The Final Score

Wrong on all counts. After the ersatz football culture of Japan, this was a tournament where football finally came home, to a country mad about the sport. And Germany showed us they could be great hosts, play some great football and they didn’t switch off the lights when they left the party.

Every first-time visitor to Germany, and even those who’ve been here before, was surprised at the attitude of the general public: From the FIFA volunteers to fellow German journalists to the man on the street, everyone was on best behaviour. Even the police, who handled the English hordes with great tact.

There was some great football in the stadiums but the best place to watch was usually the fan zones, those areas in the city centre where they put up huge screens, set up food and beer stalls and invited the world to party.

And the world came along, by plane, by train, in thousands of camper vans; in Berlin, 700,000 people would gather in the fan mile; one million are expected for tonight’s final.

High Street, Germany, was happy at the high spending; even those who cut down on every other cost ended up spending on the beer!

The big surprise, of course, was how Germany celebrated itself, with the flags, the songs, the painted faces; it was great to be German, it was fine to be proud of the Fatherland. The Kaiser and the Chancellor led the way, the nation followed as the team gave them a dream to believe. Michael Ballack was regal, Miroslav Klose lethal, Lukas Podolski the tyro. And when the team eventually lost, there was no anger, not even too many tears, just thanks for having got that far.

The world joined in as well.

The Old Order Returns

The quarter-final line-up revealed how different WC 06 was to WC 02: Each country that had won the World Cup, barring Uruguay who never qualified, was represented. The two

non-winners, Portugal and Ukraine, had either big-match experience or aspirational credentials. The distortions of last time, when Korea and Turkey made the last four, were corrected as the big teams dominated. There were few acts of giant-killing, and none in the knockout rounds. Ghana’s 2-0 win over the

Czech Republic was the single biggest upset result, and Australia’s progress to the second round, at the expense of Croatia and Japan, the biggest surprise.

Gone were the flop-shows of last time, when France, Argentina and Portugal left at the group stage. Yes, Brazil left early but they didn’t really deserve to progress farther; yes, Argentina left early too, but they were beaten by a team at par through the tournament and superior on the night.

The only question marks were over England, who were lucky to be in the quarter-finals when, say, Ivory Coast were not. But natural order righted itself soon enough.

Level Playing Field

England were one of the first players, centuries ago, in the globalisation game, they are now one of the first to turn their backs on football’s increasingly global trend by replacing their first foreign coach with a true Englishman. Happily, the trend elsewhere is of football breaking down international barriers. The France team that steps out for tonight’s final is a reflection of the ‘‘rainbow nation’’; one key player, Patrick Vieira, was born in Senegal. The team they beat in the semis, Portugal, is coached by a Brazilian. Australia’s stunning success was largely the work of the uber-globetrotter, Guus Hiddink, and Trinidad and Tobago, who stole a point off Sweden, have Leo Beenhakker in charge. The host nation is coached by a German, all right, but his outlook—and the team’s success—has definitely been shaped by the fact that he lives in the US and has an American fitness trainer on board. Globalisation has long been part of football and has been given a huge push by the success of players from Africa. The symbiotic relationship between Senegal and France, Ivory Coast and Belgium, Portugal and Angola, Holland and its former colonies in the Americas, have enriched the game. The top clubs of Europe have squad lists that would be the UN’s envy. Sixteen players at the World Cup wear Arsenal colours every week; Real Madrid had three national captains at this tournament.

The tournament usually proves a hunting ground for talent scouts but even coaches benefit from the Great Globalisation Game. Reviled in England, Sven-Goran Eriksson is reportedly being approached by Jamaica, who are ready to make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the world.

