Football WC: France Loves Materazzi After All

[porcy62]

France Loves Materazzi After All

France Football magazine shelves World Cup controversy and lists five reasons for making up with the Italian footballer.

PARIS – A few days ago, it defended Golden Ball winner, Fabio Cannavaro. Today, it is inviting French fans to make their peace with Marco Materazzi. In its last two issues, the influential France Football magazine, organiser of the Golden Ball award, has undertaken a far from easy task in a country that has yet to digest the Berlin World Cup Final.

In the edition published last Friday, the bi-weekly carried an editorial under the headline “Cannavaro, Peace and Love” dedicated to all those – including a number of French managers – who cried scandal at the trophy going to the Azzurri captain. After the FIFA verdict that crowned Cannavaro the best player in the world, France Football wrote “Managers and journalists together, same battle, same verdict, same Cannavaro”.

In the issue currently on the newsstands, France Football invites French readers to “make their peace” with Materazzi, the “provocateur” who needled Zidane into losing his rag in Berlin.“In this Christmas period”, says the magazine, “France Football says that you can love the great Marco”. Five reasons are cited:“He had an outstanding World Cup”; “He’s technically very good”; “He has the gift of being frank”; “He’s a man with a heart”; and “He loves France”.Accompanying the article is a photo of the goal scored by the Italian defender with a splendid overhead kick during the Inter Milan-Messina game on 17 December.“Holder of the record for Serie A goals scored by a defender in one season (12 with Perugia in 2000-2001), Materazzi is capable of displaying great skill, as he did with his acrobatic scissors kick against Messina, or his own goal from forty metres against Empoli last spring”.

France Football devotes two pages to the Zidane-Materazzi affair, with a photo of the notorious head butt and a caption for the former captain of the Bleus. “It was his last second – the second too many – that marked 2006 and will be remembered for the next twenty years. But it was also the one that all those who admire Zinedine Zidane, and all those who love football, never wanted to see, or comment on, or attempt to explain”. Zidane refuses to talk about the episode.Materazzi immediately offered to make up but then said he was no longer willing to do so, in view of the Frenchman’s attitude.He even denied that he would go to Zurich to meet Zidane and make it up with him at the FIFA World Player ceremony. “I’ve got three kids”, said Materazzi the day before, “and tomorrow is their day.I prefer to be with them”.

English translation by Giles Watson

www.watson.it

http://www.corriere.it/english/articoli/20...materazzi.shtml

[brownie]

Great players all!

But...

...that Zidane-Materazzi WC confrontation was ridiculous! Zidane was just plain stupid!

Selecting Cannavarro as best player in the world was ridiculous too! But not stupid!

Thierry Henry should have gotten the title! He has been much more creative than Cannavarro all year long.

[porcy62]

Great players all!

But...

...that Zidane-Materazzi WC confrontation was ridiculous! Zidane was just plain stupid!

Selecting Cannavarro as best player in the world was ridiculous too! But not stupid!

Thierry Henry should have gotten the title! He has been much more creative than Cannavarro all year long.

I am not so 'into' football to judge the 'the best player in the world', actually I just followed the WC. Creativity is hardly recognize in a defender, or goalkeeper, that's why all the prizes usually go someone's else. And in the year of WC, you have to do a great championship in order to get the prize. Look at Ronaldinho, he missed the chance at WC.

IMHO Buffon should have had the prize, for what he did during the whole year and at WC.

[brownie]

No problem with Buffon. His WC performance was outstanding!

[porcy62]

No problem with Buffon. His WC performance was outstanding!

Here there is another opinion:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writ...taly/index.html

As someone wrote down: If you do not see beauty in defense, you cannot understand the essence of the Italian game.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/10/sports/wcwrap.php

Edited December 28, 2006 by porcy62

[brownie]

Materazzi headbutted again!

From AFP:

MATERAZZI PLEADS INNOCENCE AFTER DELVECCHIO HEADBUTT

Inter Milan's Marco Materazzi claims he did not provoke Gennaro Delvecchio before being headbutted by the Sampdoria midfielder in Sunday's fractious Serie A match.

Inter maintained their 11-point lead at the top of the table and extended their record run of consecutive league wins to 14 matches with a 2-0 victory in Genoa.

But the game swung heavily in Inter's favour in the seventh minute when Delvecchio was sent off for headbutting Materazzi squarely on the chin.

Materazzi was the man infamously butted in the chest by Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final last year, but on that occassion he admitted to winding up the French superstar.

This time, however, Materazzi, who reacted angrily when Delvecchio caught Inter keeper Julio Cesar with a late challenge, inisisted he did nothing wrong.

"My reaction was instinctive and all I wanted to do was protect my keeper," said the 33-year-old who lay on the ground as Delvecchio was sent off.

"I went over to say to him 'What do you think you're doing'?. He then pushed me and I didn't go down. Then he headbutted me and I fell to the ground. He hurt my lip.

"I admit it when I make a mistake, but on this occasion I didn't do anything wrong."

Sampdoria coach Walter Novellino refused to make excuses for Delvecchio's assault.

"A professional player cannot do such a thing and I won't try to defend it," he said. "Even if there was provocation his actions cannot be justified."

The headbutt incident

[sal]

Here's the incident as it happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSLWMmiya9M

[porcy62]

If he will follow this way he will be the next Franch Football Golden Butthead