THE GRAND FINALE
Italy vs France
The World cup draws to a conclusion tonight with a matchup that may surprised many soccer fanatics out there, with big names like Germany and Brazil being ousted out.
'Adieu Italy'
The Domenech side with an ageing contingent, have battled and stuttered their way through the 1st stage. However, their confidence and morale have been accelerating in an exponential fashion as the compeition progresses. From a unexpected contemptible performance in their first two opening matches, i.e. stalemates with Swiss and the Asians, they have gone on to prove the crititcs wrong by triumphing over big names like Spain, Brazil and Portugal, showing once again the classic football movements that won them the World Cup back in 1998. Their path to the final was not as easy as compared to the Azzurris where the latter had only encountered a difficult fixture with the Germans.
Soon-to-retire Zidane produced a goal in France’s 3-1 impressive victory over Spain, followed by vintage display in the sensational 1-0 success against holders Brazil. Zinedine Zidane, odds-on favourite to win the player of the tournament award, has been a leader cum inspirator for the French throughout the tournament. He has displayed amazingly individual dribbles, accurate passes/crosses and dead ball set pieces skills, and to be honest, it's arugably his best World Cup performance to date. Perhaps the thought of the last appearance in international scenes has spurred out the maximum potential out of himself.
'Arrivederci France'
On the other hand, the Italians did not looked like a typical Italian side with their usual attacking flair and movement. They have met up with reasonably weaker teams like Urkaine and Australia. Their real test was against hosts Germany where a incredible two minute performance broke the hearts of the entire German nation. Tonight will be their second real tough test, against a strong-willed French team, eager to prove that they are not the 2002 minnows that exited from the first round without scoring a goal. The Italian's defense has been rock solid throughout the compeition, without conceding a goal scored by an opposition, led by the agile and alert Buffon and Cannavaro. With such a compacted defense, the Italians will do what it does best. Counter-attack. In a 4-5-1 formation, Totti, Gattuso and Pirlo are capable of making electrifying runs. Together with Toni as the lone striker, the also solid French defense, that keep three clean sheets in four games, might bow down to a perhaps 'Butter-fingers' scenario by Fabien Barthez, yet again.
To conquer the French, one man needs to be laid-off. Zinedine Zidane. I am quite confident that the deadly Italian midfield trio should finish this job and will leave Domenech re-evaluating himself on why he has never won a major title as a manager. The match fixing trials with verdicts due tomorrow could have the Italians playing for much more than the World Cup, i.e. Their bleaking career future.
A narrow win by the Italians.
HAIL THE 2006 WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS: ITALY !!
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Sorry guys on my prediction.
France got lucky to have slip off with a 1-0 narrow victory over underrated Portugal yesterday. Though the penalty given was a fair one, Ricardo was unlucky not to save it as he guessed correctly the direction that Zidane had sent the ball to. Neverthless, Portugal had more possession of the ball and were unlucky not to have convert the ball following a Ronaldo thunderous free-kick. The French N0.1 keeper could only pat the ball high up into the sky and the Figo's follow-up header was unfortunate to find its way slightly over the bar. A rare chance to equalise!!
Lilian Thuram had been governing France's entire backline and he did it in superb style yesterday. The 34 year-old veteran was the main source of inspiration for defense throughout the match, having to fend off a well organised attack led by Figo and Ronaldo with their mazy runs, passes and shots. Following a undeserved loss in Allianz Arena, Portgual may have lost their fighting spirit and looks all possible to continue their streak. I fancied the Germans to snap up third place and the Portugese to go home empty-handed.
For Zidane, it would be his dream retirement from international soccer scenes should France go on and beat the italians. Let's stay tuned for a world-class match-up between Italy and France. The World Cup Final that everyone has been waiting for in 4 years!!
Finally I have the blogs up...
English Premier League
Serie A
La Liga
German Bundesliga
Champion League
Thank you for your support!
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Portugal vs France
Just like yesterday, I got a feeling that the underdogs will prevail once again. The bookmakers has been over-rating France since the start of World Cup.
The unexpected French victory over Brazil, would be the key reason why France is favourite today. The goal that Henry scored was quite a giveaway as there was "no one" marking him. A big mistake by the 'off-form' big guns. I'm expecting Portugal defense to be in maximum alert today, and with the petite Ricardo in superb hot form who embarrass the England boys by making superb penalty saves, the French will have difficulty in breaking its last line of defense.
With the likes of World Class players like Deco, C. Ronaldo, Pauleta and Maniche; Portugal is really worthy of at least a second place in this World Cup.
Let's talk about another crucial factor. The coach factor. Let's face it. Domenech's quiet nature may not protray a positive role model for his players. He may be a great gentleman, or even a successful businessman but he might lack an air of commanding aura around him. This may proved to be a major disadvantage when compared to the ever fiery and commanding Scolari. Remember the Portugal-Holland match? Cold-blooded, quiet Van Basten against fiery Scolari. We might face the same situation here again. No doubt, Scolari can really boost team motivation with his mimics and body language. His competence is further backed up by leading the Brazilians to the Cup victory back in Korea Japan 2002, hence his shrewdness in tactics and choosing the correct players will be one of the key factors should Portugal proceed to the finals.
I'm really confident in Scolari and his boys. Therefore my pick is Portugal to qualify!
Let's await to a Italy-Portgual Final!! Cheers!!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Latest update on the future of this site
I'll still be providing predictions.
I will be making predictions on all matches in English Premier League,
Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A. UEFA cup and Champion League Cup will also be included.
Stay tuned to developments in these upcoming blogs!
The first blog is up....
English Premier League
Germany vs Italy
ITALY has started the major tournament slowly but they are slowly gaining strength like a bullet train. I am confident that they can steam on tonight’s World Cup semi-final.The Italians crushed Germany 4-1 in a recent friendly match in Florence and the emotional effects will surely favor the underdogs and give them a unfair advantage. The Germans are full of confidence at the moment but QUESTION is : Will this be enough? Germany's performance against Argentina was not that good, however we are bound to see some strange decisions from the officials again tonight, favoring the hosts. Home advantage has been a major reason for the Germans in their advances throughout this competition if you have been an avid follower. The German defense held a tight line at the expense of making the midfield work too hard with the ground they had to cover. How much has that taken out of them?
With Luca Toni shining in the previous game, this will skyrocket his confidence to an unbelieveable level and cause the German defense a lot of problems.With the suspended Matarazzi back in the Italian defense they should be strong and tactful enough to withstand the early pressure from the Germans. It will be no easy job BUT the Italians will have too much about them for the Germans and progress to the final.
Italy to progress to the much awaited final.
