To Sum It Up
Too much has been written about the World Cup and that headbutting incident already, so let’s keep this short and sweet. (Or at least as short I know how.)
Best Anti-Hero: Zidane. He might have exited the international football stage in a rather appalling fashion but well, at least one can never accuse him of not using his head. *snicker* Although you can forgive him of almost anything when you watch him with the ball. Just like how easy it was to forgive Eric Cantona when he landed that infamous kung-fu kick on a Crystal Palace fan. We all love a flawed hero. We want to believe that when they’re not losing their cool, they translate all this rage into pure wizardry on the pitch.
Best Villain: Cristiano "Crybaby" Ronaldo. The boy’s got skills, this I gotta give him credit for. If Rooney stings like a bee, then C.Ron floats (past defenders, that is) like a butterfly. Superb dribbling skills and a repertoire of tricks, with enough flair to match Zidane. But too bad he’s just such an annoying prick. I’m not saying that just because he helped to get his MU teammate Rooney get sent off the field during the England-Portugal game, antagonising English media and footie fans alike. But he didn’t exactly endear himself to the German public either during the third-place playoff with the host by repeatedly (and blatantly, I might add) diving. Or as my friend put it, "he was trying to get his PADI license".
Best Celebrity Impersonation: Luiz Felipe Scolari as Gene Hackman. It’s uncanny.
Lady Luck’s Pet: Fabio Grosso, Italy defender. He won a penalty against Australia in the dying moments of the game. He curled in a fabulous goal against Germany in the dying moments of extra time. What the hell was a leftback doing at the right side of the penalty box? And how the hell did he manage to put that sucker past Lehmann? Someone up there must like him.
"Thanks For Pointing That Out, Mr. Commentator" Award: Commentator for the Italy-Germany semi-final match who said during the last few minutes of normal time, "One small lapse in concentration, one mistake now by either team will have them on the first plane home from Germany. Uh, except the Germans, of course, because they, uh, live here. "
So there you have it. A lot say that this World Cup was a largely unexciting, goal-deprived affair with too many dodgy refereeing decisions and too few outstanding players who really made us sit up and take notice. And of course, this was the last World Cup for stars like Beckham, Figo and Zidane. But I saw plenty of promise yet in players like Aaron Lennon, David Ribery, Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres.
We’ll see them in 4 years’ time.
