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dan jendela pun berbisik...
"Life is not about what you've gained, but what you've done" - Wong Ka Kui (1962 - 1993)
"I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it" - The Friends of Voltaire, 1906
"A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste" - Anonymous
"If you read, you will judge" - Kurt Cobain
last modified Mar 17, 2005 at 0:17
To the rest of the football fans around the world - THE BETTER TEAM WON THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON JULY 9TH 2006. THE GLI AZZURRI WON IT FAIR AND SQUARE AND THEY PLAYED WITHOUT FEAR AND WITH DETERMINATION. ITALY IS THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD CUP 2006. FORZA AZZURRI PER SEMPRE.
p/s: thanks for all the sms that came in before, during and after the games from friends, acquaintances, family and "enemies" alike. when your team won it's worth skipping work on monday and all the record-breaking 7 times late coming to work.
I've waited 16 years to see Italy lift the Cup of Life. Sometimes, i do wonder why i was willing to endure the pain and tears for a country that i have never even set foot in. it became more clear to me when i watched the italy vs chezh rep at bangsar village together with the italian expatriates. when materazzi (the matrix) and pippo scored the goals against chezh rep, i was on my feet cheering for the squad but at the same times i felt embarassed and self-concious. why was i supporting a foreign country? i've never felt like that before maybe because i've never watched any of the Azzurri games in public. it was always a private affair between me and my family and friends. i felt macam derhaka pulak.
anyway, I guess i'm entitled to this feeling of euphoria or even to jump with joy or scream my heart out to celebrate the azzurri's 4th win for i've been supporting them since 1990. I am glad that this Italian team with a combination of older and younger generation have succeeded in doing what the previous golden generation failed to do which is winnning the world cup. Perhaps the 4th win could be dedicated to Baresi, Baggio, Toto Schilachi, Albertini, Donadoni, Costacurta, Zola, Pesotto and especially Maldini.
Early in the group phase, i've predicted that Grosso has the potential to go far and i didnt realise how right i was when he turn out to be the hero of the azzurri. at 28, he is a late bloomer but like the wise man said, better late than never. the disappointed australian fans may have called him cheater but to me Grosso was one of the tournament's biggest revelations. IMHO. he has the quality and mentally strong to play in big tournaments.
For years i've been championing the defenders more than the strikers and here in Germany, my dream has finally come true. Finally, all the great defenders got the recognition they deserved. Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Matterazzi and Grosso of Italy, Metzelder and Lahm of Germany, Neill of Australia, Sorin of Argentina and thuram and gallas of the les bleus. These are all great defenders.
However, the so called great sports journalist from all around the world still voted zidane for the golden award simply because he is the living legend. yes, i've never doubted zidane's skill and i admired his talent but in this WC, apart from a few games, he wasnt that impressive and his two goals were from penalties unlike Cannavaro who had been consistently great throughout the whole month of world cup. cannavaro had been the rock at the heart of the italian defense. in fact, he had to cover for nesta when the latter was injured. i thought he was excellent in covering the left and right side of the defense too when zambrotta and grosso were slow to arrive even though some might argued that cannavaro look gila kuasa when he did that which i didnt agree of course. look at all the interceptions he made when henry was in the attacking "mood". the sliding tackles and the clearances either by foot or head were all brilliantly and confidently executed.
i love cannavaro but i wish people from all around the world too could get the chance to see how great nesta is as a central defender along with canna. i guess World Cup is a jinx to a player by the name of Alessandro Nesta because every four years he would get injured during World Cup. however, i was glad to spot a few new talents in the italians defense like bazargli and grosso. but i agreed with what the stranger (who sat beside me during the world cup final match at gazebo) said about canna and nesta. he said nesta and canna had set the standards too high for the younger generation to follow. well said, stranger, well said. funny, we sat side by side, scream together, cried together and celebrate the win together throughout the whole game without knowing each other's name.
who would have thought that Italy would meet france in the final and went on to lift the cup for the fourth time? france was never my favourite team especially when they had snatched the victory from the azzurri in the dying minutes in euro 2000. i have never recovered from that lost really and i am sure all the gli azzurri fans from all around the world were traumatised by that final episode in the euro 2000, never mind the quarter final in 98. my heart was pounding like crazy as the game got nearer which was why i decided to join the rest of the azzurri fans in gazebo for fear that i'm going to have a heart attack or something, so might as well, having it in public so that there were people there to help call the ambulance or something. hahaha...
