"Zinedine Zidane won the Golden Ball award for the World Cup's best player, despite being dismissed for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the final. "

"The midfielder, 34, beat Italians Fabio Cannavaro (1977 points) and Andrea Pirlo (715 points) in the ballot. "



Cannavaro was player of the tournament for me.

Even though voted on by journalists, FIFA should have vetoed this award.

No way should Zidane have be rewarded after that head butt incident in Final.

The problem is that the voting is done before the final.

To be honest even before the headbut, and the final overall, I would have went for Cannavaro, he has been excellent in every game he played.

ZZ performed well v Brazil, and in flashes against Spain, but not much else apart IMHO.

No, the voting was done by journalists at HALF TIME during the World Cup Final.
Some journo's swayed by Zidane's delicate chip penalty kick in first half, likely.

Rent-A-Quote Sepp Blatter said in an Italian newspaper today that although FIFA did not make the award, they do have a duty and may consider stripping Zidane of 'Best Player' award.

Amen to that.

There seems to be some kind of clamour in the media to blame Materazzi for what Zidane done.

Sure, he probably said something he shouldn't have, but the fact still remains rather then retort to that, or complain afterwards, Zidane resorted to blatant on field violence, so why anybody sticks up for him I don't know (I know nobody on here has, but I have come across people that are)?

16 red cards in his career, suggest he is no angel. Zidane I mean, not Gabberelli!

Martin O'Neil said on BBC tv after game that players insult each other "about every 15 seconds of a match".
Is he right? He's not wrong!

No excuse for headbutt. Zidane speaks out on French tv tonight at 7pm. Wonder what kack he will spout?

He's probably been surfing the net the past few days, to find out the worst alleged insult, and will throw that in as being what was said.

Its sad how some media have spun it out as a racist issue.
Its just 2 footballers slagging each other and one of them freaks out like a big baby.
All you need to do in mainland Europe is say something about a players' Mum and it'll all kick off !

SESL HQ have had lip readers look at the Zidane footage, and this is what he may have said.....

Materazzi to Zidane: "See that sweaty football shirt of yours?"

Zidane: "I am aware of the blobs of sweat."

Materazzi: "That's your fat Mamma, that is!"

Just like a scene from Newman and Baddiel's old favourites the two history professors - elderly academics who fronted a TV programme titled History Today and who drifted away from their subject to indulge in a puerile and infantile name-calling feud, using schoolboy taunts to ridicule one another.

I remember the show Mary Whitehouse Experience.
Kwality student days viewing.


Materazzi to Zidane: "See that small golden Jules Rimet over there?"

Zidane: "I am aware of the trophy."

Materazzi: "That's mine, that is!"

Cue head butt to the chest. Game over.

Zidane is a joke.

Here is another one.
Sitting in a Paris cafe today, waiter serves a bowl of soup and french bread roll.
Asked if I would like anything with my roll, I ask for the finest French butter.
Moments later, the waiter brings my Zidane !

boom boom

Mary Whitehouse Experience comedy show was great.

Found this in the Guardian:-
Newman & Baddiel
http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup200...rticle_continue

Rob Newman and David Baddiel did a comic turn as two crusty old history professors that culminated with one saying something disparaging about the other's mother.
The routine usually went like this. Baddiel's professor would introduce an abstruse historical theme for debate. Then the argument quickly degenerated into insult, and the insults would be funny because both professors would continue to speak in the formal voices of intellectual debate.
"You see that piece of snot on my handkerchief," one emeritus professor would say to the other, "that's you, that is."
"You see him?" the other would retort, pointing at the picture of a particularly disgusting man. "That's the man who works in your pants, that is."
But the coup de grace in the escalating exchange of insults would be the following. "You see X [where X is a variable invariably denoting something foul]? That's your mum, that is."
The sketch supplied a catchphrase that, for a while, was every bit as popular in playgrounds as those offered in the Fast Show. "You see that?" children would ask each other at playtime. "That's your mum, that is."

Materazzi banned for two games and fined £2,170 for provoking Zidane.

Zidane banned for 3 games - yet he is RETIRED!

Jesus wept. What a farce.