GOOOOOOAL! France 1 Italy 0

[Up2Late]

Italy is playing g dirty so far, Goal on a Penalty Kick @at about 6:00 minutes in the first.

[suffragette]

1. Vive Zidane!

Beautiful.

[XemaSab]

2. Every TV in the 'hood just informed me of that fact

The word "goal" is the same in every language.

[Up2Late]

5. Actually, I'm watching it in Spanish on Univision, and it's GOL!!!

...on Univision.

Anyone watching on ESPN? Is ESPN taking commercial breaks?

[TahitiNut]

3. Viva la France dramatique!

:evilgrin: The 'sell' was remarkable.

Zidane is awesome!

[Up2Late]

7. This is going to be a Dive festival!

:evilgrin:

[malaise]

4. Yep Italy is playing

like Italy usually plays. France on the way!!

[cigsandcoffee]

6. Do you mind toning down the subject line spoilers?

I'm getting it on TIVO. Thanks.

[malaise]

9. hahahahha

Italy scored - 1:1

[Up2Late]

10. With the first Goal coming so soon, I bet it will be 3 - 2 by the end...

Is this live?

I guess I won't tell you what just happened then.

[alfredo]

8. 1-1 tie

off corner kick

[Up2Late]

11. I think that went off a French player!?!

Do you think they can keep up this pace?

[alfredo]

12. Looked that way to me too.

Let's see how Ribery holds up. He's one of the fastest players out there. He seems to play himself into the ground.

[Up2Late]

13. Wow, that half went FAST!

Not at all boring with two great teams!

[suffragette]

14. Very exciting game

I'm so glad Henry appears to be ok.

[Up2Late]

15. Why wasn't that a Penalty!?!?

Anyone?

[uppityperson]

16. BBC link refreshed every 2 minutes for those of us without tv

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4991652.stm

[Up2Late]

17. I couldn't have said it better!

55 mins: This was supposed to be a cautious, cagey match between two cultured teams with claustrophobic defenses. Instead it is end-to-end entertainment all the way. Cracking stuff.

[uppityperson]

19. I love the writing, the slang and terminology

62 mins: Against the run of play Italy put the ball in the back of the net and Italian fans are jumping for joy - momentarily. The offside flag goes up as Luca Toni wheels away to celebrate heading in Andrea Pirlo's free-kick.

60 mins: Italy prepare to make a double substitution. Simone Perrotta and Francesco Totti troop off with Vincenzo Iaquinta and Daniele De Rossi coming on.

56 mins: Patrick Vieira has pulled a hammy as our dearly-departed Antipodean friends would call it. Alou Diarra comes on, a change that could upset the balance in the middle of the park.

[Up2Late]

18. Now why was that not a goal?

I'm watching in Spanish (which I don't understand) and the ABC commentators are no help.

[Balbus]

20. Offsides

looked like a bad call but that was the call nonetheless.

[Up2Late]

21. I found a way to get it live video via computer!

You have to download and install this video player!

Then it's on CCTV-5 (China)

<http://www.download.com/TVU-Player/3000-2194_4-10549204.html>

Also on Univision, but the video is not as good.

[Up2Late]

27. It looks like about a 90 second delay from Live

The picture is pretty good though.

BTW, I have a Cable Modem, less than that, it might be better to go with the Univision feed.

[Up2Late]

22. End of regulation time 1-1 Now what happens?

I'm not a regular Football (Soccer) viewer, what do they do now?

[suffragette]

23. Two 15 minute periods

[Up2Late]

25. They did this on purpose didn't they?

To help Beer sales. :tinfoilhat:

[TahitiNut]

26. It keeps people out of the streets for another 30 minutes.

:silly:

[Up2Late]

29. If the Franch don't win, I'm blaming Bush!

Then it's time to break some stuff! :evilgrin:

[uppityperson]

34. Relative in France says they are staying off the sts today, will be nuts

no matter who wins, expecting rioting.

[TahitiNut]

40. Well, maybe in the northeast of Paris.

:shrug: That'd hardly be news.

[suffragette]

28. To keep my heart racing

Perhaps some wine will calm it down
;-)

[TahitiNut]

24. 30 minutes of OT - 2 15-minute halves.

No "golden goal" (sudden death) - they play the whole 30 minutes. After that, if still tied, it comes down to penalty kicks - 5 per side.

[Up2Late]

30. Red Card for Zadine!

Wow!

