Can a team with the likes of Henry, Zidane, Viera, Gallas,
Makelele and Thuram ever be considered an underdog?
In this World Cup they have been, at least until they
took down Brazil the other day. The French finally turned
it on and it was the defending champs who suffered the
most from it.
I knew the French were going to be trouble for the Brazilians,
but I hoping the Brazilians would still get by them.
Maybe it was because the last time I was in Paris over
a decade ago it the worst vacation experience of my
life. Or maybe it was because I couldn’t stand
to see the Brazilians lose in a tournament that I have
been saying for months was theirs to lose.
Whatever the reason, I think a lot of us neglected to
take a long, hard look at all the talent the French
roster has on it. Forget how old they are. Who would
you rather have, a thirty-something Zidane or a young
and energetic twenty-something Landon Donovan? Enough
said, case closed! World class players are apparently
ageless, or at least that is what Zidane has shown us
during this tournament.
The
Germany vs. Italy clash tomorrow is a classic match-up
between World Cup heavyweights. Both teams have won
the World Cup multiple times and have plenty of talent
to get into the Final. I think that the Italians are
going to be hard to break-down defensively. I am predicting
a 1-0 Italy victory. Having the host nation in the Final
is always exciting and I love what Klinsmann has done
with his team (he says he learned a lot from Bruce Arena.
Like what? Making hotel reservations?).
Tomorrow: Defense, defense, defense…
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