The finishing line

A month back, as the biggest spectacle of world team sport started, there were a lot of names that were thrown in the ring. All the best names in the world of soccer had descended upon Germany and it was expected to be a spectacle to watch out for. There were Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Czech, Spain, Netherlands, France and Italy.

Brazil, the eternal favorites, claimed that god was Brazilian and that he would not diappoint them in scoring a brace after Japan-Korea.
Argentina were in with a young team and played an attacking game of football that seemed to floor most of the football aficionados of soccer. Maradona claimed that the cup was headed to Buenos Aires.
It was Germany that caught the imagination of all with their un-characteristic football under Klinsmann. It looked like the hosts were preparing themselves for a party at Berlin.
The rest of the pack held a lot of promise, but failed to deliver.
When I talked about the ones, i said it would be Portugal or Italy. Portugal did lose out steam in the semis and eventually went out to Les Bleus...France! To say that they played a lousy game of unfair football would be to be kind to the portuguese.
But it was the other team... the Azzuri that made it all the way. There was a lot of ridicule and contempt for my support to the Italians. But I guess... its he who laughs last, laughs best!
France drew first blood early in the evening with a Zizou penalty. It looked that was to be the only goal for the match. The french, quite keen at holding onto their solitary lead. But the Italians were not going to give up so easily. Marco Materazzi making a name for himself in the 19 minute with an amazing header.The rest of the match did not tickle the scorers. There were a couple of chance to either side. But it seemed that the game was headed for extra time.
The extra time of 30 minutes would not have been eventful. Had it not been for the ruthluss head butt that Zinedine Zidane gave Materazzi. The referee sent off Zidane for this heinous act that was probably committed in a fit of rage. A blemish that will probably end up tarnishing what has otherwise been an amazing career of one of the greatest footballer of our times.
While the Italians did try to make some headway, the threat of penalty kicks was looming ominously.
And that is what it ended up being.
Buffon, Barthez and the rest of the guys would decide who would make a quiet exit though the side door. And who would be crowned champions of the world!
The Italians with their jinx of never having won in a shootout were palpably tense. The French did not look too hopeful themselves.
In the end, it was the team that held its nerves and prayed the most that ended up with the fanfare.
I guess the presence of the Vatican must have helped them in this case. Whatever the case, Trezeguet hit the wood-work. Meanwhile, the Italians converted all that they could. The end result...Italia were crowned as the WORLD CHAMPIONS! All those Brazil, Argentina, Germany and France supporters can take a hike!
Italia! Italia! It is they who cross the finishing line who want it bad! The world clicks him who crosses first. The also-ran remains just that...