Final Four Preview (of Euro 2006)

Zidane: Not going gently into that good night.



Years from now, there will be five enduring memories from this World Cup. On a quarterfinal weekend full of heavyweight matchups, superstar duels, stirring controversy, and major upsets, the central themes of this tournament came vividly into focus:

1. Zinedine Zidane - Last year, when Zidane announced his return from international retirement to help a struggling French squad qualify for this World Cup, Thierry Henry said, "God exists, and he has just returned to play for France." This is Zidane's tournament - we're just watching it. Many people expected this tourney to be a brief swansong for one of the five greatest players ever. Well, he had other ideas - and soccer fans the world over are thankful for that.

2. Germany - The host nation has treated the world to a great tournament, while being treated themselves to a surprising, inspirational perfrormance from their own national team. Klinsmann is a savior. Ballack is a hero. And if you're going to beat this team, it's not going to happen in a penalty shootout. Like burritos make you fart, penalties make the Germans victorious.

3. Gli Azzurri - Italy's success, despite the Serie A scandal, has been nothing short of remarkable. With their domestic league under investigation and their biggest clubs in tatters, Italy has found solace in their team's success. As the case heads to court in Rome and a former teammate attempts suicide in Turin, the squad has found a way to overcome it all in Germany.

4. Wayne Rooney - From the obsessive concern over his injured foot to his use of that foot to stomp on an opponent's privates, England and Manchester United's hotheaded youngster has gone from hero to goat. Wait, haven't we seen this before? Eight years ago, in a World Cup quarterfinal, it was David Beckham who earned a red card for a malicious kick at an Argentine player, but his teammates gallantly fought on and sent the game to penalties, where they lost in heartbreaking fashion. You would have thought that the Brits might have learned from this, but then again you'd also expect them to stop listening to Oasis, eating pork pies, and having parliament members wear wigs. Oh, and while we're on the subject, the British media should stop blaming Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney's teammate at ManU and opponent in the Portugal game, for trying to get Rooney sent off - it wasn't Ronaldo who violated the man code and stomped on Carvalho's privates.

5. Brazil - When one of the most talented teams ever assembled and unanimous pre-tournament favorite fails even to make the semis, serious questions have to be asked. Like what the heck was Ronaldinho doing with that headband? No image better sums up the individualistic tendencies and collective failure of Brazil than 'Dinho showing up for the France game wearing a headband with a giant 'R' on it. And if that cosmetic faux-pas wasn't the reason why they lost, then maybe it was because they just couldn't decided where to put that sixth star...

Now that the quarterfinals are past, it's on to the Final Four preview. So here's a preview of what to expect when the semifinals of Euro 2006 kick off tomorrow:

Germany vs Italy

Without question, the prize for Best Coach in the World Cup will be awarded to a resident of the United States. No, not Eric Wynalda's nemesis, Bruce Arena. The prize is for Klinsmann, who had the balls to take the fate of the host nation's Cup chances in his hands, do things his way, ignore every bit of scorn and disapproval that came his way from the public and the media, and had enough faith in his approach to stick to it all the way to the semifinals of the World Cup. The man is now a German hero (again). It has been Klinsmann's dogged faith in starting from scratch a few years ago, building a young team around Michael Ballack, and giving it the time to grow as a unit that has brought this German team this far. He axed proven veterans like Dietmar Hamann and sent unquestioned starters like Oliver "Chewbacca" Kahn to the bench. He brought in new faces like Per Mertesacker and Arne Friedrich that no one had ever heard of. And when this team was getting destroyed by Italy 4-1 in a friendly just months before the Cup began, a defeat so lopsided that there was serious talk that Klinsmann would be fired, the coach stayed true to his plan. Driven on by their hometown fans, inspired by epic performances from Torsten Frings (who will be sorely missed in the semifinals) and Ballack, and staying true to their German past, ze Mannschaft beat Argentina on penalties and now finds themself up against - you guessed it - their old friend Italy. As crazy as it would have sounded three months ago, it's true: not many people, your author included, expect Italy to win.

The Azzurri, rocked by a scandal of fixed games, paid-off referees, players gambling, and corruption at the highest levels of Serie A, have seem unfazed for the past month. Maybe the desire to avoid having to go back to the mess at home has been more powerful than any coach's pep talk or superstar's inspirational play. Even an attempted suicide by one of their former teammates, Gianluca Pessotto, has only brought them closer together. They are a team as united and determined as any. Of course, they still only have one real quality win, a 2-0 victory over the Czechs in the first round, and they have had the easiest road to the semis, only having to beat Australia and the Ukraine. Even in the 3-0 drubbing of the Ukraine, the Italian defense was scrambling for five frantic minutes of the second-half as their opponents tried to score the tying goal, which they were only denied by the post and a clearance off the line. Inspired, yes? All that good? No.

