by Samvit Tandan

Samvit Tandan is a graduate research assistant in molecular cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He is also an avid cricket fan, having represented his school and club in several tournaments (including tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa). In his free time, he writes poetry, short stories and his fondness for literature has led him to try his hand at amateur journalism.

Alas, the world cup is over and now it’s back to work for all of us! The 2006 Football World Cup, in my opinion, was a spectacular tournament and one of the better world cups we’ve witnessed for some time. In 2002, many people were surprised by the rise of Japan, S. Korea and Turkey through the tournament, although some semblance of normality returned when powerhouses Germany and Brazil contested the final. This time around, save for Ukraine, a lot of the top teams made it to the quarter finals and we were promised a mouth-watering exhibition. Interestingly, one cynical reader on the BBC “Have Your Say” opinion website claimed that this tournament was deliberately ‘fixed’ in such a way that the officials ensured all the powerhouses made it to the latter rounds after the 2002 surprise. Whatever the case may be, the one true sour note of the tournament was the surprising number of bookings made by what appeared to be overly trigger-happy match referees. Nonetheless, on Sunday, July 9^th, an entire nation of Italy came alive as their team won their fourth world title, while the French were left to ponder what could have been. Unfortunately, in the aftermath there has been too much attention drawn away from the event on one moment of madness by the legendary Zenedine Zidane, but hopefully all will be cleared soon as he is scheduled to make a public announcement today.

Back in my playing days in school in Bombay, we used hard and heavy leather balls that required some force to loft and curve through the corner kicks. Playing center-right wing for my house and school team, my job was to run down the right flank and bend it like Beckham onto the head of our flamboyant striker. This distinctly European style of play was on display in plentiful amounts at the world cup, but so was some astonishing South-American style of penetration through the heart of the defence from some European countries. Most notably, Germany stole the hearts of many people as their triangle of Podolski, Klose and Ballack proved devastating down the middle. And this was only some of the magic we witnessed over the entire month:

The semi-finalists: 

Interestingly, the famous Irish “voice of football,” Tommy Smyth, declared from the start of the tournament that he would be “riding his Italian horse” to the very end. And the pundit proved spot-on once again with the Italians going all the way. Marcelo Lippi brought to this Italian side a reserve and confidence not usually associated with the flamboyant players. Gone are the days of the pony-tailed Roberto Baggio, whose flair and sheer pace were breathtaking in and of themselves, never mind the end-result. This world cup saw a more resolute squad, sacrificing flair for smart tactical play. Pirlo controlled the midfield superbly, and to me was one of a handful of centers that really captivated the imagination. Totti proved decisive in free-kicks and penalties, but importantly Gilardino and del Piero were impressive at the front, scoring or at least creating chances when required. But the real heroes of the Italian renaissance were their dependable back four, led impressively by captain Cannavaro, who to me, should have won the Golden Ball honor. Buffon was also outstanding as goal-keeper, and it is no stroke of luck that the Italians conceded no goals in the tournament (discounting the penalty and own-goal). To me, they were deserved winners of this tournament, even though at times their football may not have been the cleanest (e.g. the ugly game against the Americans, and the last-gasp penalty earned against the Aussies). Italy wanted to win badly, and they were willing to go to any length to take the cup. 

France surprised me completely by making it all the way to the finals. Their lackluster performance in the group stages was reminiscent of 2002 when they were knocked out in the opening rounds. Despite boasting seasoned players like Zidane, Viera, Thuram, Henry and Barthez, they looked more tired and bored than interested and keen. Where was Zidane’s magic in the opening rounds? I find it surprising that for a man who played two good games out of seven (vs. Spain, and Brazil) was given the Golden Ball award, especially after the ugly incident in the final. But then, Franz Beckenbaur had publicly stated that the Golden Ball award would go to an older player, and it would have been foolish to change his verdict and give it to a more deserving candidate such as Miroslav Klose. In any case, the magic that Zidane did display against Brazil and Spain, earlier, was just out of this world and reminiscent of the man at the height of his powers through the late 90’s and early part of this century. A gentle flick over Cafu’s head, the dynamic two-step, the clever turn-arounds, the Brazillians were getting a taste of their own medicine, and by the maestro himself. But equally impressive were Thuram in defence, Henry in the front (although he was caught off-side all too often), and most of all, Ribery who may well be the next big thing to hit French football. It is believed that Zidane chided Ribery for holding the ball too long rather than passing it onwards, and I don’t know how much of that affected the young man in the final against Italy, but he is the sort of tireless player who can play anywhere on the pitch and has great skills with the ball in the mid-field. Ultimately, though, the French peaked against Brazil, but then fell after that, and their inability to dominate Portugal and score legitimate goals against them in the semi-finals was all too telling for the final that lay ahead.