My Memories of World Cup 2006

The world can have uninterrupted sleep at night now that the month long football spectacle has finally come to an end. How fast one month passes by, from the thrilling 6 goal fest in the opening match to the bland 10-goal (including penalty kicks that is!) final match, football fans and non-fans alike were pulled to the high drama of the almost-daily soap opera made up of hundreds of cast members and acted on vast green stages across the German nation.

Well, here are some of the outstanding memories of 2006 World Cup.

1) Der Klinsmann takes a limited German team to third place, and along the way moulded them into an exciting attacking team. Yes, Germany plays attacking football at last!

2) With no home ground advantage or bias refereeing, the Asian teams do not clear the group stages. African teams do one better but lack the discipline and experience of the bigger teams.

3) The Favourites fall along the way. Just like Argentina and France in 2002, the 2006 favourites – Brazil and England, play below expectations and lose to better teams. What a waste of world class attacking talent,ie Gerrard-Lampard-Cole-Beckham-Rooney (Crouch-optional) or Kaka-Ronaldinho-Ronaldo-Adriano (Robinho-optional).

4) The Argies 6-0 rout of S&M. Oh, pure magic!. Clearly the best attacking display in the World Cup. Sadly, poor coaching decisions cost the team a place in the semis.

5) Man Utd team mates explode. Rooney sees red when he lets his foot do the talking and Ronaldo draws the ire of the English nation when he gets involved with the referee. Sigh, more problems for Fergie to solve before the new season starts.

6) The best players in the world failed to shine. Ronaldinho, Rooney, Henry all fell short of their normal high standards. And the best player in the world cup happens to be a defender (Cannavaro) !

7) Goodbye to a golden generation of players who played their last on football’s grandest stage. We will definitely miss Nedved, Figo, Cafu, Ronaldo, Thuram, and Zidane.

8) Italy, a team made of a world-class goalkeeper, disciplined defenders, seasoned midfielders and inter-changeable strikers, played a form of catenaccio and counter-attack to make a mockery of ‘Joga Bonito’ and to pocket the gold World Cup trophy. Who says you need possession to win a match?

9) My World Cup Best 11 (4-5-1) :
GK – Buffon; Defenders – Cannavaro, Thuram, Zambrotta, Lahm; Midfielders – Riquelme, Gattuso, Ronaldo, Kaka, Rodriguez; Forwards – Klose.

10) And finally, the one image that will remind me forever of the 2006 World Cup – Zidane headbutting Materazzi. That brief bull-fight incident sort of spoilt the final for me.