The Germany-Italy game boasts two classic world powers, two teams that have perfected the art of advancing in the World Cup. Consider them the opposite of Spain. Whereas the Spaniards entice you with fantastic play and wonderful attacking, they also crash out in the knock-out phases; Germany and Italy don't really impress you, but they always manage to scrape by, advancing past each opponent on the strength of their staunch defending, true grit, unrelenting faith in themselves, and the knowledge that they've been there before...and won. Spain knows that they've been there before...and lost...always - how can that possibly be overcome? The weight of history plays a far larger role in these tournaments than most people realize. So what happens when these teams meet tomorrow in Dortmund? Well, tough defense, ruthless tackling, an all-out physical struggle, few - if any - goals, and penalty kicks. And we know who wins at penalties: Germany.

Portugal vs France

Six years ago, leading into the Euro 2000 tournament, there was lots of talk about how Portugal's golden generation (Figo, Rui Costa, Couto, etc) was an international disappointment. The Portuguese made it to the semis of that tournament, but lost (and then lost their heads, leading to suspensions for three of their key players). Two years later, they lost to the US and were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup. But in the last two international tournaments, Portugal has been coached by Big Phil Scolari, who has instilled in them a toughness needed to win at the highest level. The golden generation has now merged with a new, younger group, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco, and Ricardo Carvalho. And now, this edition of Portugal's national team has the perfect mix of experience, youth, and seasoned toughness to go toe to toe with the best. That was why I picked them to make the semis of the World Cup. That was how they were able to overcome the likes of Holland and England. Neither of those games were pretty and, in all probability, Wednesday's matchup with France won't be either. But it will be the final chance for one of Portugal's greatest players, Luis Figo, to win a major international trophy. Then again, France has an all-time great of their own playing, too.

And that is why Zinedine Zidane has captivated the world with his magical play over the past two games. No team, not even Portugal, had a tougher path to the semifinals than the French, who had to overcome Spain and Brazil. Especially after an underwhelming performance in the first round, when the French entered the second half of their game against Togo (Togo!!!) needing a win to advance and they were only tied at 0-0. But since then, Zidane has carried this team on his back. There is no team in the world right now that has anyone playing as well as Zidane. The maestro is not done yet. And no team in the world is as good as this French team down the middle of the pitch: Barthez in goal, Thuram and Gallas at the back, Makelele and Vieira in the middle, with Zidane and Henry up front. It is that core that gives France a chance to win every game. And win they have. Portugal and Germany both needed penalties to advance to the semis and Italy needed a last-second penalty of their own to beat the Aussies, but France has flat-out beaten two of the world's best teams: 3-1 over Spain and 1-0 over Brazil. The only goal that they gave up in 180 minutes playing against the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Robinho, Adriano, Raul, Torres, and Villa was a penalty kick against Spain - no goal from the run of play against both of those teams is an astonishing feat. Portugal had no luck scoring against a staunch English defense, marsalled by the excellent John Terry, so it is hard to imagine any goals for them against France. Meanwhile, with each passing victory, this feels more like Zinedine Zidane's World Cup, part deux.

Most people, your author among them, expected this to be Ronaldinho's World Cup. Zidane, the best player of the last 20 years, was retiring after the tournament. It was time for him to pass the torch on to Ronaldinho, his successor as the world's best player. This weekend's Brazil-France matchup would be the perfect stage. Right? Oui? Eh? No. Zidane played his best game in years, while Ronaldinho completed one of the most disappointing international performances in recent memory - he was anonymous from the kick-off against Croatia to the final whistle against France. Call it bad coaching, call it fatigue from a draining club season with Barcelona, but Ronaldinho was non-existent - the blame for that rests with the player and the player alone. Across the pitch, Zidane gave the young Brazilian a lesson in what it means to be clutch. Dylan Thomas once wrote, "Do not go gently into that good night"; on Saturday in Frankfurt, Zidane heeded his words.

At this point, it is Zidane's tournament - we're just watching it. There are two more games for us to savor his talent, for us to marvel at the grace and skill of an artist in action. And I, for one, am not picking against him. If Spain, a team that played some of the best footie seen in Germany, could not do it...and if Brazil, a team favored by most to win it all, could not do it...then Portugal won't be the ones to send Zidane off into retirement. On Wednesday, Zidane's magical farewell march through Germany will continue, with one more impressive victim left by the wayside. Spain, Brazil, Portugal...how can that be topped? By beating an entire nation. And Germany, in Berlin on Sunday, awaits...