That was a final that sums up the entire tournament.
Every time Italy has won a match there have been fireworks a mile or two south of here. 21:43 they went off.
The first half was intriguing. Italy weren't in it for the entire second half and extra time. Barely went near the French goal. I was heartbroken when the lovely Thierry went off injured. And shocked and outraged when Zizou...what a terrible way to end a great career.
Somebody explain this to me. I've seen players sent off for two yellows. A late clumsy tackle. A desperate tackle. A malicious tackle. I've seen players sent off for handball when they're the last line of defence. To me all understandable in the intense competitive pressure of a match, especially when the stakes are so high. But I can't understand what Zizou did. I guess it must be about testosterone. But there was no obvious provocation, maybe words, but FFS, grow up.
So a team that never really looked good (except against Ukraine) goes and wins it. They got lucky against USA and Australia, and made their luck again Germany. And this evening, well, France played better.
Team of the tournament - for me? Ghana. End of story.
Player of the tournament. Dunno. Cristiano Ronaldo? Zinedine Zidane? Ricardo? Jans Lehman?
At least we know what the goal of the tournament was - that 24-pass goal by Argentina.
Ah well, the English Premiership starts on August 20. Can't wait!
PS In the BBC's closing sequence, what was the music they played between See the Conquering Hero and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring?
