thoughts)
I’m sorry but if you really think that was the best world cup then you and I must define exciting very differently. I will give you that you have more experience watching the WC… im 20 something so my first world cup was Italy 90. I can’t agree with you that it was exciting. Outside of Argentina (and Germany for spells, but not long enough) nobody impressed me. I hate to hear these anti-soccer people chatter about how boring the game is… but when all we had were 1-0 games and PK shootouts (especially for a final) it’s hard to argue. For soccer standards the play was not great. I believe before I was born the world cup was about playing the best soccer (ie Brazil in the Pele era) but now it is 100% about the result. I dont know who to blame… but soccer has suffered, for me… this was the worst world cup I’ve ever witnessed. The refereeing was bad as well but i think some rule changes are in store… more subs to add more elements/fresher legs to the game.. and less cards. There is only a subjective difference between a yellow card foul and a regular foul.. yet the difference in what a card can cost a player and what a foul with not card means is EVERYTHING.. Fifa has to adjust too many expulsions/suspensions
By Henry
July 10, 2006 2:03 PM | Link to this
Hey Jacky what do you know, funny remark. HA HA HA. How many languages to you speak and write like my English? None of course. Just typical ignorant talk.
Hey Basshound, if that is your name, you were 10 and had no idea of what you were watching. Get with it. For your information a yellow card is for intentional dangerous foul and a red card is for intentional fouls to hurt the opposing player. Pretty clear to me. Roony and Zadane did them both. Got it?
Chris very good analysis, hope to here from you again.
By Chop Chop
July 10, 2006 2:58 PM | Link to this
At this point, the best soccer could do for popularity in this country is fourth in major pro team sports. Soccer could certainly beat out hockey for that spot. The MLS is roughly equivalent to English first-division soccer. First-division soccer in England doesn’t draw huge numbers because of the smaller towns and stadiums, but the towns generally are solidly behind those teams. It’s a part of a city’s fabric, I guess. The MLS doesn’t draw bigger numbers because of the lack of talent and because of the myriad of other choices for things to do in the cities that have franchises.
As for the way soccer is played, I’m not the type of sports fan who holds a 0-0 draw or a 1-0 final score against a sport. Some games are boring, some aren’t. Some have more excitement than others. I’ve seen 6-3 football games that were very frustrating and exciting at the same time. A 1-0 baseball game can be very tense and nerve-wracking. My belief is that if you really love sports and competition, than you can find something to like about almost any sport. Whether you choose to watch it or not is your choice, but soccer is certainly as legitimate a sport as there is in the world and I will never see the point in talking heads on radio, TV and in newspapers ripping it. God, it’s just a sport. Lighten the hell up.
Of course, the same goes for “soccer snobs” in this country: Lighten up. Enjoy your favorite sport and don’t feel the need to ceaselessly evangelize it. MLS isn’t going to disband anytime soon, so there’s finally a soccer league in this country that should be there for a long time. How popular it becomes will depend on how it is marketed, who it is marketed to, and time. I personally feel that soccer should be heavily marketed in the inner cities in this country. Why do kids grow up playing basketball? All you need is a ball and something to use as a hoop to shoot it through. In this country, soccer is seen as a sport for mama’s boy suburban kids who aren’t tough enough to play anything else. In the rest of the world, soccer is considered a sport where the toughest thrive and survive. You know, kind of like basketball in The Rucker or The Cage in NYC.
Anyway, I just thought I’d add my thoughts to the “Soccer sucks!/Soccer is great and you should embrace it, you heathen!” argument.
By Chris
July 10, 2006 3:57 PM | Link to this
Henry here is a little something else for you. Interesting isn’t it how one great French star’s international career ended with a violent act so that anothers could begin. After Zidane’s incident last night French fans are left to wonder what violent blunder will stun them in the next decade. I am sure you remember the career of Cantona another creative yet excitable French star.
“Jacquet began to rebuild the national team in preparation for Euro 96 (the 1996 European Championship) and appointed Cantona as the captain. Cantona held this position until the Selhurst Park incident in January 1995. A fan by name Matthew Simmons was alleged to have shouted a racial slur at Cantona and thrown a missile; this infuriated Cantona so much that he landed a flying kick on Matthew and rained punches until he was pulled away. The suspension which resulted from this incident also prevented him from playing in international matches.