[Balbus]

31. What a piece of shit he is for that crap.

I hope that's what he's remembered for in his retirement.

[karlrschneider]

32. What a fuckin' moron thug. Now I hope Italy wins.

:grr:

[manic expression]

59. Thug? Try Materazzi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HblsV-urHg&search=materazzi

[manic expression]

60. self delete

[Up2Late]

39. The Italian Guy got right back up, we are seeing a lot of great acting...

...from Italy, I missed the actual foul, but it couldn't have been that bad.

[TahitiNut]

41. Cards have majickal healing powers.

:eyes:

[TahitiNut]

33. Call me insensitive, but I don't see Zidane's butt as worth a red.

Yellow, maybe .... not a red. I think the media commentators are really hyping it beyond reason.

[cigsandcoffee]

37. If that wasn't red card worthy, what was?

Shooting him? He viciously headbutted a player far away from play.

[TahitiNut]

38. I thought you were TIVOing it.

Funny, that. :eyes:

[cigsandcoffee]

42. Well, I couldn't wait.

And besides, I'd rather know who was going to win naturally than have it given away in the thread titles.

[uppityperson]

44. Yeah, really, quit shoving those titles in my face like that!

I mean, really, how dare you. :rofl:

[TahitiNut]

51. !

:rofl: :rofl:

[DelawareValleyDem]

56. It was a valid call.

You use your head as a weapon, you can't complain about a red card. Sad end to a fantastic career for Zindane.

[rockymountaindem]

35. I can't believe he did that

Incredibly poor sportsmanship and a bad move considering the circumstances.

[uppityperson]

36. description from BBC

110 mins: RED CARD
After a lengthy delay and consultation with his linesman referee Horacio Elizondo sends off France captain and talisman Zinedine Zidane. From hero to villain in one moment of lunacy.

109 mins: What's going on here? Zinedine Zidane has lost it. He has headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest. The Italians are furious and rightly so as Marco Materazzi lies on the pitch.

"France are still on top, and how Zinedine Zidane must have wished he could have guided his header either side of Gianluigi Buffon. The World Cup is going right to the wire and no-one can bet on the winner with confidence. "
Phil McNulty, BBC Sport in Berlin

[Up2Late]

43. End of OT 1-1

Now what? What's the strategy for the Penalty kicks?

Same player takes them all? Different players?

[uppityperson]

45. some more info (again BBC on computer)

2130 BST: Here's a quick guide to these teams and how they fare in penalty shoot-outs. Italy have had three and lost all three. France have had three, won two and lost one. Their last World Cup shoot-out was against each other in 1998 in the quarter-finals.

(Does this make any sense?)

[uppityperson]

46. once more, embracing, who will be the hero?

2134 BST: Goalkeepers Fabien Barthez and Gianluigi Buffon embrace. One of them will become a hero in the space of the next five minutes.

"Mayhem around the stadium as the teams prepare for penalties. France will be missing two who would surely have stepped up for them in Henry and Zidane. There is still a sense of disbelief at Zidane's stupidity - can he come back to pick up the trophy and his winners' medal if France prevail? Or will he have the last moments on the international stage over-shadowed by an act of complete madness?"
Phil McNulty, BBC Sport in Berlin

[northzax]

57. and neither one was a hero, really

the miss was a simple miss, no saves is remarkable really.

[Up2Late]

47. Shoot out score

Italy 5 of 5

France 3 of 4

[Balbus]

48. Well, that's justice for Zidane being a fucking thug.

[malaise]

50. The worst final I ever watched

Zidane's head butt was totally unnecessary although I don't know what his opponent said to him. Stupid changes by their coach didn't help.

[Up2Late]

53. That was a stupid thing to do...

...you think that replay will be shown a few times in France and Italy?

btw, I did go back and see the video (I have TV-on-Demand on my computer)

[malaise]

54. I'm sure

we get non-stop replays. Pity because Zidane is a truly great player. Don't know what made him snap there.

[Up2Late]

49. Italy wins!

5-3 shoot out (though France didn't get 5th kick)

Second Kick went off the cross bar.

Boo!

[Endangered Specie]

52. Italy so deserved that game

1. Questionable PK
2. Questionable offside
3. Zidane

[HuckleB]

55. Italia!

My advice: Next time go out and watch the match with others. It's much more fun!

[Hav]

58. .

Not that I want to excuse Zidane's action, it was really stupid, but there are rumours that Materazzi used a racial slur. From one second to the other, one could see how Zidane totally lost his control. Of cource, he gets the blame, but Materazzi is an ass for sure.

