On picking Italy

(My response to an email from a friend who thinks that my picking Italy is to win today is a celebration of catenaccio, Machiavelli and an attack on the beautiful game. My "friend" lives in France.)

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My favourite quote of the tournament and perhaps one of my favourite quotes of the tournament is from the fountainbleu boy. You've likely read it. Says our dear little Lillian on reaching the World Cup Final:

"I'm 34 and I feel like the 10-year-old boy who watched the World Cup and found it...Beautiful." (BBC)

When I asked "Who are you picking?", I was looking at it strictly in objective terms. Which is why I also added that "I like the French story".

The reason that one could objectively pick the Italians is that in their last match against Portugal I thought France really slowed down, looked tired and made mistakes as the game drew to a close.

Having said this, all that France needs in a one-off championship is for Zidane to have a great game, Henry to get free for a goal or two and Thurham and co to shut the door and voila...they will be champions. Given their age, I would not pick this France team over the Italian team over the course of a season. But in a one-off, it is certainly possible that they could win.

Two of my favourite teams and countries have made it to the finals and I couldn't be happier. In fact, I must admit that the best story of all would be to see Zidane cap off a career by hoisting the World Cup. According to Italian manager Marcello Lippi Zidane has been the best player in the world over the last twenty years. Huge praise from a great coach and I agree.


I also agree about the French style. It is open and in fact the French League is one of my favourite leagues for this reason.

But the Italians have not really been using "catenaccio" for a long time now. They used to play much more oppressive and cynical football. In fact it was the Italians combined with the butchering and diving Argentinians who contributed to my separation from the game around the 1990 World Cup. I think the game and the Italian style has actually changed since that low point in world soccer.

The Italians still prize defending mind you. They still defend well as a team still and 1v1 they are so well trained. Cannavarro, Thuram's partner at Juventus, is an example of the best kind of Italian defender.

I think where you could accuse the Italians of Machiavellianism in this tournament is the penalty against Australia. The problem I had with the call was not that it was a dive but that an experienced referee could not understand that Grosso after a long run went into that box with the "intent" to be fouled. Australia did not deserve to lose that way.

But there are more positives than negatives about the Italian style in this tournament for me. Lippi masterfully used three attacking subs in their win over the Germans, outwitting who I thought was a very refreshing boss in this tournament: Klinsman.

And my highlight of the tournament has to be a moment of Italian beauty: Pirlo's pass. I have been mistakingly calling it Pirlo's goal from time to time. His patient, perfectly weighted, no-look pass for a Grosso one-timer to finish the Germans was absolutley sublime. It was as if Zidane himself had created it...

I have always been a guardian of skill and beauty--beauty having a variety of interpretations and being "in the eye of the beholder" of course. I have for instance been a big fan of Henry from the beginning and fully understand his outburst in May about being forced to dive. It was interesting to see him avenge his Champions League manhandling by Barcelona by making a meal out of another rash Puyol challenge in the World Cup. It was a moment in time and must be considered in a particular context.

But I don't think that Henry will ever bring himself to fully use diving as a tactic the way that Crisitano (I refuse to call him Ronaldo) and the Portugese did.

Like most football purists, I have come to hate Cristiano--and remember I like skill players.
Talk about cynical football. The portugese were the worst for that. They not only dove but butchered and oppressed as well.

While I think that Eriksson made a mistake in playing Rooney as a lone front man, I can understand why he lashed out at Carvalho who has to be one of the diriest, cheating defenders in the world.

As a tough a guy as Rooney is, in my mind he is in fact a victim of those who try oppress the beautiful game. In that game, his skill and talent was denied by not only his own manager but also by a Portugese team which went into the game with the "intent" to have him sent off.
There was some beautiful justice later in the France-Portugal game though when Carvalho was totally exposed by Henry and it was plain to the world and the referee that a penalty should be called and they should be dismissed from the tournament.

So, yes, I've picked Italy for today but in my heart all I want to see is a beautiful game...