BRIAN GLANVILLE:TIME RUNNING OUT?

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Had time caught up with a French team which, at an average age of 30, surpassed itself with its dazzling exhibitions against Spain and Brazil?

Had it, in the image of Zizou Zidane, so magisterial in both those games, finally and explicably run out of steam? That was surely the $64,000 question before the World Cup Final. The second coming of Zizou, if one may call it such, was surely one of the salient stories of the competition. He was quite magisterial in those two matches, continually finding himself time and space as only a great player can, coolly and cleverly turning past opponents, when a lesser player would have laid the ball off, scoring a magnificent solo goal against the Spaniards. And, when it came to potting that penalty which would be decisive in the match against Portugal, doing so with equal aplomb.

On the bench, the French manager, Raymond Domenech, cut a mildly comic figure, star if you like of a silent movie, with his repertoire of grimaces and gestures, yet after being assailed with criticism and even contempt, there he was with his team in the Final. And after all, even Aime Jacquet, his predecessor, who actually won the World Cup in 1998, was to his bitter resentment chivvied by L’Equipe for years before. Domenech surely deserved applause for rising above his personal antipathy with Zidane, boldly restoring him o the team after suspension and two poor performances, when it seemed to make more sense to keep David Trezeguet in the side to work alongside his old Monaco team mate Thierry Henry. And it was bold of him, too, to eschew the claims of the lively Ludovic Giuly in favour at the last moment of little 22-year-old Franck Ribery, who proved such a fast and perfect foil to Zizou.

Ribery indeed was one of the very surprisingly few “revelations” in a World Cup in which established players predominated. The ebullient Argentine – via Barcelona – teenaged winger Lionel Messi was beyond doubt one of the few, and shame on a previously astute but now departed team manager of Jose Pekerman in not sending him on against Germany; a error for which his team arguably and heavily paid.


I would also pick out the overlapping right footed German left back, 22-year-old Phillip Lahm of Bayern Munich, scorer of an impressive goal in his team’s uneasy victory over Costa Rica in their first game. Perhaps there are claims for Italy’s Inequitable, no youngster, it is true, but ultimately such an effective substitute – remember how he strolled past Ghana’s big Kuffour to score the second Italian goal in that game? – despite the scepticism in some quarters, after Iaquinta had had a poor season with Udinese, Lippi’s choice has proved valid.

While Fabio Cannavaro, a resilient success, and Andrei Shevchenko were standing on the pitch before the Italy-Ukraine game, mouthing those pious banalities about opposing racism, who should be standing at the end of the Ukrainian line but their former star player and now manager, Oleg Blokhin. The very man who, as recently emphasised and deplored in World Soccer, had made a vicious, illogical attack on the black players coming into East European soccer. What has FIFA done about him? When will genuinely draconian punishments be inflicted on those European club and countries where it is de rigueur to abuse black players? And what of the Spain manager, Luis Aragones, he, too, prominently in Germany, so lightly punished for so outrageously referring to the impeccably fluent and charming Thierry Henry as “that black shit”? To hell with the silly slogans and irrelevant mouthings; if FIFA have the courage of their convictions, they will act firmly and forcefully. Blokhin, present at the reading of that message! Has nobody at FIFA the slightest sense of irony?

Real Madrid’s new president wants to keep David Beckham, that ineluctably one track pony, for ever and ever. Yet I wonder whether Fabio Capello, returning to the scene of his former success, will be quite as indulgent? Still, Real do need to sell their shirts.

http://www.worldsoccer.com/glanville/