[Hav]

66. .

Until now it's only speculation but I heard two things: Materazzi called Zidane a terrorist (obviously because of where he was born, duh) and his sister a prostitute (that one came from lip-readers). That's really low. I would like to have a statement of the players, though.
It doesn't excuse Zidane, but it shows what kind of a guy Materazzi is.

[manic expression]

61. Italy never deserved it

France controlled the entire end of the game, Italy only came close on their offside goal (which was offside). France deserved to win this game, but the diving cheaters win instead.

:puke:

Oh, and look at your "victim", Materazzi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HblsV-urHg&search=materazzi

That shows the true nature of this Italian team.

[DelawareValleyDem]

62. Huh?

A header off the bar isn't coming close?

[manic expression]

63. Please

Italy barely had any pressure on the French defense in the latter part of the game.

[DelawareValleyDem]

64. The game is not won

by who has the most chances, in case you've forgotten.

If France couldn't stop ONE kick by Italy, a team with a horrible PK record, they don't deserve it. They had Buffon guessing the wrong way on every kick and still missed one.

[manic expression]

65. Did I say 'won'?

No, I said Italy didn't deserve to win.

You also fail to recognize that it was a mistake by Trezeguet which gave Italy the advantage in PK's, not one PK was saved. Furthermore, no team "deserves" to win a soccer match because of PK's, it's just ridiculous to say that.

France played the better match. The Italian team are a bunch of diving, cheating jerks. This World Cup was a disappointment. In case you've forgotten.

[DelawareValleyDem]

67. Apparently, it was a disappointment

to you because you weren't happy with the outcome.

No team deserves to win a match because of PKs? I'm no fan of that way of breaking a tie, but that's the current system, and if it comes down to that, the team with the most certainly deserves the victory.

I did, in fact, make the point you just made that it was France's mistakes that gave Italy the advantage. But you continue to maintain that France deserved the victory even while acknowledging the inability to perform when it mattered most.

And just so you know, it didn't really matter to me what team won. But all the bellyaching I'm hearing is annoying. It's just like the most recent Super Bowl. I'm no Steelers fan but the whining that they didn't deserve to win got out of hand

[Hav]

68. .

Well, the point is that they might have deserved to win the penealties because they simply scored 5 while France missed one but that doesn't really mean that they "deserved" to win the game or the Cup. Because on the other side, France controlled most of the game and they were the ones who tried to decided the game. Even with 10 men! Even with one man more on the field, Italy didn't really put up more pressure. I don't know whether I could make the distinction clear.
In the end, their concept of anti-football won the Cup.

And Italy might have had a bad history concerning penealties but that doesn't mean that the current players were horrible at scoring penealties. In fact, most of their shots were superb and almost impossible to stop. Barthez guessed more of them right than Buffon.
So again, Italy won the game by being better in the deciding 5 mins of the penealties, France was the better team over the 120 mins.

[manic expression]

69. Not just that

For instance, I was happy that Germany made it so far, but that doesn't mean I liked how it had to go to PK's (although that was a clean and fair match) to beat Argentina. Italy has hacked their way to the cup, and that leaves an extremely bad taste in anyone's mouth, as long as they appreciate soccer.

You're right, it is very unsatisfactory to end a championship on PK's. An Italian team I have a lot of respect for lost the 1994 World Cup because of that, which is a complete shame. Anyone who says that a team deserves to win a match solely because of PK's is delusional, they are a crap shoot, they do not reflect the better team.

No, Trezeguet's mistake gave Italy the advantage, and it was a mistake in said PK. Anyone who objectively watched the match and saw how France played will say that France deserved the victory, not Italy. They performed in a far superior manner to Italy for very long stretches of the match, that much is undeniable.

"All the bellyaching" that you're hearing is because Italy are very undeserving and undistinguished and pathetic champions. Just look at their game against Australia for crying out loud.

[DelawareValleyDem]

70. Well maybe then

we should eliminate the penalty kicks and award the game to the team the referee feels performed in 'a far superior manner for long stretches of the match'

Yeah, Trezguet made a mistake. At the worst possible time. Italy unexpectedly made all their kicks, even when the goalie guessed right. They rose to the occasion.

Your last statement is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. 'undeserving and undistinguished and pathetic champions.' It's complaining like this that leaves a bad taste, not the result.