i think even the most cynical football fans could not deny that the gli azzurri deserved the victory in both semi-final and the finale. superior individual techniques of pirlo and grosso and the unselfishness of gilardino in the semi-final booked the italians into their (???) final, not to mention the rest of the players especially the italians back four. but let's just talk about the finale.
the first half of the game was totally dominated by the azzurri. apart from the dubious penalty, the italians managed to go forward more convincingly and defended solidly at the back. we won hands down in the midfield area with the help of Gattuso, pirlo and totti. but to give the french credits, they too have formidable defenders like thuram and gallas and defensive midfielder like makelele which made it difficult for italy to score a goal.
pirlo had once again proven why he is considered as one of the best midfielders in the world. it was his vision and superb passes that helped the other players times and times again to score. he too had scored a superb goal. pity that he couldnt show his dead-ball skill too. gattuso was an inspiration to his teammates. My God! his lack of skill was paid off with fierce determination and playing through his strength. he has tirelessly covered for pirlo so that the latter could have more freedom to launch the attack from the azzurri's half line. pirlo the definite trequartista.
grosso and zambrotta ruled down the line on both flanks. how delightful to watch these two players running up and down to defend and counter in every game. it was definitely the zambrotta we knew in euro 2000.
but the header by materrazi was one hell of a goal which resulted from the ever perfect cross by andrea pirlo. the goal gave me hope, really. the italians knEw how to manage the tempo to ward off the attacks from zidane and co. in the second half, i got a bit worried because les bleus had changed their tactic and it was like magic when they suddenly created chances after chances and stretching the italians defenders to their limits.
at that time, i was confused already. by the time zidane left the field at extra times i still didnt understand the italians' strategy. i mean when you had the advantage, the forwards should have "spread the field" & get width in an effort to find open spaces to move the ball & to "stretch" the french defense but it was the other way around. i could see that cannavaro was stretch to his limit by the constant attacks. zidane and henry almost got through but of course the last great defender in the shape of gianluigi buffon managed to block the attempts. IMHO, that's why, the team needed nesta badly in the centre because he can read the game well unlike materazzi.
i think in the end, lippi had gambled wrongly by substituting totti too early and bringing in iaquinta and de rossi who hasnt played in four straight games. he could have brought in gilardino who is far more creative in assisting and creating goal. alex del piero as usual wasnt much of a help. so, in the end, i believed that the les bleus and azzurri both had 50-50 chance to win the world cup.
i cant believe that the azzurri got five perfect penalties. oh my God! i couldnt believe my eyes. you know, i think justice had been done that day when trezeguet lost the penalty because he was the same culprit who scored the late goal to prevent italy from winning the euro 2000. now the french supporters would know how we felt six years ago.
and did you know why i was so confident that the gli azzurri would win in the final? well, because in the semi-final, the italians managed to control the tempo of the game. they dominated the germans on a pitch in a stadium dominated by the german fans. it must have been very intimidating but the azzurri must have nerves of steel.
in the end, cannavaro did not win the fifa golden award, zidane did. but you know what, If zidane is the true definition of greatness in attacking, well cannavaro is the true definition of greatness in Defending. Well-times Clean Tackles, Calm and Collected, totally unruffled by the barrage of attacks from the ghanaians, chezhs, americans, aussies, ukranians, germans and french.
and as for zidane, what a way to end your career. the greatest header of your career was aimed towards materazzi's chest and not the italians' goal. i've never respected materazzi and never will even though he scored three goals to help the italians won the World Cup. he was a dirty player and zidane and the rest of the serie A fans already knew that. i didnt like what materazzi did to zidane but i hate zidane's reaction towards materazzi more. why did you go and layan that crazy kid, i didnt know. if he wanted to go down to the same level as materazzi, just insult him back, you didnt have to head-butt the guy in front of billions of people. stupido! and for that moment of insanity, you've probably lost the respect of lots of people. but for serie A fans who have followed your career during your juventus days, well, we knew your secret. you wasnt always the angel on the pitch that many people thought you were. well, now the rest of the world knew the true zidane. i guess that was poetic justice for all the sins that you've done throughout your career. dont worry materazzi would probably got his someday too. that's how life works! what goes around comes around.
to the rest of the foot
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