France Shocks the World…Again!!!

That morning at breakfast I offered up a wager to Sean – one of the guys who runs this website. “Give me 3 to 1 odds and I’ll take France.” He took me up on the offer, but like an idiot, I backed down.

Eight years earlier I was in Vegas for the final between these same two teams and placed a wager on France that I’ll never forget. I figured, ‘these guys are playing in Paris and they’re a 2.2 to 1 underdog…how can that be?’. So I put ten bucks down at the Golden Nugget’s sports book; and figuring that if they were gonna win, they’d probably do it by taking a lead in the first half, so I put another ten bucks down that France would have the lead at halftime and go on to win the match. The odds for that second wager were 7 to 1.

Sure I didn’t get rich that day, but I did make over ninety bucks. Not bad. So why was I incapable of thinking that history could repeat itself in this quarterfinal match? Brazil hadn’t looked terribly impressive so far, despite recently beating Ghana 3 – nil. And France, despite having a mediocre first round, looked fantastic in their 3 – 1 victory over a solid Spanish side.

It would be Spain’s Luis Medina-Cantalejo in charge of this one. And for those who quickly forget, he’s the guy who worked the Italy – Australia match; supplying a questionable red card to Italian defender Marco Materazzi as well as awarding a highly controversial penalty kick (a call that I agreed with) to the Italians in the game’s dying moments with the match still scoreless.

As has been the case with all of the quarterfinal matches, the team captains spoke to the world about the need to eradicate racism. Cafu and Zidane spoke briefly on this subject. It’s worth noting that this is not the first time that the Algerian-born Frenchman has done this. For it was during his country’s elections several years ago that he spoke out against the xenophobic anti-immigration rhetoric of Prime Ministerial candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen. It’s something that I admire about the soft-spoken superstar; he’s willing to take a stand on important issues such as this that transcend sport.

With the match about to commence, I was pleased to see that everyone was all smiles. And perhaps it’s because so many of the game’s opponents are actually teammates the rest of the year. On both sides were players from Arsenal (Henry and Silva), Real Madrid (Zidane and Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos), and Bayern Munich (Sagnol and Ze Roberto).

And moments after the referee blew the whistle to start the match, it became clear that we’d be in for a very special treat as Zidane immediately showed us his sublime brilliance, working the ball seemingly effortlessly before passing the ball forward into space to an offside Thierry Henry who chose not to go for the pass in light of his illegal positioning beyond the defense. Henry’s proclivity for hanging out offside was something that we’d see much more of as the night progressed.

In the 3rd minute of the match Ronaldinho won a foul when he was pushed off the ball twenty-five yards from goal. But Juninho’s effort went directly into the wall and out of bounds for a corner. Barthez would punch that away and then back up the field Zidane was whistled for knocking Juninho off the ball. The Brazilian attack would eventually come to an end, though, when Juan was flagged for being offside; albeit, just barely.

In the 7th, Makele committed a foul and the Brazilian attack would once again end, thwarted by an offside call against Ronaldinho. Two minutes later the referee made a good decision to award a corner kick to Brazil after the ball came off Sagnol. But Roberto Carlos’ cross was sent into outer-space, thus giving none of his teammates an opportunity to score.

In the 10th minute Brazil won a foul about thirty-five yards from goal. For some reason, Makelele was allowed to stand only about six yards away as Ronaldinho prepared to send it goal-ward. He was able to find Ronaldo’s head, but then he wasn’t able to find his intended target, once again sending the ball out of play.

Perhaps getting somewhat frustrated, Ronaldo yanked down Makelele in the 13th. France would then win a corner kick as the ball went out off of Cafu. Dida would knock the ball away, Ribery would find it, but his effort was well over the crossbar.

In the 15th minute I’d learn that Lucio was only about eight minutes away from setting an all-time World Cup record for not committing a foul – 383 consecutive minutes. As he challenged Henry for the ball, he managed to keep his streak intact.

