Snaps to McCoy

[BigH]

Well, I am a bit late but snaps to Italy's victory over the French in the World Cup! Sorry BigHarvey! I'm not what you would call a futbal fan and wouldn't get up to see the game, particularly, but many a lad and laddie were late to work the next morning (it was played at 0200h here).
What I really want to know is what the Italian player said to Zidane to get the head butt??

 

[Mccoy]

What I really want to know is what the Italian player said to Zidane to get the head butt??

I'm one of the very, very few Italians who didn't watch a single match of the world cup. But it is inevitable that I know everything of it, since everyone here is talking about little else. And that episode sure raises your curiosity.

I heard two versions of zidane's quirky behaviour:

a) unkind comments about his sister's morality
b) ironical comments about his possible joining "Inter" (an Italian team with much ill luck, lately) instead of retiring.

Zidane has played a lot with italian teams, so the two were sure teammates at a time. It was like some heavy joking with a former teammate with whom you had previous arguing, I guess. Or downright bad taste jokes.

I believe a few more versions will circulate, until the Italian player will decide to say the truth. Of course he may never tell it if what He said was way off the beam.

What I did during the final match was drive around the city. It was 9 pm, a busy time at summer in a touristique area. But it was like driving at 3 in the night. Real weird. I retired back home before the end of the match, to avoid guaranteed jams in case Italy won. Italy won, and even with TV turned off, even living in a secluded area, screams echoed all around, soon followed by all manners of noisy celebrations!!

 

[dgillette]

One left-of-center US sports columnist (Dave Zirin) claimed that Materazzi called Zidane's sister a whore and him a terrorist. (Materazzi denied the latter, but not the former.) Zirin also wrote:
____________________
"The following morning the international tabloids with their typical grace, gave Zissou a new nickname: "butt-head.” Less examined was the fact that Zissou was literally carrying a lightly regarded French team to the finals. Less examined was the fact that Zissou had been grabbed, kicked, and fouled all game by the vaunted Italian defense. Less
examined was the fact that Zissou had almost left minutes earlier due to injury, his arm wilting off his shoulder like a wet leaf of spinach. This unholy amount of pressure is the primary reason the 34-year-old veteran snapped and planted Materazzi into the pitch.
____________________

I wasn't there.
I didn't see it.
I won't even attempt to judge Zirin's accuracy.

Zirin also had comments about right-wing politics and racism associated with the Lazio team that Materazzi played for, with a weakly stated disclaimer saying Materazzi wasn't necessarily part of that.

 

[BigH]

I saw the butt on replay - and, to be perfectly honest, an oscar winning role for Matterazzi - a rugby player wouldn't even have noticed. It wasn't all that hard but you would have thought that Matterazzi should have called in a priest for last rites!

Still - it is funny how some games allow sledging and others don't. In crickett, there are very very quiet comments (the Aussies are the world's best at it) - and it tells/grates on the opposing players. Yet, sledging is a very "ungentlemanly" action and is heavily frowned on . . . officially that is.

Baseball is probably the only sport where sledging has developed right from the start into a true art - sort of like geotechnical engineering compared to structural!! How many times have we all told the ump to get glasses; that maybe his mother wasn't his mother, how batters are chatted up.

Anyway - I think, really, the whole affair is non-sequiter. Matterazzi isn't going to come clean; why does Zidane care - he's retired. Perhaps it is FIFA's attempt to deflect the Italian verdict due - or their uphandedness with Greece and other countries.

Ciao! But, in any event, congrats to McCoy's country!

 

[Mccoy]

I correct myself,
Zidane and Matarazzi never played as teammates, as I've been told by friends. On occasions they played one against the other and maybe some old rust has surfaced.
DGillette, I'm amazed soccer has some followers in the USA, and someone who reads the columnists' comments! I thought it was all about football, baseball and maybe basketball.
BigH, I think you're dead right about the pressure stuff, everyone overreacts in those conditions.
Thanks for the congrats, but I keep having a very low opinion of Italian (and European as a whole) pro soccer players, they play a very tedious game and gain a very obscene amount of money for a very limited display of athletic prowess. And the razzmatazz is outright intolerable.

