Italy Win World Cup

What a way to celebrate your 100th cap.

Fabio Cannavaro.













Tonight we saw one team lay its penalty ghost to rest and one of football's all-time greats end his career in surreal fashion. Italy won their fourth World Cup against a backdrop of booing and jeering from the French supporters and were presented the trophy in what could only be described as scenes of organised chaos. It was a strangely un-German way to finish what has been a superbly organised competition, even if it was one short of either an outstanding team or any outstanding player.

It's a strange feeling watching one of your footballing heroes disintegrate in front of your eyes. Funnily enough I did mention Zinedine Zidane's sending off against Saudi Arabia in 1998 in an earlier post today but never in my strangest dreams did I imagine something happening the way it did tonight.

Italy had the best of the first half of normal time, recovering from the shock of an early penalty to equalise through Marco Materazzi and for a long period in that first half they were the better side.



















Materazzi celebrates his equaliser.

After the break France were the more dominant but neither side looked like scoring a second and the match went into extra time. Whatever Matterazi did, a nipple twist and some verbals seems the most likely, what on earth was Zidane thinking of? You've seen the television pictures but to turn round take two paces and then head butt somebody in the chest with such force was unbelievable. He had earlier joined Vava, Pele and Paul Breitner on the short list of players who have scored in more than one World Cup Final but he will be remembered for the wrong reason long after he is remembered for the right ones.



















Any feeling of empathy with France went out of the window in that moment, it's a pity the pictures weren't shown in the ground because it might have relieved some of the tension and animosity towards the Italian side from the French supporters and the French manager. In the end it came down to penalties and Italy finally won a penalty shoot out, it seems strange to think that this time tomorrow most of the Italian squad could be playing for a Serie C side when the results of the investigation into match fixing are announced.

For tonight Berlin belongs to Marcello Lippi and his players who kept their long unbeaten run going when it counted most.