By the time Cantona’s suspension had been completed, Jacquet had revamped the team with some new blood, including Zinedine Zidane, around whom the team was now built. Cantona was never again selected for the French team and missed Euro 96. Jacquet himself stated that the team had done well without Cantona, and that he wanted to keep faith with the players who had taken them so far [1]. The decision was vindicated as Les Bleus subsequently won the World Cup in 1998.”
By Football Fan
July 11, 2006 7:07 AM | Link to this
If the World Cup is so great, why does the trophy look like a Cake Topper??????
I KNOW it is gold, but it still looks DINKY, just like the sport.
And calling THOSE kicks, Penalty Kicks is just plan stupid, if there was NO penalty!!!!
Again, soccer is for sissies!!!!
By Henry
July 11, 2006 7:40 AM | Link to this
Chris and Chop Chop, great comments. :ets just ignore the ignorants.
By Jan
July 11, 2006 8:06 AM | Link to this
say Henry, why don’t you take your sissy butt Back to germany??????
I would also think that the increase veiwing time of soccer would be the fact that so many fans have moved here, not that it is picking up on AMERICANS!!!!!!
I can not imagine a football game (Super Bowl) where the end result would be to see if the quarterbacks could throw the ball through a tire to win the game!!!!!!
By Chris
July 11, 2006 9:31 AM | Link to this
Jan,
What?
I would also think that the increase veiwing time of soccer would be the fact that so many fans have moved here, not that it is picking up on AMERICANS!!!!!!
Your the weakest link…goodbye….
By Wendy Parker
July 11, 2006 10:36 AM | Link to this
Emerging from rehab to offer this news:
World Cup final was highest-rated sports TV program in Atlanta over the weekend at 7.9, outdrawing NASCAR (7.1), PGA with Tiger in the hunt (6.5) and the suddenly-hot Braves (6.1).
It’s joined big-event status, and people will watch out of curiosity.
Soccer types in the U.S. have been realistic for years about it becoming a solid niche sport, and these numbers offer a bit of a sign that that’s happening.
Even more surprising to Off the Ball is the incessant need from trolls to express how much they don’t care. So why not just ignore it, then? We don’t care that you don’t care.
If you go into watching a sport you’ve never liked, the chances are one game, or one World Cup, isn’t going to change your mind.
By Henry
July 11, 2006 3:19 PM | Link to this
Thanks Wendy
By Chris
July 11, 2006 3:53 PM | Link to this
Viewership for the WC Final was impressive against other sports but can the MLS do it on TV? Will the Silverbacks be able to fill a 15k stadium in a few years? Congrats Wendy on blogging the World Cup but the next 4 years will hold some other challenges.
“Those 16.9 million viewers included 11.9 million on ABC and 5 million on Univision, and they represented a 152 percent leap from 2002…
This year’s viewership exceeded by about 4 million the average audience last month for the NBA Finals between Miami and Dallas. It came close to the 17.5 million for Florida’s victory over UCLA in the NCAA basketball title game and the 17.1 million average for the White Sox’s sweep of the Houston Astros in the World Series.”
By Jan
July 11, 2006 10:27 PM | Link to this
Chris, YOU know nothing about me, but I bet Henry would take you with him to germany - and I really really do not believe that soccer is going to take over any sport, so you have a great weekend and goodbye to you too, I;m off to the beach and I just BET no one will be playing any soccer!!!! LaDeDa & Peace to ALL.
I guess we Agree to Disagree……….
By Football Fan
July 11, 2006 10:29 PM | Link to this
Soccer is for sissies!!!!
By BG
July 12, 2006 11:41 AM | Link to this
I think Watching World Cup on HDTV was a great experience. These old remarks about”Americans don’t care about soccer” are becoming nonsenical: Here are the fact: ABC/Univision Combined rating 16.9 rating in the NY market 14.0 in San Diego + another 3.7 from Univision 12.6 ABC in LA Market, Univsion 5.0+ 13.3 in San Francisco, and 3.0+ from Univsion Orlando 10.5 from ABC 7.9 in Atlanta, and another 1.5 from Univision
By BG
July 12, 2006 11:44 AM | Link to this
What this means that Soccer is not a niche sport anymore: it is becoming Mainstream. Thousands of people gathered in BOSTON, NY, and San Franciso, LA to watch the games outside. BARS were packed with people watching the game. By the way, the OT ratings were 10.7 on ABC on a national level, and in San Francisco, it reached as high as 18.7 or something. Read The facts my ignorant American so-called sport fans.
