Category: Section 2 Around the Net

Nearly 12 million Americans watched on ABC as France beat Italy in the World Cup final on Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research, making the 2006 final the third most-watched final in U.S. soccer-viewing history. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision and its sister network Telefutura also received “monster ratings” for this year’s final, said the Hollywood Reporter. […]

“That’s going to be something that you’re going to see more in MLS, is some people bringing in some outside, international players…And I don’t think it’s just because they’re international, it’s because they’re bringing some unique skill.” So said David Alioto, the new executive vice president of what will be the second incarnation of the […]

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News says there was something thoroughly American about Zinedine Zidane’s head-butt against Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final on Sunday afternoon. “With poetic timing, Zidane summoned his inner Mike Tyson, providing us all with a brutally and beautifully American moment at the climax of the galaxy’s most-watched […]

The Circus Maximus, ancient Rome’s vast stadium for chariot races, was the scene where hundreds of thousands of Italians gathered to greet an open-topped bus carrying their World Cup heroes. The mayor’s office estimated the crowd topped 600,000, with another hundred thousand or so accompanying the bus on its slow march from prime minister Romano […]

Marco Materazzi has admitted to insulting Zinedine Zidane prior to the head-butt that led to his sending off in Sunday’s World Cup final. Media speculation about what Materazzi said have ranged from steroid allegations to racism, but until now neither one of the pair has spoken publicly about the matter. Materazzi told Gazetto dello Sport, […]

As France returns home disgraced and Italy prepares to find out how many of its clubs will be found guilty of a match-fixing scandal, Puma may turn out to the biggest winner of all after yesterday’s World Cup final. The German sports goods firm sponsored a World Cup winner for the first time as its […]

France captain Zinedine Zidane won the adidas Golden Ball award as the best player of the World Cup despite being sent off for headbutting Marc Materazzi during yesterday’s final. The results were released today by FIFA. Zidane edged Italy’s captain, Fabio Cannavaro, for the award, earning 2,012 points compared to Cannavaro’s 1,977. Italian midfielder Andrea […]

The French team returned home to Paris Monday to a considerably muted response from what some might have expected. Only about 100 fans, most of them children, awaited the teams’ landing at Charles de Gaulle. Following the sending off of their hero Zinedine Zidane, French spirits were understandably low. The scheduled parade down the Champs […]

Bemused is the best word to describe the media’s reaction to yesterday’s World Cup final. Zidane is in the headlines again, but for all the wrong reasons this time. And oh yeah, Italy won the World Cup. But everywhere that seems to be an afterthought as pundits across the globe search for reasons why Zidane […]

The Age says the Socceroos have now leapt in front of Australia’s world champion cricket team as the country’s top sporting brand. After a fantastic run at the finals that ended in controversial last-minute penalty agony to Champions Italy, experts across Australia are hailing a new era for soccer in the land Down Under, predicting […]

Throughout this tournament, the Italian soccer scandal has loomed over every match played by the national team. Even as they hoist the World Cup trophy today, this could be the last good moment for Italian soccer for a very long time indeed, especially if a court finds four of its top clubs guilty of match-fixing […]

The third place game clearly meant more to the Germans than the negative Portuguese, who despite flashes of Cristiano Ronaldo and 10 dazzling minutes from Luis Figo, never looked that interested. In many ways, it was a standard third place game, delivering 4 goals (the World Cup average), an openness of play (by the Germans […]

So Zidane’s career ended in disgrace. And maybe we deserve it, too, for the pedestal we placed him on. After the media spent all week lifting the man beyond demi-god status, he came crashing down to earth in a moment of madness reminiscent to that other self-destructing French geniusyou know, Eric Cantona, the man who’s […]

Reuters has an interesting report about bookmakers’ unimpressive record in their tournament predictions. As much as the favorites always seem to do well at the World Cup, the final is seldom between the top two favorites prior to the tournament’s start. France began the tournament as 14-1 outsiders to win before dropping to 25-1 after […]

AP columnist Nancy Armour says after watching World Cup 2006 she’s convinced whining, crying and diving are acceptable behavior in soccer. It’s been said by pundits before: “Players ought to forget about wrangling new contracts from bigger, better teams and focus instead on their true calling: Hollywood.” Every World Cup there’s a multitude of variations […]

The Guardian ponders whether we owe the re-emergence of Zinedine Zidane to the Spanish media for taunting the old master ahead of Spain’s second round clash with France. “Spain’s sporting press has always worn its power like a badge of honour, but even by its standards this was something else — this was playing God.” […]

David Hirshey, a well-known New York editor and former soccer reporter and match official, gives an honest account of his own experiences refereeing at the highest level. When calling a match for the U.S. women’s national team, Hirshey admits to blowing several offsides calls, and being called out for it by Tiffaney Milbrett, one of […]

Sports Illustrated columnist Bill Syken says MLS was the biggest loser at this World Cup. Case in point: New York Red Bulls’ Youri Djorkaeff appearing in the stands of the France-Brazil quarterfinal after taking a leave of absence from the team for “personal reasons.” That’s embarrassing for both the team and the league — Djorkaeff […]

With just two games remaining, the World Cup handover ceremony took place in Germany on Friday. Franz Beckenbauer handed the baton off to South African Thabo Mbeki. World Cup 2010 organizers said they viewed the first African World Cup as a chance to transform the world’s perception of the whole continent. South Africa President Mbeki […]

Ever since the demise of the North American Soccer League, many of us have been patiently waiting for the resurgence of soccer in the United States. However, such a resurgence would require a great deal of winning on the part of the national team, particularly at the World Cup, a feat that continues to elude […]

Two years after the Greek national team stunned the world by beating the likes of France, the Czech Republic and Portugal (twice) en route to its Euro 2004 triumph, Greek soccer is in disgrace due to its government’s insistence on running the national soccer federation (HFF). The Greeks are now likely to be denied the […]

There was a time, many of us forget (others were too young to remember), when soccer in the U.S. was the chic thing, the metropolitan thing, attracting many of the world’s stars to U.S. soil. Once upon a time, 77,691 people packed into Giants Stadium to watch the likes of Pele and Franz Beckenbauer play […]

“France is on fire again,” writes The Australian, “but this time it is not angry youths rioting and torching cars in protest against an out-of-touch political elite.” No, this time, it’s Zinedine Zidane, the most gifted player the world has seen since Argentina’s Diego Maradona, who’s lifted the nation out of social, economic and spiritual […]

English Champions Chelsea are crying foul over the advance of Real Madrid on Dutch star Arjen Robben. Real’s newly elected president, Juan Roman Calderon, boldly proclaimed the Spanish side would land the coveted winger, whose sparkling performances down the left were just about the only memorable thing the Dutch were able to offer at this […]

Certain English commentators really know how to describe a game of football. Sometimes, it seems, the words that flow out of their mouths are so appropriate it’s impossible to think of whatever they just said being described in any other way. Richard Williams achieves this at certain points throughout his synopsis of yesterday’s semi-final showdown […]