Italy Wins, But There Is More Politics In Soccer Than You Think

Italy wins cup but both teams have a record of some drama on their way to the final. The Italians had the talent to the win the cup, but they didn't play beautifully until the semifinal. During that game the referee made just calls and didn't blow his wistle evertime a player threw himself. The Italian team scored two goal in the last minute of the extratime and won the key to the final.

Italy has its dirty record in their game against the U.S. with a nasty elbow against McBride. In their game against Australia, a little drama from GROSSO helped them in getting a penalty, while the underdog Aussie's made history by playing very well.

When the Italians go back they have a major corruption scandal to face, including the demoting of some their major teams to the lower divisions.

Zidane, Zidane?
In my previous article (scroll down), my opinion about HENRY (Fra.) and his tactics were spelled out and evens out pretty well. In the final, the Italians held the honor of a GOL while France with the dishonor of a disputed penalty and of course Zidane's actions. No matter what the Italian player might of said to him, ZIDANE held the responsibility as captain and a close game that had 10 minutes to go (see video). With Ribery and Henry already substituted out, Zidane was an important key missing. Zidane also won the award as Best Player of the tournament. After his action in the final, this award should of been taken away.

Best Young Player? Who?
Lukas PODOLSKI was awarded Best Young Player of the Tournament. FIFA had placed a poll on their website of which individuals could vote. FIFA's technical team decided that Germany's 21 year-old striker, while internet voters who casted close to a million votes, chose 20 year-old Ecuadorian midfielder Luis VALENCIA (video).

Why Podolski? Amounts of goal scored are not a reason since it depends on their position in the field. MESSI (1, 2, 3)and ROONEY, unfortunately did not receive enough playtime to argue in favor of this trophy.

C. RONALDO did an excellent job and proved able to face up to the pressure in scoring the winning penalty against England. A very nasty play by England's Rooney booked him a well deserved red card. But who got the heat: C. Ronaldo for his wink. Ronaldo and Rooney are teammates in Manchester United, but this will soon come to an end. Rooney stepped on a players balls, but Ronaldo got the heat and due to this action wouldn't have been considered for the award (see video). In the end, if it hadn't taken place, I don't believe it would of changed the decision by FIFA.

But what makes Valencia stand out above them all was his ability to hold, lead and direct his national team. He played a central role, along with Tenorio, which is usually expected of an experienced player like Riquelme (Arg) or Deco (Por).

So, why Podolski? Purely political, to make sure the home country walked off with something. When it comes to FIFA politics, the underdog has to prove themselves 10 times more.

Luis VALENCIA (ECU) 34% 331,243
Cristiano RONALDO (POR) 25% 242,198
Lionel MESSI (ARG) 12% 118,837
Lukas PODOLSKI (GER) 6% 60,800
Wayne ROONEY (ENG) 4% 46,087


Refs Can Cost the Game









German high kicks never called.

Refs can cost a teams opportunity, but at the end of the game, little can be done. Germany was one of the teams that got away with a number of fouls, especially high kicks. The most notable was the jump by Klose that injured Argentina's goalie so severely that he had to be removed.

One of the dirties moves was Holland violating Fair-Play regulation in the game against Portugal. Deco was so outraged that he slide tackled the player from behind and got a yellow card. Later in the game he would receive another yellow, removing him from the game. Holland was not fined or criticized for their actions. FIFA began every World Cup game with children hold a sign in the middle that said "My Game Is Fair-Play". If so, why doesn't FIFA make a stand and fine teams that violate that basic sense of sportsmanship .

Brazil and Spain were awarded the Fair-Play award.

These are some of referees who were considered the worst due to their unbalanced amount of fouls called and bad calls.

Valentin Ivanov (Rus):
Portugal vs Holland [15 yellow cards, 4 reds]
(see video, video2)

Frank De Bleeckere (Belg):
Eng vs Ecuador [Fouls 13 vs 24]

Jorge Larrionda (Uru):
USA vs Italy [Fouls 24 vs 13]
(see video)

Videos:
This is fairplay (see), this is not (see).
Messi, Tevez vs Maradonna, Francescoli (video)