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The world at their feet
The Mona Lisa is displayed in the Louvre in France. But as the Azzurri reminded us again, it was the work of an Italian.
When in World Cup Germany, do as the Romans do: play as a team, keep a cool head and win the Fifa World Cup trophy for the fourth time. When Italian fullback Fabio Grosso sent the ball into the back of the net, it was a confirmation that the side with the best team geist — team spirit — had won the championship. In a way, that was what the month-long World Cup was about: the superiority of the 11-member unit over individual stars. While the likes of Ronaldinho and Nedved and Rooney fell by the wayside, teams such as Argentina, Germany and, of course, Italy surged ahead.
France was the lone curio. It started the way it had ended the last World Cup — in tatters, barely holding on to scrape through to the knock-out phase of the championship. Once in, it was the resurrected Zinedine Zidane who pushed Les Bleus onward. But it was the other country in blue that showed that, at this highest level of football, one-manship comes in the way of one-upmanship. The 2006 World Cup may have seen a bit too many coloured cards popping out of the referee’s pocket, but on display was football that was overwhelmingly entertaining and, at times, breathtaking. It also signalled the walking into the sunset of several footballing greats: Luis Figo, Oliver Kahn and, of course, Zidane. At the risk of sounding contrarian, one must roll one’s eyes at the cries of ‘shame’ from the righteous, who have been appalled and disappointed by Zidane’s ‘last gesture’ on the World Cup arena. Sure, a headbutt into Marco Materazzi’s chest wasn’t the best thing the French captain has done in his World Cup career and a send-off was justified. But it also showed that behind the Fifa pin-up boy, there was a man who lost his nerve in a frustrating bid to win.
The Mona Lisa is displayed in the Louvre in France. But as the Azzurri reminded us again, it was the work of an Italian. As was the masterstroke that was delivered in Berlin on Sunday.