[manic expression]

71. To repeat myself once again

I never said that France should just be awarded the game, I said they played better and that Italy did not deserve a win.

They rose to an occasion, after they decidedly didn't for about 70 minutes. That doesn't equal being worthy of victory.

No, if you actually watched the tournament and recognized Italy's unbecoming and disgraceful antics, you'd have the same taste.

[DelawareValleyDem]

72. You certainly have

repeated yourself. "unbecoming and disgraceful antics". Just more complaining. You take defeat very personally. Did you lose a bet?

[manic expression]

73. And you certainly have been unable to comprehend me

Did you watch Italy's matches? Did you? Please, anyone with the smallest perception of Italy's play would not call that "complaining".

No, I didn't lose a bet, I don't bet. The only thing I've lost is (more) respect for the Italian team. However, do you follow soccer regularly? Do you truly appreciate the game? I'm quite curious to know.

[DelawareValleyDem]

74. It's kind of hard to misinterpret some of the words you use

among them disgraceful, unbecoming, and pathetic. Fortunately, the French seem gracious in defeat.

Players from Italy won the Silver and Bronze Balls. Someone must think they played well. But you'll probably attribute that to some form of cheating.

[manic expression]

75. You continue to do so

My adjectives were not inaccurate and quite reasonable.

Yes, Cannavaro was amazing in the back, Pirlo played well, Camoranesi was always present and pushing forward. That, however, does very little to make Italy deserving winners, which is wholly an entirely different manner.

Go and watch Italy's match against Australia, then get back to me. Thanks.

[DelawareValleyDem]

76. Sure, I'll watch it, again

Doubt I'll learn anything new, but we'll see. And we'll see if a few days of living with the outcome of the final
will change your perspective at all

[manic expression]

77. Deal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_oy6SJ2iSs&search=italy%20australia%20penalty

[HuckleB]

78. Italy deserved to win.

Cry all you want.

[manic expression]

79. You're delusional

watch the game and look at how much more France was attacking. Secondly, look at how Italy hacked and dived their way to the final and then to the cup. Please.

[citizen snips]

80. I disagree

The only goal France scored in that game was a cheap penalty kick.

[manic expression]

81. That PK was valid

you can see how Malouda's foot was tripped by the defender. Secondly, there was a real foul in the box and yet the ref did not award a PK to France, so even if you are right (which you aren't), it cancels out. France controlled the entire run of the play for almost the entire game, they deserved the victory.

[citizen snips]

82. I still disagree

From what I saw he tripped on his own but if you have video of it you can prove me wrong. France had the momentum near the end of the game until Zidane head butted the Italian player which meant they had the momentum with a player down and that lost them the game.

[manic expression]

84. Here's one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tr-ZSJe-T8&search=malouda%20penalty

On the third replay (IIRC), the one from behind, it shows how contact was made.

Anyway, what lost France the game was Trezeguet's mistake, if Zidane was on the field it wouldn't have made a difference (Trezeguet would have still taken a PK).

[citizen snips]

86. yeah there was some contact made

when it shows a close up so you win on that front. Italy who is 0-3 in pk's before this game showed that they were an ounce better then France.

[Bushknew]

83. The Italian team played a defensive game in the 2nd half …

So, I wouldn’t say they were being outplayed.

I think they were confidant to go to penalty kicks against the older and slower
French goal keeper.

And if you don’t like all the diving, complain to FIFA to add at least two
more referees on the field. Or better yet, step into the 21 century and use Instant
Replay!!

Diving and crying like a baby is a tactic of this "game", many star players do it
like Germany’s Bollack.

Italy won under FIFA’s crappy rules/system.

It seems Soccer leaves a bad taste in everybody’s mouth, even its fans.

In the end, it’s about who scored more and not about who you think played better.

[HuckleB]

85. Keep crying.

It's clear that many US fans of France haven't watched Italy play. At Costello's Travel Cafe in Portland, where we watched, it was amazing to hear the French fans get so excited about an attack, time after time, while those rooting for Italy sat comfortably, knowing there was very little likelihood that the attacks would amount to anything. Yeah, France outplayed Italy in the second half. Italy was clearly worn down after the intense match with Germany, and had nowhere near the energy it had in overtime against Germany. Still, it's absolutely ridiculous to say Italy didn't deserve to win. Italy stopped France from scoring, and it made its PKs for once. Therefore, it won, and it deserved to win. Sour grapes don't change that.

ITALIA!!!