Ah Zizou, pour l'amour de dieu!

What a way to go into retirement! Yes, the analysis will probably show that Materazzi, as much as I hate to think it, said something unconscionably awful - most likely racially motivated. It's the ugly side of football - sports generally- but for crissakes, it's hardly new or surprising! It's a well known strategy to provoke and unsettle the opposition. So why would Zidane, in the last 10 minutes of his life as a footballer, do something that could only result in ejection? To go from graceful master of the beautiful game to irrational thug, to send Les Bleus to penalty kicks as you are forced to stalk off the pitch with a red card held aloft - I cannot begin to imagine the shame, rage and désespoir Zizou must be feeling. The sentiment is likely echoing across France tonight.

Me? I was pulling for Italia and applauded Elizondo's call, as there was no other possible outcome for Zizou, as much as I felt sad for him. When the Cup started, I considered supporting France, ancestral ties and all. And certainly, they have excellent players in their midst. But the games I watched were so far from stellar, with their star power and luck carrying them through - malgré their weakness as a cohesive unit - that all I could muster was a profound sense of boredom. I have a soft spot for Portugal, having supported them through Euro 2004 (not to mention that my boyfriend, Christiano, makes the team a visual pleasure as much as a sporting one), and ended up cheering for them in their match up against France. But the game was assommant, and I ended up checking my email more than watching. The Italy v Germany game was the deciding factor in my choice of team to support to the final, despite Italia knocking my beloved Czech team out. I went into the match pulling for Italy and came out the other end 100% sure of my pick for first. The fire and skill of the Italian team, not to mention those gorgeous twin goals by Grosso and Del Piero in the last minute of extra time, left no doubt in my mind about who I would be backing today. To France's credit, they did a pretty good job. For once I actually found them to be playing at their reputed level of skill. But there was sloppiness too, like Diarra's pushing the limits, lipping off and getting a yellow. Up until the headbutt, I was sure that he'd get a red card and bring the team down to 10. And then Zidane walked over to Materazzi, weird smile on his face, and knocked the Azzurri player off his feet. Elizondo didn't actually see the shocking move, but his lineman did. There was no doubt about the outcome: Zizou would end his career outside the stadium, while his teammates soldiered on to their ultimate defeat.

World Cup, Zizou, red card