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Zinedine's glory
June 27th, 2006
I had a bit of trouble getting out of bed this morning. I know what you're
thinking - but it's not just because of the deep disappointment brought on
by Australia's World Cup elimination. It really has more to do with a loss
of adrenalin.
It's been 25 days since I left home and, while I've enjoyed this
experience immensely, it feels like I've been in Europe longer because
I've put myself through a punishing schedule - 11 international football
matches (including two friendlies), 8 venues (from Rotterdam to Munich),
sightseeing in between, and thousands of kilometres on trains, trams and
buses (and there has been a lot of hot weather). You can see the wear on
my shoes from all the walking I've done.
When your adrenalin is high, you don't feel exhausted. But that has
changed now. There are two reasons: the Socceroos are out of the
tournament; and the World Cup is nearly over.
I know there are still 12 days to go but we've now reached that point
after the round of 16 where the World Cup finals will have their first
rest days. If you include the silly match for 3rd place (hmmm, shall I
watch it this year?), there are just 8 games left.
I may have a ticket to one of the quarter-finals but it's still
unconfirmed; my flight back to Australia leaves Frankfurt on 6 July
(though I can change it without paying any extra); and I have no hotel
bookings after tonight.
Unfortunately I have trouble relaxing because I get bored quite easily. So
I eventually got going and had a quick look around Ludwigshafen's main
shopping area. I then took the six-minute train ride to Mannheim which has
a nice shopping area and a beautiful (and large) park surrounded by
historic buildings just a few hundred metres from the main train station.
The park is also Mannheim's World Cup zone and, as I was looking for
somewhere to watch Brazil v Ghana, a young lady told me that I could see
the game at a nearby theatre.
Well this was a winning move. This theatre included a large hall with a
massive screen to watch the match on. Hundreds of people were able to
watch the game comfortably there and plenty of fans of both teams added to
the entertainment.
I was tempted to hang around for Spain v France but I needed to have an
early night and I watched the game back in my hotel room.
At every World Cup, you get a dunce that picks the Spaniards to win the
tournament and this year it was me. I don't support the view that they
can't win the World Cup just because they have a history of
underachievement. (France also had a history of underachievement until
eight years ago.) Spain has some fine goal scorers - always important for
a potential world champion - and the team seemed quite united.
But this evening Spain ran into a French team that produced its best World
Cup performance since 1998. Sure, I would have preferred to see Spain's
tournament continue but this World Cup is richer for seeing Zindine Zidane
enjoy at least one more moment of glory. He'll have at least one more
match too.
From being a team that looked like it was going to repeat the 2002
experience of not being able to buy a goal, suddenly France looks like a
competent outfit. We've seen this happen before of course with the Italian
team of 1982 being the classic example. I still doubt that the French will
regain the World Cup on 9 July, but their decorated team - which was
thought to be over the hill - might just have one or two more shots in the
locker.
I'm leaving Ludwigshafen tomorrow but I have no idea where I'll be
tomorrow night. I won't guarantee a diary entry for 28 June in case I'm
still moving.
In the meantime, try to cope with the withdrawal symptoms that days
without World Cup football might produce.
What are we going to do after 9 July?
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