That Goal

Gelsenkirchen, June 16. Those who saw it live will never forget it. Nor will those who saw any of the countless replays shown. It was either 24 passes or 25, though anyone keeping count was missing out on the beauty of it all. Beginning deep inside Argentina’s own half, the ball was passed from Saviola to Maxi, up to Cambiasso, on to Crespo, who back-heeled it for Cambiasso to shoot and score. Argentina scored six goals against Serbia and Montenegro that day but the second, on the half-hour, was very, very special, a sweeping movement so smooth and so swift that it left the Serbians snatching at thin air. It was also proof that, unlike their great South American rivals, Argentina were a well-knit team. It was immediately dubbed the ‘‘greatest goal of the World Cup’’, though no doubt the owner of that trademark, applauding from up in the stands would dispute it. Indeed, just eight days later, Argentina scored another to rival this but one very, very different, the snap volley from Maxi Rodriguez that finally felled valiant Mexico. Those two goals delivered on Argentina’s promise, and made them favourites to win. Till the hosts spoiled their party.

English Summer

I wish the team would go home and the fans would stay’’. So said the man behind the bar at Frankfurt as he watched England labour to another flattering win, over Ecuador in the second round. It was a strange sentiment; before the tournament began, one would have expected public sentiment to be the exact opposite.

England’s footballers came to Germany with a reputation of being a young, attacking side, with the proven skills of Rooney and the exciting potential of Theo Walcott, and a buzzing midfield. Their fans were less welcome; everyone remembered the trail of violence and destruction they would leave in their wake at every major tournament.

And Germany’s history was fodder for the provocative terrace chants that would inevitably ring out.

Yet, as England fumbled to their exit, not a moment too soon, the fans were picking up brownie points across the country. Part of the reason was their inclination towards heavy spending, especially on the seemingly unlimited quantities of beer they would consume. Yet part surely was their generally good behaviour, barring one incident at Stuttgart. Indeed, anyone who was around the Cologne cathedral the morning and afternoon of the England-Sweden match, when fans from both countries and Germany traded songs and chants, would have believed—as did this writer—that violence was one ill-judged chant away. Yet it ended in good humour, and if eastern souls found the supporters boorish, the Germans took it in their stride—and cash in the pocket.

Flop Shows

Ronaldinho came to Germany as the world’s best player bar none. The charitable view is that he didn’t add to that reputation. Showing signs of strain both from the wearying league season, which ended for him at the Champions League final, and from the enormous responsibility of leading an under-performing Brazil, this was four matches too many. His—and Brazil’s— shining moment came against Japan, when the holders popped in four goals with Ronaldinho pulling the strings.

Thierry Henry came here with the reputation of being second only to Ronaldinho; in his six games so far he’s yet to duplicate, to any significant degree, the marvellous football he produces for Arsenal week in, week out. That would be a human error but what he did against Spain in the second round—diving to earn France a free-kick from which they would take the lead and win the match— was morally, ethically wrong.

Other stars who underwhelmed on the field: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who looked more like a piece of IKEA furniture than one of the most dangerous strikers, Ruud van Nistelrooy, a victim of poor form and an ego clash with the coach and Raul, whose bad times continue.

The great diving show

In a couple of months from now referees, coaches, players’ representatives and officials from FIFA and UEFA are due to meet in Berlin; their agenda will have but one point: How to stop from turning into a diving event.

Diving, or ‘‘simulation’’, has reached epidemic proportions at this World Cup which, coupled with card-happy referees, means players are being booked or sent off for no foul at all. And matches are being decided by great play-acting, rather than great plays.

Some examples:

• Thierry Henry’s dive when tackled by Carles Puyol in the second round match against Spain

• Arjen Robben’s dive, the first to draw a yellow card in this tournament, against Ivory Coast

• Fabio Grosso’s dive when challenged by Australia’s Lucas Neill, also in the second round

• Cristiano Ronaldo’s reputation as a truly exciting young talent being compromised by his willingness to go to ground at the slightest challenge

The cheating issue has overshadowed the ‘‘bad refereeing’’ controversy of the early part of the tournament. Russia’s Valentin Ivanov took FIFA’s directives to heart by sending off four players (but not Luis Figo, who head-butted van Bommel) and issuing 16 yellows in Portugal vs Holland.

