What a bad World Cup. The referees were horrible as they favored the strong teams. For example, lets look back at Italy vs Australia (1-0). The game is pretty tight and equal till Marco Materrazi of Italy is issued a red card by the referee. A good, honest and fair decision which nevertheless helped Australia gain the upper hand in the match. However, 5 minutes into additional time, as the game seemed destined for over time, Italy’s Gianluca Zambrotta persecutes into the penalty box and “gets tripped” by an Australian defender. Penalty. To the disbelieve of many, Francesco Totti’s spot kick sends the Italians into the quarter finals. Another example of bad referring was Brazil vs Ghana (3-0). Two of three Brazilian goals were evident offsides ignored by the assistant referees. However, the best was left for last. The grande finale, Italy vs France (1-1 ; 5-3 pks). Early on, Florent Malouda of France is tripped up by Marco Materazzi. France takes the 1-0 lead thanks to a masterpiece, one of a kind, justified, penalty by french playmaker and football legend Zinedine Zidane. However, in the 14th minute, the Italians, with their first attack of the game, are issued a corner kick. Marco Materazzi rises up, using Patrick Viera’s shoulders to get more height, and gets in a sloppy header that manages to cross the goal line. After 90 minutes of being dominated, the Italians survive and hold on to overtime. Throughout overtime, they are pummeled by the superior French, but stay alive thanks in part to heroics displayed by their world class goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. David Trezeguet comes in, giving the Italians sickening memories of the Euro 2000 final, where he scored the tremendous golden goal winner with a top corner, left footed volley. As the clock strikes 110 minutes, Zidane assaults Materazzi, that same Materazzi who has practically done everything in this game, with a vicious headbutt to the chest. Materazzi adds a little cinema to the act and Zidane, the voted best player of the tournament, is sent off, in what proved to be the turning point of the match. As a result, the Italians prevail to a penalty shootout. Ironically, it’s David Trezeguet who gives them the win this time as his shot is saved by the crossbar. To the disappointment of many, the Italians, known for the wrong reasons in football, are world champions. A few months later, France and Italy met again in Euro 2008 qualifying. France, without retired Zidane, proved that Italy’s win was a fluke with a comfortable 3-1 win. This summer, these two football powerhouses will meet again as they are in the same Euro 2008 group. They’ll be fighting for 1 of 2 knockout round qualifying spots alongside Romania and the Netherlands. 
