i suppose that we each have our version of what makes a player so great. while it is true that “marco goalo” was a supremely gifted scorer, and he did define clutch, it is my feeling that merely being a scorer does not a player of his generation make. if that were the case, ruud van nistelrooij would be one of the greatest players ever.

the reason i hold zidane in such high regard is how he was able to command his teammates and make them better, much as michael jordan was able to do when he played in the NBA. zidane could control a match without having to score because he so often had the presence of mind to put his teammates in position to score. he was a leader and, often, as went zizou, so went france.

i had a discussion recently with a roundtable of friends about what makes a player great and in a class separate from other players–as a great player for country or as a great player for club?

my assertion was simple: the two greatest players in history–pele and maradona–are more remembered by football fans for their exploits for country than they are for club performances. and that’s not to say they weren’t in a class by themselves while playing for club, it’s just that players are more recognised for what they do on the international stage than for what they do at club level. sure, maradona and pele were loved by the fans of the clubs for whom they respectively played, and they had dynamite careers, but very few, if any, of their club performances were on an international stage because that’s not the nature of club football.

admittedly, van basten had rotten luck with injuries, without which his goalscoring numbers would be even more phenomenal and which perhaps also contributes to his not being recognised more readily as a once-in-a-generation type of player.

in the end, such proclamations, aside from ones made about pele or maradona, are usually subjective and mine about zizou certainly are. i guess it might also boil down to this: who, from the last decade and a half, would i want to start a team with? my answer would be zizou, without question. your answer might be different–and ten others commenting here might each have ten different answers, as well. such is the nature of sports…

Before that, the French team was the better – the second half was basically spent in the Italian half, but they didn’t break. Which is what counts, as much as it eats me… Well, both teams will meet in September for the qualifying rounds of the Euro 2008.

And now, let’s prepare for a *real* World Cup: Rugby, in 2007 and in France!

Grosso is a star. Zidane loses cool at the end of match.

Too bad for Koreans. If the French had won, Koreans could have said, “We tied with the champion (=We are as good as the Champion)”.

Controversial but entertaining World Cup. I hope African teams bring more fire into the World cup next time.

And a boring game to boot. Fairly clean until Zidane crapped his pants, but not overwhelmingly so. Azzuri D was definitely the key to this win and it was fairly obvious from the beginning they were holding out for a long ball, quick run type goal. Buffon, Pirlo and Cannavaro were in top form again, though I think the edge will go to Buffon for the Golden Ball Award. Meanwhile it never should have made it to extra time. Malouda should be forced to share a closet with Greg Louganis after that picture-perfect half-pike into the dirt (9.5). Other than Italy winning, ironically by being the more classy team (is that possible?), that was overall a disappointing match. American Football anyone??

By the way, I am glad Italy won…just because it pisses so many people off.

On the flipside, what the hell was Zidane thinking!??!