The Finals (France's Side)

The French deserved to win this game until the 110th minute when their captain lost his cool. Unable to solve the Italian defense, Zidane vented his frustration by morphing into a streetfighter and headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi. Moments earlier, Zidane had screamed in anger when Buffon turned away his header (below at right), but, at that point, his emotions appeared to be under control.

Zidane hadn't played particularly well all game. In the first half, he looked almost like a fish on a line, flopping about the pitch in search of a call for a spot kick. The savvy veteran, though, did manage to leave his mark on the game, chipping home a PK in the eighth minute. Few would have tried such a cheeky style of shot against perhaps the world's best goalkeeper and on the world's biggest stage.


With the help of Ribery and Malouda, Zidane had France in full control throughout the second half and overtime sessions. Though a go-ahead goal had not come by the time he was ejected, France had created a number of quality chances while Italy appeared content to sit back and play for a shootout. The French had more energy than the Italians, their touches were purposeful and they were swithching the field with ease. Who knows what kind of chances the French would have found had Zidane remained in the game? Once the red card came out of the referee's pocket, though, the French were forced to play as defensively as the Italians.

Give the Italians credit, they kept their shape throughout the game and withstood the French attack. More importantly, though, the champions kept their heads.

Postscript: Who's the luckiest guy in France? That'd be David Trezeguet, the only Frenchman to miss a PK in the shootout. Something tells me his miss might be overshadowed by Zidane's WWE takedown.