By BASSHOUND
July 12, 2006 2:56 PM | Link to this
Henry,
In response to your earlier comments… you are right Italy 90 is on the foggiest end of my memory. But 94 on I don’t think I’ve seen a World Cup worse than this one. Not to say that it wasn’t exciting (The Worst World Cup is still the World Cup) I just don’t feel that it had the same great moments and great play that other WC’s had to offer. As for your “explanation” of the Yellow Card Red Card difference… First off you aren’t the only person in the world who knows a thing or two about soccer so don’t come on here like you wrote the FIFA by-laws. What I said remains… what one referee sees as an “intentional dangerous foul” and thus awards a yellow card, another referee may not even whistle. That is too much subjectivity (is that a word) when the stakes are so high. I hope now you understand the point I’m trying to make. We have great/important players missing games because of yellow card accumulation when a yellow card to 1 ref may be a red card or maybe even not a foul for another. That is unacceptable.
and yes Henry BassHound is my REAL name
By chris
July 12, 2006 5:38 PM | Link to this
The Atlanta Silverbacks play tonight in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup against Wilmington. If they win they get the New York Red Bulls of the MLS in the next round in early August.
By Chris
July 12, 2006 6:04 PM | Link to this
The under-17 men’s national team is coming to the ATL area tommorrow. These are the players to look for in the WC 2014. They are preparing for the FIFA U-17 World Cup next year in South Korea
http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281147.html
By Henry
July 13, 2006 8:29 AM | Link to this
FIFA is now getting it in the ranking proceedure. I agree that the US is around the 16 best in the world.
I just fionished reading the Brasilien Press and found no one selecting a better World Cup than this one and they are concerned that this one will be the baseline for all future cups, not only in the games played but also fore the venues, organization and wellcoming attitude of the host nation. What realy supprised me is the subdued reporting on the Brasilien soccer stars. In the past even comming in second they would have been deamonized.
Chris, what I missed in the reporting of the games and highlights was that the tremendous saves by the great world cup golies, the many saves on the line by the great defenders and the great play set-ups in the middfield be the greatest athlete in the world. Only the one second on a goal scored were shown on American TV. Every baseball, football, basketball or ice hocky player that I convinced (at my younger age)to just get on the soccerfield to play with me could not play or run with us for more that 5 minutes. They were in so called top shape and we were not. None of them will ever demine the soccer game.
Klinsmann to my surprise resigned the German National Team and will decide what he will do in 6 month. That coincides wth bruces end of being the national coach. Supprise, Suprise! There is light at the end of the tunnel for US Soccer, don’t screw this one up.
By Chris
July 13, 2006 10:00 AM | Link to this
To Henry and all the amateur soccer players out there a great night last night in the US Open Cup. The Silverbacks fell short and will not be hosting the MLS in August but…
“Dallas Roma FC, from the North Texas Premier Soccer Association, made history Wednesday night, defeating CD Chivas USA on penalties, after playing to a 0-0 draw after extra time. Not only did they defeat their second straight professional opponent in the U.S. Open Cup, they became the first USASA club to defeat a team from Major League Soccer in the U.S. Open Cup.”
For more details on the longest running sports tournament in the US:
http://www.usopencup.com/
By Henry
July 13, 2006 1:09 PM | Link to this
Thanks Chris
By Chris
July 13, 2006 1:41 PM | Link to this
I concur Henry 16th is an appropriate spot for the US to be in. I think anywhere in the 10-20 range for the next few years makes sense. It was a bit odd a few months before the World Cup when the US moved above Argentina.
I am curious how the US coaching situation will play out. Next summer is the Youth Championships in Canada and after that the US national team will need to start putting together a new core for 2010. Someone like Klinsman, Lippi or Big Phil could come in and put their own vision on the squad and they should be above US Soccer Federation politics.
I would recommend that US Soccer fans keep up with some US youth action so that they won’t be so dependent on commercials prior to the next World Cup telling them who is supposed to be critical to our success.