Allez Les Blues! France are through to the 2006 World Cup Final after a fiercely contested semifinal against Portugal. Zinedine Zidane converted a penalty kick after Thierry Henry was fouled inside the box by Portugal’s Ricardo Carvalho. The 1-0 score stood until the final whistle but not without some heart-stopping moments thanks to some creative goalkeeping by France’s Fabien Barthez.
It was fitting that Zidane scored the penalty. It was apparent he had the weight of the entire French nation’s hopes on his shoulders and he calmly delivered. Even though Zidane scored the game’s only goal, the true heroes of the day were the French defense – especially Lilian Thuram. Thuram was the glue that held the French defense together against multiple assaults by Portugal.
The other entertaining aspect of the game was watching the Portuguese players practice their diving skills for the 2008 Olympic Games. Instead of yellow cards they should give out medals for the best dives. Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo pulling in the lion’s share, would eclipse every other team in the medal count.
Now on to Berlin for a date with destiny for Zinedine Zidane. Sunday the French meet the Azzurri for the Cup.
I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who hates Ronaldo! That cheatin little cry baby. If he didn’t dive, cheat, and complain all the time then maybe people would have more respect for his talents which he obviously has.
His attitude however has completely, in my mind, tarnished his image. >:p
Go Zidane Go! \:d/ (Yes, how can a Brazil fan be in love with the french now? Only when the French truly outclass the Brazilians without cheating and all the other thing the Portuguese resort to in order to win.) 😡
I am a huge fan of Manchester United and I used to be such a great fan of C. Rolando. The red card instigated by Rolando agaist Rooney has really put me in an awkward position to support Portugal in general.
On an unrelated topic, the commentators on ESPN and ABC were very raw. I didn’t care for Alexis Lalas calling Rooney a *thug”. Marceo Balboa said Beckem is overrated. Bottom line, I don’t really care for the ESPN and ABC’s elementary comments on Football.
Fob, Ronaldo is certainly not going back to England to play. He is talented but without class, and in the long run, very few people will remember that he even played the beautiful game.
Milkyway, Marcelo Balboa’s commentary has been especially awful. He was advocating that players take dives. He said that was good soccer. He has been whining about the referee since the start. The referees have not been the best but whining about it all the time is quite annoying. In contrast, John Harkes has been pretty good in his commentary. I hope not to see Balboa for the finals. :-&
Mash: I agree that Harkes is much better. Looking forward to Sunday. Go Italy! Simply because I don’t care for the Henry. \:d/
I am very much looking forward to the final match on Sunday. Italy played beautifully against Germany. France has been consistently good throughout the World Cup. Zidane in particular has been in a class of his own. (You were right on, Mash!)
Paraphrasing a friend of mine: I’d be equally happy having pizza or croque mensieur for lunch on Sunday. Enjoy the game!