Crimson Tides and White Backsides

After a game that teetered nervously on the line between tedious and gripping, the Steel Wheels tour heads up to the Olympiastadion for one last push at the title. Tedious because of the identical formations both teams played. Two holding midfield players, two tricky wingers getting their backsides white (he's not one to be outdone our Lawro), one attacking midfielder and a forward, whose job it is to dive. Gripping because of the presence of Zidane. Lizarazu once said that playing with the Gitanes loving playmaker was easy because, "When we don't know what to do we give it to him and he works it out." It seems that French football hasn't moved on much since the days of the buccaneering basque. Still as formations go I quite like the "Get the ball to Zizou" one. It's about the players you see...

Once Henry decided that failing over was much more productive than actually trying to score, there was only going to be one winner. It seems that our favourite Frenchman has decided that diving like a woman is in fact a honourable way to go about winning football matches. I know that Carvalho (pictured below) touched him, but I'd like my strikers to score not to look for fouls, Henry wanted a penalty. Even with a golden opportunity to score you could tell he was thinking, If I fall over here it's a penalty... which means I'll get the ball to Zidane... down I go...

Following the penalty France sat back and waited for the crimson tide. It never really came, possibly because the French had more than one man to stop it, and it wasn't Denzel. Pauleta wasn't diving enough for Scolari so he was sacrificed to enable a more experienced and accomplished play actor like Ronaldo to push in to the striker's role. Both him and Postiga (was it him? Not sure may have been Nuno Gomes) had the modern forwards role down to a key. Their falling over was exemplary, technique took a back seat. France saw out the game, even allowing for Saha's shot at worst cameo ever, proving that experience and defences win world cups. Italy be warned, these boys can play a bit and crucially know how to win.

Of course part of the reason I was so bitter throughout the match was because this was OUR semi-final and these teams had gate crashed the party. Halftime was entertaining if only to see just how much the BBC hates Sven. Presumably they'd rather have Big Scolari, for the life of me I can't see why. His Portugal team dived all game then complained about the referee at the end. If Fifa weren't editing the footage of their beautiful game (which they are by the way, any dives don't get repeated by the host broadcaster) we would have seen Scolari ranting and raving at the referee after the game. It's all right being passionate but the last thing we need as an England manager is a bad loser, hell we always end up losing, so we need someone who can take it on the chin.

All those games and we get the final the Dassler brothers would have wanted. Battling it out to be the pride of Herzogenaurach (quite a title I'm sure you'll agree) for Adolf will be les bleus, Rudolf's representatives will be the Azzuri. In a game for hearts and heads I hope that Zidane comes out on top. The guy is universally loved, if you can find anyone that doesn't like the fella you've done well. When's that film of his out?