As a FIFA World Cup newbie and soccer fandom outsider, I was more or less neutral for most of this World Cup. Personally, I’m in the habit of supporting underdogs but I also have a weakness for the story of sports as much as the games. In today’s final I didn’t know which side could be thought the underdog, and I really like the storyline of this being Zinedine Zidane’s final game. On top of that, I didn’t know the players on the Italian side that well. The conclusion of my meandering thoughts is that I cheered on Les Bleus during the game, but was not at all disappointed to see the Azzuri win.
I know there’s a lot of debate about how exactly to decide these matches when a clear winner does not arise from regulation time. I’m not up to speed on the details of that debate, but it occured to me while watching the penalty shoot out that it might be more interesting to have a different challenge to decide the winner. It would be fun to see something the highlighted some of the other skills of the game, like maybe a two on two challenge. In any case, I do still like the penalty shootout but I understand why some folks do not.
In short, it was a great game to watch with some very exciting play from both sides. And, although Zidane left the game ignomineously he did contribute to the Germany 2006 final highlight reel before his red card moment of madness. In the end, it was a great game to my inexpert eyes and a joy to watch. I’m very much looking forward to South Africa 2010.