The media wanted the story and FIFA needed the story.
A fairytale ending written by one of game’s giant talents, Zinedine Zidane, in his last game, the World Cup final
That story would make the World Cup more memorable, make FIFA boss Sepp Blatter look like the impresario of the greatest show on earth, and also promote their anti-racism message.
Many millions of people outside Italy wanted that fairytale to unfold and give us all a happy ending.
FIFA, their sponsors, and the media, all needed the Zidane story because the other scenarios had not worked out. Ronaldinho’s Brazil had flopped, Big Phil Scolari’s Portugal had beaten England but could not beat France, Spain’s Fernando Torres had burned brightly in a team that peaked too soon, Argentina had blown it against Jurgen Klinsmann’s energetic new Germany, who had finished a creditable third, and England’s resigning captain David Beckham had sobbed his way into the history books.
So it came to pass that in his last match, a bald 34-year old was asked to show us that could win the World Cup again and bow out as nobody had ever bowed out before, on the biggest stage in sport.
The tournament, and the media, had placed a colossal burden on Zidane, whose country had asked him to come out of international retirement last year, and place himself in the firing line again. On top of captaining France in their biggest game for six years, and leading them to victory against the excellent Italians, the world’s TV stations and newspapers required him to be, yet again, the finest footballer in the biggest match.
Ronaldinho had failed, Figo had failed, Ballack had failed, and Beckham had failed, so Zidane had to succeed.
That pressure created a UXB. As a tense France-Italy stalemate rolled on into the second half, and on into extra time, Zidane, tired and feeling the pain of his injured shoulder, became an unexploded bomb, and Marco Materazzi knew how to detonate him with a vile act of gamesmanship.
Incredibly, on the morning after billions had seen Zidane sent off in the World Cup final, FIFA gave him the award for best player in the tournament, thereby completing a hat-trick of own-goals, their third golden balls-up in a row.
FIFA rarely get this award right because it is made by journalists whose votes are collected at half-time.In 1998 they gave the Golden Ball to Ronaldo after he had played like a zombie, when they should have given it to Zidane, who had scores two goals in the final. Having learned nothing from that bungle, in 2002 FIFA gave the next one to German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn after he made a crucial mistake in the final against Brazil.
Maybe Blatter, who seems to think sport is showbusiness, reckoned this was Zizou’s overdue Oscar. He didn’t get Best Actor in 1998, so let’s give him one for Lifetime Achievement in 2006. But the president bungled it again in Berlin, just as they often do in Los Angeles.
FIFA disciplinary committee are investigating the incident and the Golden Ball will probably be re-awarded to Fabio Cannavaro, the winning captain, who was only a few dozen votes behind in second place.
As for Zidane, he refused to repeat Materazzi’s insult on French television, saying only that it referred to his mother and his sister. He said he was provoked by “very hard words, repeated several times.â€
“My act is not forgivable,” hesaid. “But they must also punish the true guilty party, and the guilty party is the one who provokes.”
Zizou has apologised to the world’s children. For me, that’s enough.
FIFA have at last called Materazzi to account. It’s taken Blatter four days ! Four days to realise that he had to do something about the disgusting gamesmanship of a thug.
Materazzi will face a FIFA disciplinary hearing in Zurich today.