Juan crushed Vieira in the 17th and France would control the ball for quite a while, eventually returning it to Brazil when Henry was flagged for offside.

France won a corner in the 22nd, but Lucio, now less than two minutes away from the record, would clear it from danger. France won a free kick in the following minute and then after losing possession, the clock would enter the 24th minute and the record was all Lucio’s – four straight games without a foul plus this game as well. It’s a pretty incredible feat when you really think about it.

In the next minute, Lucio’s wing defender and team captain, Cafu, was rightly shown the first yellow card of the match when he had a fistful of Abidal’s shirt as the young Frenchman sped past the aging Brazilian. In the very next minute, with the French controlling much of play throughout this opening third of the match, Lucio actually committed a foul, only two minutes after setting the record. It’s almost as if he knew it and was now ready to play a more physical brand of football.

On the ensuing free kick, Medina-Cantalejo told the players that he would not allow them to hold one another. The French would soon win a corner, but then going back the other way, Ronaldinho seemed a little fortunate to be awarded a free kick when he was off-balance and very little contact was made. But maybe he’s sort of like the Michael Jordan of the footballing world, winning calls other players might not.

Roberto Carlos fouled Ribery in the 30th and shortly thereafter the referee was unwilling to respond to the pleas of a fallen Brazilian player who thought he’d been unfairly treated. France would soon win a corner that Dida punched away from his area and then Henry would once again bring an end to things with another offside decision by the Assistant Referee.

In the 33rd, Gilberto Silva was guilty of a pick that sent Ribery crashing to the turf, but then a minute later I thought Roberto Carlos might’ve gotten away with an obstruction on a French attack. Two minutes after that I thought that Cafu may also have been fortunate not to hear a whistle when he appeared to push an opponent off the ball after the Brazilian had lost control of it.

Cafu fouled Malouda in the 38th and then Zidane’s kick found the original foulee, but the ball was not on target. Back on offense again a couple minutes later, Zidane was called for a foul on Cafu in the penalty area.

And as the halftime whistle approached, I noted that ‘it’s all France!!’. They really had seemed to have more offensive opportunities than the Brazilians despite a goalless first half.

But wait there’s more…Zidane was pure magic in his movement near midfield, beating at least three Brazilians before finding Patrick Vieira surging up the middle. The lanky midfielder lumbered towards goal with a defender on either side of him, but it was Juan who came in from Vieira’s left to scythe him down and prevent him from continuing onward.

Had it not been for the fact that there was another Brazilian defender in the vicinity, Juan surely would’ve been shown the red. But in the end, I think justice was properly served to only award Juan the yellow. Ironically, it was a play not altogether different from this one in which Medina-Cantalejo sent off Materazzi against Australia. Perhaps he learned from that experience and realized the harshness of that decision.

The ensuing free kick was taken about twenty-seven yards from goal, which meant that the wall was set up just inside the Brazilian penalty area. The ball was kicked directly into the wall, but the referee surprisingly awarded another free kick to France just outside the box. It had been a call against Ronaldo for handling. I never did see exactly where the ball was when it made contact with Ronaldo’s hand, but I suppose maybe the placement outside the penalty area was correct given the assumption that the Brazilians jumped toward the kicker when the ball was played forward.

And for those of you who think that Ronaldo did not deliberately playing the ball with his hand here, there is some merit to your argument. However, the replay clearly showed that Ronaldo’s arm was away from his body in a very unnatural position – a position that for all intents and purposes is deemed deliberate even if the defender tries to argue that it was not. His arm shouldn’t have been extended away from his body like that if, as he was arguing, he was trying to protect his face. And for his lengthy protest, Ronaldo would earn a caution from the referee.

After that, Medina-Cantalejo eventually moved the Brazilian wall back the required minimum distance. And after doing so, the kick slammed into the wall and rebounded to a French player who was also denied by the defense.

