Copa Mundiale
Ahhh. It is done. I have pushed the limits of soccer watching during the last month. I have seen some great games and seen some fantastic soccer played. I enjoyed all the games this year thanks to the DVR, which BTW is the BOMB! Viva Italia! I thoroughly enjoyed the Final with the exception of one moment. Zidane's disgraceful headbutt. As you may remember from past posts, I am a proponent of good sportsmanship. His action was an inexcusable act of ugliness in the midst of the most beautiful match of the World Cup. I am sure there will be many stories written about Zidane's temper and short fuse, the possibility of it being an intentional act designed to alter the game's result, and other explanations and hypotheses galore. The bottom line is this: The brilliant career of a truly exceptional and innovative athlete will be forever tarnished by his inability to control his emotions for a single moment. Other than that, an amazing finish to a wonderful tournament!
posted by The Wizened Wizard at 7:38 PM
2 Comments:
How about that Rooney? Probably the worst example of sportsmanship during the Cup.
Apparently RRooney and Renaldo (who had Rooney's cleats all over the crown jewls) are both on the same team, Manchester United.
So, while the headbuts most certainly uncalled for, especially for one of France's premiere role models,it pales in comaprison to the thuggery of Rooney.
They called him a Bruiser...
Oh, and watching matches on Univision was the only way to watch the majority of the matches for those of us who are sans cable.
12:27 PM, July 10, 2006
I am sorry, good Doctor, but I must disagree. Check this article out describing the Rooney incident.
http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200607/s1678081.htm
If the groin stomp was intentional, and that is a big "if", it was a cardable offense during the heat of the action. It does happen, accidental or otherwise, that soccer players' body parts end up in compromisable positions. If Rooney took advantage of this, he would not be the first player that did, nor the first that got caught. As a former competitive soccer player, I can reconcile this possible discretion. I cannot, however, come to terms with the fould committed by Zidane. The headbutt could not possibly have been characterized as accidental, it occured away from the action, and it was during the second overtime period in THE WORLD CUP FINAL! It was not some young hotheaded soccer sensation that lost his cool on that pitch, it was arguably the world's best player, three time FIFA player of the year, a veteran professional, a team captain who had come out of retirement to help his country qualify for what would be his last Cup appearance. IMHO this makes his actions the most reprehensible of the tournament. BTW, the Univision announcers are mucho mejor!
5:25 PM, July 10, 2006
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