wc06: the final: italy v. france

Now that the appetising farce of the 3rd-place game is gone (won by Germany, 3-1, in a fabulous display of entertaining football by both the hosts and Portugal), we can all concentrate on the main course–and you have a choice: Italian cuisine or French cuisine.

Based on the inspired performances of both nations, especially since the elimination rounds started two weeks ago, this is a mouth-watering final. As a neutral, one has to be happy about this final. As well as matching two entertaining offences and two very strong defences, we are treated to only the second final without a German or Brasilian side since 1954 in Switzerland (and for the first time since 1978 in Argentina). Not having (West)Germany or Brasil in a final is a rare delight.

On one side, you have Italy, slight favourites in this match, who’ve begun to add offensive flair (did you see them playing four, yes, 4, strikers in extra time during their match with Germany? That’s not Italian football, but Brasilian or Argentine footie…) to their usual oppressive defence and are as complete a team as you could hope to have in a final. They have famous names and a phalanx of stars, but no true world-renowned superstar, which has perhaps been a major reason they’ve been so in-form for the past two weeks.

On the flip side, you have in France a team of ageing stars on their last hurrah before the make way for the younger generation. You have one world-famous superstar in the mercurial and smooth Thierry Henry. You also have a suffocating defence and a plethora of playmakers and scorers. And, then, you have in Zinedine Zidane a superstar who surpasses mere global eminence: he’s without question the greatest player since Diego Maradona was the master a generation ago. It is to Zizou over the next twenty years that we will be comparing any rising star who wants to be the player of his generation.

And what more fitting a way for Zizou to go out than in a World Cup final.

This a rematch of the Euro 2000 final won by the French on a golden goal by David Trezeguet. And, amazingly and understatedly, it is also a tantalising warmup to these two teams’ Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, as the two are paired together in Group B and will play one another again in Paris on 6 September.

So, what is this final going to come down to? It’s such an evenly-matched final that it’s silly:

• Goalkeepers: Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon is one of the top two or three keepers in the world. He’s working on a clean sheet record of epic proportions: if France fail to score tonight/tomorrow morning for the first 63 minutes, Buffon will have set a record–currently held by legendary Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga at Italy ‘90–for having gone more than 517 minutes of playing time without allowing a goal. And, let’s not forget, the one goal that he’s allowed in the past month came courtesy of an own goal by teammate Cristian Zaccardo’s miskicked attempt to clear a ball versus the U.S. Buffon rarely makes a mistake and is always in position to back up his defence whenever it is that they make their own rare mistakes. The same cannot always be said of France’s man between the posts, the eccentric Fabien Barthez, who suffers from lapses of concentration at crucial times (witness his near-gaffe late in the semifinals on a Cristiano Ronaldo shot that allowed Figo a free header from six yards out, only for it to go wide). However, it must be recognised that Barthez has been much more the consistent world-class keeper for France than he has been while playing for his club teams; he’s only allowed two goals in this World Cup and he has won a World Cup before, so he’s more than competent. edge: Italy
• Defence: What more is there to say? Italy live by the defence and always have. This edition is led by Golden Ball candidate Fabio Cannavaro and is formidable. Cannavaro and mates have been rock-solid and figure to be no different in this one. France’s defence is only slightly less solid, led by Lilian Thuram, who’s been nearly as good as Cannavaro. They concede nothing easily and are a close-marking, hard-tackling group. Edge: Italy
• Midfield: Italy are solid in the middle, with Zambrotta and Camoranesi the leading playmakers and the defensive Gennaro Gattuso brusquely holding down the middle from the back. They have controlled most of the matches they’ve played in this World Cup and were instrumental in shutting down Germany’s midfield for large parts of their semifinal. However, they lack the starpower of France’s midfield, starting, of course, with the incomparable Zizou and helped massively in defensive prowess by Patrick Vieira and Claude Makelele. France’s attack runs through this conduit and the results over the last half of the competition have been nothing short of excellent. Edge: France
• Strikers: Italy’s strikers have been largely unimpressive in the tournament. Luca Toni has been a massive disappointment, save for his two goals against Ukraine. Francesco Totti hasn’t scored much, but I believe he’s the leading assist man in the tournament. Being negative, he’s Italy’s top scorer with only two goals; from a positive viewpoint, however, Italy’s eleven goals have come from ten different players. France, meanwhile, have the other incomparable: Thierry Henry. He may be the lone striker up front, but he’s ably assisted by young wingers Franck Ribery and Florent Malouda. Edge: France
• Intangibles: Both nations are poised. Italy have rallied admirably around each other and have closed ranks to become really close-knit as a result of the Serie A scandal back home. They have lots of stars, but no true superstar, and have played like a team comfortable with each other. Their reputation for being stingy in conceding goals is intimidating and can wear an opponent down because the opponent is always thinking about that one chance to score and being able to do when it presents itself. France, too, have rallied around one another and are more closely knit than one might think. They unjustifiably have caught a lot of stick from the press back home and from some political corners, most notably the incorrigably racist Jean-Jacques le Pen, who claims that France’s World Cup team, with seven blacks as starters, don’t truly represent France. This has sought to bring the team closer and it’s hard to understand le Pen’s dumbassness. And then there’s Zizou and his (and his teammates’) desire for him to go out on top of the world. Zidane’s legend is already god-like and going out with a second World Cup title would elevate it somehow higher. Edge: Even

To predict or not to predict, that is really what Bill penned for Hamlet (but with a crunch for room on the wrinkled vellum, his editors changed “predict” to “be”). I’ve been using my subjectiveness to pick most matches, regardless of how objectively I’ve analysed them–and we all know how successful my predictions have been.

With Italy, I’ve only picked them once (Australia) since the group stages, although I should have, in all objectivity, picked them a second time (Ukraine). And in their semifinal with Germany, I had to pick the hosts because of the momentum they were riding at the time.

As for France, I’ve been more successful. I’ve only picked against them once (Brasil), and that was an agonising toss-up that I basically flipped a coin over.

If you’ve been reading my opinions over the past few weeks, you know who I’m not cheering for. And I’m sure it’s obvious my feelings for Zidane, as well. I think France will win, perhaps in extra time, perhaps in a PSO. This is a tossup for me, to be honest, were I more objective in picking Italy’s matches. Should Italy win, they would be a worthy champion, my feelings for them notwithstanding. However, I just don’t think Zizou is going to allow France to lose.

Enjoy the game and may your team win.