Before the big match began Desney and I took Alexandra to the airport to send her off to England to camp. She was very upset about going to camp on the day of the final and to miss the match. After the airport Desney and I visited Ikea to make some changes to our living room. If it wasn’t for us, over the many years, Ikea would have gone out of business in France. On the drive home we saw people outside having fun, playing football in the parks, and generally in a great mood. I put together the new furniture just in time and Desney made us dinner to eat in front of the television for the match.
You couldn’t hear a pin drop outside. No one was in the parks any more, no cars drove along our normally reasonably busy street, no people strolled the pavement. The match started and it didn’t take long for Zidane to get the chance to shoot a penalty and give France its first goal. About 7 minutes in to the match. Another 12 minutes later and it was Italy who scored their first goal to even the score. From a score point of view that was it. No one else scored on either team. The end of the match after 90 minutes; another 30 minutes of overtime and that was it. But time truly stopped just a few minutes before the end of the match. Zidane got overly upset for a reason we’ll never know and actually head butted the chest of an Italian player knocking him to the ground. Zidane got the infamous red card and was ejected from the match and football forever. His last game ever. He didn’t sit on the side with everyone else. He went right to the locker room and hasn’t been seen since. Barthez was captain now and they finished the game 10 players to Italy’s 11. Then came the eternally dreaded penalty kicks.
David Trezeguet will never forget the moment he missed his penalty kick against Italy hitting the top bar and missing the goal completely. In the end Italy scored all 5 of their penalties and Barthez didn’t knock one out.
I’m sure throughout Italy the streets roared. Partying and exhilaration everywhere. Here in France: silence reigned. Still no movement in the streets. No sound from the windows. Nothing. France had lost the final of the World Cup and had also lost some of its best and most historic players forever.
If we won I probably would not be sitting here typing… I’d be in front of the television watching the celebrations and participating to my best ability in front of our house. Instead I try and think of other things…
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I called a friend in Cap d'Ail and offered to put my college roommate on the phone to sing the Mozart Requiem (written for SATB but what the hell, it's the thought tha counts, nu?)
He had a good larf, as intended, and went to bed as the Itraliaans shot off fireworks in Ventimiglia, next door.
Oh. well ....
As I said in my email, this was the first time I watched the world cup. It's interesting how the rest of the world acutally includes the rest of the world in it's world championship sporting activities, making it more context appropriate, but it has changed my mind about soccer (football). I was caught up in the excitement from the start. I am still as curious, as you are, as to what went through Zidane's bald head, as he tried to force the Italian players lungs out through his nostrils, with his head. This may have been the truning point, or it may have been the loss of their two other star plays, but to have the championship decided on penalty kicks was kind of anti climactic. I don't know if this it the way they often go, but I was disappointed for the French team to have lost that way. It did however, make a fan of me. Keep your chins up, as a NY Giant fan I have gotten used to the phrase, "wait till nexy year".
As I said in my email, this was the first time I watched the world cup. It's interesting how the rest of the world acutally includes the rest of the world in it's world championship sporting activities, making it more context appropriate, but it has changed my mind about soccer (football). I was caught up in the excitement from the start. I am still as curious, as you are, as to what went through Zidane's bald head, as he tried to force the Italian players lungs out through his nostrils, with his head. This may have been the truning point, or it may have been the loss of their two other star plays, but to have the championship decided on penalty kicks was kind of anti climactic. I don't know if this it the way they often go, but I was disappointed for the French team to have lost that way. It did however, make a fan of me. Keep your chins up, as a NY Giant fan I have gotten used to the phrase, "wait till nexy year".
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