Brazil err on judgement day

I was looking forward to the scrap between Mareel Desailly and Ronaldo the tournament’s best defender against the world’s top striker. But it never happened, Ronaldo was clearly unfit and Brazil should have had the courage to leave him on the bench.

It meant they were unbalanced for the whole game and even when Desailly was sent off in the second half I didn’t for one moment believe Brazil could turn the game round.

One man stood out head and shoulders above the rest — Zinedine Zidane. He not only scored two goals but provedon the greatest stage the game gives you that he is a superb player. His tournament so far had been mixed, a red card, average form and no goals. Yet the Stade de France belonged to him.France ran the midfield and every ball seemed to come from the Juventus star. He played like a champion and France won like champions.

Great World Cup teams are always built round great strikers. Pele, Muller, Maradone, Kempes and so on. Yet this French team hasn’t got a striker worth a place on the doorsteps of any Hall of Fame.

I said before the competition that any side needs a solid spine to win the World Cup. That should include a top-class striker bang in form. Somehow France had carried off the trophy without one.

Alf Ramsey gave us England’s “wingless wonders” in 1966. Aime Jacquet gave us France sans-strikers. His team was so strong in midfield it was able to overcome this obvious deficiency.

What they have is a wonderful defence, a superb midfield in Zidane, Deschamps and Petit and the heart and belief thatthis was their moment of destiny.

It never looked as though Brazil had that belief in this game. We don’t know fully what went on in that dressing room but we do know it turned a team capable of winning the World Cup, one that had players like Dunga, Taffarel and Bebeto who had already played in a final, into a side that seemed drained of fight.