England’s Graham Poll issued three yellow cards to one player in the same match! Angel Maria Vilar, the chairman of FIFA’s referees’ committee, publicly backed his men at a specially called press conference but the statistics were for all to see.

And days later the issue—at the core of which is the pressure on the men out in the middle—led FIFA boss Sepp Blatter to float the idea of two referees per match, as in hockey, for the 2010 World Cup.

African Ambassadors

One of the more emotional sights in a tournament short of real drama has been watching the Africans play. It was the first time for four teams from the continent yet each acquitted itself with honour, and Ghana crowned itself with glory in their defeat of the Czech Republic.

I was privileged to watch two of those teams play, three matches in all; in each they gave nothing less than their maximum and from each they took away goodwill.

Goodwill doesn’t pay the rent; what will is the income as the top clubs from Europe scour the continent for even more talent. Angola, for example, came without much footballing history—it’s a nation only 30 years old—but left after being 15 minutes away from a second-round spot. Togo were hit by a strike over wages and then by two straight defeats but they gave France a scare in the final group match and then left the stadium, and the tournament, to a standing ovation. Ivory Coast, we thought, was all about Didier Drogba but Bakary Kone, Yaya Toure, Aruna Dindane and Didier Zokora took their places on the firmament.

These teams represent countries ranked low on the development index, countries with a turbulent recent past or present. And they defied FIFA’s own rankings: The four top-ranked African teams—Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal, all failed to make it.

Pele’s prediction of an African team winning the tournament may still be far-fetched but they win hearts almost every time they step out to play.

Stage Coach

In the absence of any one player — or even two — defining this tournament, in stepped the coaches. Animated, phlegmatic, stoic, infuriated but always beguiling, the men behind the teams have forced their will on the World Cup. Not an easy task, given the wealth of talent, the increase of player power and the simple fact that most of their wards earn several times their own salary. The men in charge of the two teams tonight lead the way.

Italy’s Marcello Lippi has long been known as a tough-talking but hugely successful coach at Juventus but could he cut it at the national level, given the egos and emotions that have traditionally hindered Italian football? The answer is a resounding Yes: No one expected them to reach the final and that they have — and by playing attractive football — is due as much to the tactical shrewdness of the Paul Newman lookalike as to the talented players.

His opposite number, Raymond Domenech of France, is less well-known but has a solid CV: As the national under-21 coach he brought Thierry Henry to the international stage. Over the past month — in which he has been bickering with the great Zidane — he has revived an ageing, stumbling France, infused it with enthusiasm and taken it to one step short of the summit.

The two men defeated in the semi-finals are the bigger stories. Luis Felipe Scolari won the World Cup with Brazil, took Portugal to the final of Euro 2004 and took them farther than anyone thought they’d go in Germany.

Germany’s Juergen Klinsmann is perhaps the success story of this tournament. Widely derided before June 9, he has not just transformed a team but sparked a national revival.

Sven-Goran Eriksson dominated headlines for all the wrong reasons. The English media pilloried him for his cautious, unimaginative, ultimately negative tactics and if the football fraternity was glad to see the back of England, much of it was down to Eriksson.

One other coach who influenced in some way the outcome of this World Cup was Argentina’s Jose Pekerman. His decision to take off Juan Roman Riquelme, and not introduce Lionel Messi, in the quarter-final against Germany cost his team the match.

Attack, attack, attack

Everyone predicted a boring tournament. It has been far from boring (except, at the risk of sounding repetitive, England). Germany have been wonderfully attacking, so have Italy, France have discovered their zing, Brazil were not defensive, whatever else they were, Argentina exited the tournament when they abandoned their attacking principles against Germany, Spain delighted before they were dumped by France. Of the lesser teams, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Angola showed they knew the basics of football, and those basics meant moving the ball upfield rather than sideways or back. Ukraine recovered from their 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Spain by putting four past Saudi Arabia. There were goals galore, and where there weren’t, such as the 0-0 draw between Holland and Argentina, there was entertainment.

That’s the bottomline of any sport. This World Cup satisfied on that count.