It would end up being a scoreless first half after all.

France continued their attacking ways to start the second half and Juan immediately fouled Zidane. His free kick found Vieira near the top of the goal area, but his header was just wide of the mark.

Going back the other way, Vieira was rightly whistled for a foul at midfield. Brazil would soon win a corner and they’d retain possession until Barthez eventually collected the ball about a minute later.

Brazil would win a foul in the 49th, but a swift French counter-attack saw Henry off to the races down the left side. However, his centering pass was useless as nobody was there to receive it.

In the 51st, Kaka fouled Zidane then helped the old master back up to his feet; a bit of sportsmanship everyone’s always happy to see. Soon thereafter Henry was hoping for a high kick call against Lucio, but the replay clearly showed that his foot was only marginally above his waist and that Henry had lowered his head to play the ball off of Lucio’s foot.

The French would win another corner and then the AR in the area would soon call a foul against Ronaldo. The French would retain possession and cross into the middle where three players were onside at the time of the pass, but beyond the Brazilian back-line as the ball came their way. One of the Frenchmen then flicked it on to Henry who headed it into the goal. But the flag had correctly been raised on Henry because he was in an offside position when the last flick of the head sent the ball his way.

Cafu committed another foul a couple minutes later in the 56th out near the touchline and it would be Zidane’s job to send the ball goalward. As he did so, it was as though the Brazilian defense, including Dida rooted to the goal line, were all watching in amazement as the ball floated in a beautiful arc to the far post where Thierry Henry was awaiting its arrival in a world of his own. No goalie in his face, no defender tugging at his shoulder, nothing. It was too good to be true.

And to top it all off, he was in an onside position for perhaps the first time the entire night. The soccer Gods had conspired to make this moment last forever for Les Bleus.

With all the simplicity one could imagine, Henry merely raised his right foot to meet the earthbound ball and struck it easily, using gravity for his power, and watched it fly up past the flapping arms of Nelson de Jesus Silva and into the roof of the net.

From outside our apartment window near the Alexanderplatz on the east side of Berlin you could hear cheers all around. None of us were quite sure if these were supporters of France or German fans who were now more hopeful than ever that perhaps they would not have to face the mighty Brazilians en route to seeing their country win its fourth World Cup title. And to us, it didn’t really matter. All we knew was that Brazil would be desperate to score for the next thirty-three or so minutes and that we were in for a real humdinger of a football match.

But France were not content to sit back and allow the Brazilians to come at them with guns blazing. They were on a mission to score a second and put this game away.

The AR called a foul on Henry in the 60th and soon thereafter he was flagged for another offside. They’d soon win the ball back and Ribery would beat his marker in the corner to the left of the goal then fire one from a very difficult angle. Brazil were mighty lucky not to give up their second as the ball deflected off the foot of Juan before bounding across the end line just a few feet beyond the far post.

Henry fouled Kaka in the 63rd and before the kick could be taken, Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira brought in Adriano to replace Juninho in an attempt to bring more firepower to his team’s front line.

In the following minute Ribery fouled Roberto Carlos and the two landed on top of one another. (And please remind me here, did the referee call the foul here? Somehow I’m thinking he didn’t.) The Brazilian was clearly angry and threw a fist at Ribery’s side as the Frenchman landed on top of him. And not wanting to receive such abuse without returning some of his own, Ribery gave a little kick back at Carlos.

I don’t know if the referee saw any of this, but if he had, I think this might have been a good opportunity to give them each a caution and have them shake hands and move on. But since I’m thinking he didn’t call a foul here, he might not have seen any of these after-the-play shenanigans since the ball was by this point somewhere else on the pitch.

In the 67th, Zidane was called for a hold, but France would quickly regain possession and Sagnol would win a corner.

Then back on defense again, Vieira would win a goal kick. Gilberto Silva would soon commit a foul.