 

[dgillette]

Rugby! Now there's a game, and I have the brain damage to prove it. (Really. One concussion too many, from hitting heads with my own teammate who was trying to tackle the same guy at the same time from the other side. Now I'm on daily meds to prevent minor seizures that do not involve any loss of motor control or consciousness.) I do, however, have all of my original teeth. I was a truly lousy player - too slow to be a good back and too small to be a good forward.

 

[BigH]

dgillette: great. I played for the York Yeomen when I first got to Toronto - only 1/2 season and too many out of town trips. A high school friend played a long time for the Cleveland Grays. Tri-nation is on now; Australia lost to the Kiwis 34-12 or so a week ago but annihilated the Springboks 49-0 on Saturday. Would have been a boring game unless you were a diehard Aussie fan (I wouldn't mind the Browns winning 49-0 in any game!!) World Cup Rugby will be on in 2007.
McCoy - what do you think of all European (and Brazilian) football players being forced to play one game of English premiership rugby? Then the players might know what real hurt feels like!

 

[Mccoy]

BigH, I think they would never be able to go past the 5th minute from kickoff. To be conservative.
I don't follow rugby, but I work in a city where there is a long-time tradition for it, and sometimes they host international tournaments. Once I saw a couple of Fijian players walking by. Both were impressive, but one of them I cannot forget. Couple of calves each the size of a thigh of mine and more. Neck the section of a baobab tree. Skull gorilla like. 6 feet + of height. All in all, looked like a rhinoceros.
Speaking of Polinesians, I've been told Samoans can be huge, and quite a few play in rugby and american football teams.

 

[BigH]

Its true - the Samoan islanders are quite well known for rugby and for some reason, their bone structure is well suited to be an impressive athlete. Many play in the Aussie and NZ leagues. The last world cup - some of the Aussie teams wouldn't let the islands "go" so they could play for Somoa - but they let their Aussies go. Trying to cut down on competition, eh?

 

[BigHarvey]

Just coming back from holidays, congratulations McCoy. My children wanted to delay our departure to be part of the celebration of victory in the streets, ... and I refused to listen to them !
I saw the game on TV and I feel sad for Zidane. I guess he must have been used to any kind of insults in his career and he shouls not have done it, particularly for a last game. It will be the picture that many people will keep from him and he would have deserved better, but that's life !

 

[BigH]

Unless you are (or, in my and likely most of your cases) an athlete, it is hard to fathom the intensity of the moment. I will remember Zidane for being a pretty good football player and giving Matarazzi what he deserved! But, you are right, it is not the way to go. I remember my last basketball game in high school - I wanted to make sure I hit the last shot of my career - did I? Can't remember!! Gray cells turning greyer!

 

[jdonville]

At the risk of wandering off-topic, I did see at least the end of the match (but was busy elsewhere in the kitchen at the time of the head-butt). I can't help feeling that penalty shots are not the best way to end the final of the World Cup. I say the teams should be made to keep playing 15-minute quarters (i.e., no "sudden death") until there is a victor.

Penalty shots and "sudden death" play - in any sport - are poor ways to decide a game, let alone a final. But these formats are more forgiving to a television schedule

Jeff

 

[Mccoy]

Jeff,
I agree that the penalty shots procedure is a ruthless one, but there you can also see the mastery on the mind beyond technical and physical skills.
For instance, I remember Baggio, a player of indiscussed exceptional technical skills, during one of past finals or semi-finals, I think against Brasil, sending the ball miserably off-goal during penalty shots (consequently marking the defeat of the Italian team). He was the best but could not stand the pressure during that critic shot.
I wonder also how many heart attacks occurred that instant within the Italian population.