...Incroyable mais vrai: Zizu's gift to France

I had promised myself to not post anything about the Fifa World Cup 2006 taking place in Germany until it was done with. But I think there is a point I want to make here, so to hell with my promise.

Nobody and I mean everyone including the coaches of the team didn't believe that France could make it to the World Cup finals this year. France once again has proved the old adage that the soccer ball is round and therefore can roll eitherway during the 90 minutes on the pitch and that Fifa rankings don't determine who wins and what not.

France's expedition started with a strained tie against Swtizerland and Korea. They seemed to have gained some new wind after they trashed Togo thereby grabbing a ticket out of their group. They then went on to fly past powerhouses, Spain, Brazil and Portugal to earn a spot in the finals this Sunday in Berlin.

This only after France had performed its worst ever since winning the World Cup in 1998 when they hosted. They hadn't even scored a goal until their fourth world cup game against Korea. France would not be at the finals were it not for one 35 year old man, who plans to retire from international and club soccer after the World Cup in the Germany. His name: Zinedine Zidane (Zizu for short)!

Although his performance holds the key to France's play, the French national team is full of superstars whose performances thus far have been at best average. But not Zizu! He has for the most part been an integral part of the ball flow, with his neat one-two touches and his ability to magnet the ball to his boots. Unlike Ronaldhino, Zizu is the game regulator. He slows down the game when his teammates need to catch their breadth and picks up the pace when Malouda, Henry and Viera are ready to run. What a soccer great!

I know you must be wondering whether I will mention Brazil! Oh yeah, I was going to get there but since you are thinking about it, step into my office. Brazil are still considered soccer gods albeit, their lack lustre performances throughout the competition. I personally didn't think Brazil would go anywhere this year but you always have to be alert when Brazil is playing. For the most part of the competition, the Samba boys never seemed to get their rhythm together. Ronaldhino barely completed a pass, Robinho didn't see enough playing time, Kaka laboriously worked the outside left to no avail, Ze Roberto was plain lost in the field of play, and Ronaldo... Oh, wonder boy Ronaldo! Although he broke the World Cup leading scorer record, his performance was outfitted by his weight gain and lethargic pace being all over the headlines.

That said, Italy was my favorite from the beginning and I would love for them to win since I have some money riding on them. But imagine what joy it would be for Zizu to retire after winning the cup for his country. It would be a good thing I guess but I am not willing to lose any money. Va Squadra Azura Va!