Ronaldo would take a dive in the 70th and was VERY fortunate not to receive his second booking. Perhaps if he wasn’t Ronaldo playing for the great Brazil, the referee might not have been so forgiving.

In any event, France would race back up the pitch and Ribery would come very close to scoring back at the other end. Two minutes later the referee made a good no-call as Henry went down in the box.

Zidane performed one of his brilliant patented spin moves that allowed him to find some space in the 73rd minute, but France would lose the ball and Sagnol would illegally stop Kaka’s counter-attack, earning a caution for himself in the process.

Two minutes later it was that guy who never commits fouls, Lucio, who took Henry down with a late foul, earning himself a booking as well.

Cicinho then came in for Cafu – playing in his fourth and final World Cup for his country. And then it was the impressive twenty-three year old Ribery who made way for Govou. Two minutes later and with little more than ten minutes to go, it was Robinho to add more firepower for an impotent Brazilian attack as Kaka left the pitch.

In the 80th, Malouda committed a foul against Brazil after he himself thought he’d been fouled. Brazil would mount an attack, but Robinho should’ve done much better from only fourteen yards out.

Moments later, the French would bring on Sylvain Wiltord who came in to replace the hard-working Florent Malouda. On the very next play Ze Roberto really deserved a caution for coming into Zidane from behind. And then Henry was soon called for a shove.

Two successive fouls by the Brazilians in the 83rd would eventually lead to a French turnover and an effort that went wide by Ronaldo. With only a few minutes left to play, Brazil had still not produced even one shot on goal. But it might only take one to tie things up and France were not about to let that happen.

Finally, in the 85th minute Manchester United striker Louis Saha would come in to replace the tiring Thierry Henry. Brazil would win a corner, but Barthez would save it as he or one of his defenders was fouled anyway.

Saha was called for offside in the 87th, and not happy with this decision, he’d kick the ball way and be shown the yellow card by the referee, just two minutes after entering the game.

A minute later, Ronaldo appeared to have taken a Louganis-style dive on the replay, but the referee was fooled and even booked Lilian Thuram who was protesting his innocence just twenty-two yards from goal.

I had a bad feeling as Ronaldinho addressed the ball, thinking that this was perhaps the once chance Brazil needed. And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I was rooting for France, the underdog, and it’s leader Zidane.

The reigning two-time World Football Player of Year wasn’t earning his keep in this game or, for that matter, throughout the tournament. On this point, I’ll agree with a statement made by Marcelo Balboa days earlier when Brazil were unimpressive in their victory over Ghana. As such, Ronaldinho didn’t hit the target, but he didn’t miss by much either.

In the 90th minute it appeared that France should’ve won a corner, but it was Brazil who were awarded a goal kick. France would quickly win the ball back, Zidane would pass it to Saha, and Saha would shoot it at Dida to give Brazil another opportunity.

Finally, in stoppage time, Brazil would force Barthez to make his first save of the game with their first shot at the French goal. The goalie came up big after not having to do much for the past ninety minutes.

And then in the following minute Cicinho’s cross found Ze Roberto in the middle of the penalty area, but his effort was wide of the goal. With their backs up against the wall Brazil were finally showing some signs of life.

But France would win the ball back and Zidane should’ve taken the ball down to the corner rather than challenge the keeper. Maybe he just wanted one more opportunity to be a hero, but he’d already been there. Now was the time to kill the clock and I was surprised by what I thought was poor judgment by the master.

His impetuousness gave Brazil one final attack deep into stoppage time, but that, like all of their previous attacks in this match, would come up empty when Adriano was called for a push down in the French penalty area. Moments later, the referee blew his final whistle.

There was a collective cheer from out in the street as we surmised that the German supporters were relieved that they would not have to face Brazil in order to win the Cup.

As for me, I was cheering because I knew that we’d have at least one more opportunity to see Zizou’s poetry in motion. Hopefully he has two more encore performances left in him before he’s through.

Until Germany/Italy…

peace,
ac