So, we got a new World Cup winner now. Italy is now officially the winner of the 18th World Cup in Germany. Despite all the crisis back in their country over the match-fixing scandals in their country's top football league which came in the midst of Italy's campaign in Germany, I guess that became the rally point for the squad since.
People can triumph over adversaries.
Like four years back, back then who will have thought Brazil and the now-host Germany will face each other in the final? Maybe what my father had said back then was true. Unfancied teams will always be in the final showdown. Four years ago, Brazil was not the favourites. And maybe I need to confess something which I never did back then.
I had actually secretly wanted Germany to win back then, four years ago. There, I said it. Back then, many of those on the German squad's names are rather vague to me till this World Cup happens. Actually some of them are not part of the squad then, and Kilnsmann was not at the helm. I remembered well it was (coincidentally, part of the 1990 winning team with Klinsmann back then too) Rudi Voller. Aha. I even remembered well the day after the match it was a school day and some of my classmates were talking about what happened during the match. I just listened. The near-misses Germany has four years back were still very vivid in my head and it was one of those things my classmates talked about then. It's always one of those funny things.
Guess maybe all these while, I always seemed to have this 'supporting-the-underdog' mentality. But when it is concerning the ones I am rooting for, that is not part of the picture. How my heart literally crashed when Australia was out in the round-of-16 after a dubious penalty, how I thought D-Day had arrived when Germany is just that close to the final in Berlin. Kind of interestingly enough, I never felt as so sad as four years back when England was exited from the World Cup. Four years ago, I thought tears almost came out of my eyes. Four years on, it's 'reserved' for Germany.
Now I had already looked into the future. South Africa 2010. I can hear the African beats come rolling now! Oh well, who knows which squad will stunned the world...maybe in a good or bad way, four years from now? We had saw how host nation Germany can really play some fantastic football and the country can really enjoy themselves at the same time. I guess in the years to come, I'm going to cheer (literally) my head off as well when Germany comes along, other than England. Yes.
Now back to the final. I had actually wondered if I should sleep through the match but then I woke up after my father had said that the match had started. My dad and I at first wondered if France really took an early lead and it did. We saw the replay. Then Italy bounced back. I so knew this will happen. I will spare all the little things. And before extra-time came, my father was musing whether France can hold on because of the age of some of the players. I replied 'Non, non, non' back. 'Non' is 'no' in French. Those past school stories which I had read had taught me indirectly because I had seen that term many a times. The moment I saw the replay of what caused the France captain Zidane to be shown to the door (apparently someone from the Italy side had provoked him and he headbutted in return), I knew it's almost over for the Les Bleus even before the penalty shootouts came on. He had said before that this World Cup will be his swansong and ending a career on such a note...what is really going on? The penalty shootout came on and I got the sinking feeling already. I was right in the end.
I was listening to the BBC World Service radio (I only went to sleep again minutes after 6am because I was reading the ST's report on the 3rd-place playoff on its today's edition) and watching CNN and BBC World on cable at the same time. I wanted to try at least try to sink in on what really happened. In a way or another, it's the 2012 Olympics bid all over again for France. One year ago back here in Singapore, Paris looked like clear winners but London snatched it away in the last minute. One year on, France met Italy in the final of the World Cup in Germany's capital Berlin and when it looks like the Les Bleus got the advantage, Italy took it away from them in the end. Winning on home soil eight years back is what France can only hold on for now.
Guess my spaghetti won over my baguette. Ha ha ha. And it's funny again if I want to admit which of the two I like more. Spaghetti. Even I once declared spaghetti is one of my most favourite foods. Oops. But then actually I like the French culture a bit more than the Italy side. Excuse me, I do like Italy's culture scene as well...but then how about now? I need to think, for now. Maybe sometimes, letting the heart to rule the head is not the way out.
Dad had won the bet over Mother on who will lift the trophy anyhow. For the case of my mother, she had already started to notice about Zidane eight years ago and my father was surprised and told her that he is the captain of the French squad. Days ago I finally asked why she seemed to be at times want to gush that Zidane is her idol on the pitch. The mystery which started eight years ago had finally being answered. And it's when I learnt that women even of my mother's age can gush over football players. Ha, just when people always say that girls suddenly became so interested in football only in every four years. I got a football-mad father to begin with, and I don't need that.
Now, so many things had been raised after the final. Italy's football match-fixing scandals and the fate of some its players especially those who are now part of the winning squad...why Zidane lost his cool on his final appearance on international football...the soon-to-be serious consequences of the French supporters in Paris because they had hoped they will be second time lucky...the list goes on.
Anyhow, I shared the same sentiments with my father over how Germany had performed as being the host nation after the 3rd-place playoff. It's a big job well done and I cannot say how much they had shown the world a very different side of them from what we always thought of them. I feel like crying with happy tears, now I think about it. I remembered the time Dad talked about when he was in Hamburg, once having his flight in transit at Frankfurt, what was one of the silliest things he and his friends did to the vending machine when wanting to get drinks (a case of using our local coin because he explained that 1 Mark coin has almost the same size of the 20-cent coin back then in his time when he's in Hamburg and the vending machine never 'noticed' it; the German Mark was once the national currency till the euro thing came in)...I am starting to think that my list of where to travel has grown. Next time, I can say that wanting to travel to Germany is not solely because of what I had learnt in my History classes. It's more than that now after the World Cup has ended.
I was smiling as I was reading today's edition of ST (the final match highlights, they will have a late edition, from what I understand) before heading to bed (minutes after 6am) and waking up again and I mentioned earlier it was about the 3rd-place playoff highlights and the journey Germany's national coach Klinsmann had took since he took over the helm. From a zero to hero, the nation's darling. It fits the man so well. And now the only thing the entire country is waiting for his reply on whether he will continue as the national coach because his contract actually expires after this World Cup...I had found out that actually the day after my birthday will be the final day he has to give an answer. I had now became a Germany football fan too...maybe partly thanks to how he transformed the squad from almost no-hopers to almost real winners in the country's eyes. A no-brainer that like many, we all want him to stay on. At least till after Euro 2008.
This is the first time, the winner of the World Cup don't really matter at all to me. It's who is third for this World Cup. I rather years from now, people asking me who is the real winner of the 18th World Cup in Germany 2006...the host nation themselves.
Germany...thanks for the memories!
