In 2006, the Italian National Team accomplished something that most nations could only dream of--winning their fourth World Cup Trophy in dramatic fashion against France.
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Unfortunately, the win would not be replicated with a stunning encore, as the 2010 World Cup was one of the darkest for the Azzurri. They failed even to make it out of the group stage despite being pitted against Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand.
With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil just around the corner, let's take a look at some of the most memorable moments from the last time Italy hoisted the most important trophy in world football.
NOTE: Matches in chronological order.
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Being notoriously slow starters in major competitions, Italy needed a convincing win against Ghana in their opening World Cup group stage match.
They started off in stunning fashion, with a signature Andrea Pirlo bending strike opening up the score at 1-0 and a Vincenzo Iaquinta breakaway goal giving them all three points to open their record on a positive note.
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It was the only goal Italy would concede in the entire World Cup leading up to the final against France.
A Cristian Zaccardo own goal gave the United States a chance that they ultimately could not capitalize on, as Alberto Gilardino's diving header from an Andrea Pirlo free-kick was enough to give Italy a point to take them past the group stage.
Another memorable incident from this game was Daniele De Rossi's vicious elbow which gave USA striker Brian McBride a bloody gash. De Rossi would be red-carded for the incident, spoiling his World Cup temporarily.
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Even though the match started on a sour note with Alessandro Nesta forced off early in the first half from injury, it would be his replacement, Marco Materazzi, who'd have his fingerprints all over Italy's run throughout the rest of the World Cup.
Materazzi not only scored against the Czech Republic but would become an integral pillar to the Azzurri's success throughout the competition.
What was an unfortunate end for a classy defender such as Nesta turned out to be the saving grace for both Materazzi and his nation.
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Was it or wasn't it a penalty, that is the question.
The foul in extra time that brought down Fabio Grosso in the penalty box would be the deciding factor in an otherwise lackluster performance from the Azzurri.
Francesco Totti stepped up to take the penalty and delivered a rocket past Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
It has to be said that Italy were lucky with their draws leading up to the semifinal, as they encountered two of the weakest nations to make it past the group stage—Australia and Ukraine.
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Finally, the World Cup match when Luca Toni broke loose.
After having failed to score in the competition to date, the hulking Italian striker took advantage of a very average Ukrainian defense and scored the brace which would spearhead his nation past the quarterfinals and into a nightmare matchup against host nation Germany.
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(The above video remains my personal all-time favorite. The two most emotional minutes I have ever spent as a football fan.)
Another clean sheet, this time against the host nation.
Fabio Grosso's howl after scoring the extra-time goal against Germany remains one of the most iconic moments in Azzurri history.
Adding to the delirium, Alessandro Del Piero would score on a stunning counterattack only a few minutes later, booking Italy's place to Berlin for the 2006 World Cup final.
The match also featured plenty of stunning saves from Gianluigi Buffon, who had the best stretch out of any goalkeeper. In front of him, Fabio Cannavaro was immense throughout the match and has to be viewed as one of the main reasons why Italy were able to go on such an impressive run.
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Incredibly, the little-known Fabio Grosso would once again be a genesis of Italy's success, being put in the most tense situation of taking the last penalty kick, which he coolly slotted past Fabien Barthez.
Other than the dramatic penalties, the match will be remembered for the vicious Zinedine Zidane headbutt towards Marco Materazzi, who had apparently insulted a member of Zidane's family.
Zidane was promptly red-carded, an incident that remains one of the most controversial exits in world football and became a sad note for Zidane's retirement.
Either way, Italy managed to get past the drama to force France to penalties. David Trezeguet's miss would prove to be the deciding factor which ultimately gave Italy their fourth World Cup in their storied history.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 9 July 2006 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany, to determine the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Italy beat France 5–3 on penalties after the match finished 1–1 after extra time. France's Zinedine Zidane was sent off in his last-ever match, for headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi's chest in retaliation to Materazzi's verbal provocation.
It was the first final since 1978 in which neither Germany nor Brazil competed (and the second since 1938); it was also the first all-European final since Italy won the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and the second final to be decided on penalties (1994 was the first, with Italy losing on that occasion). It was also Italy's first world title in 24 years, and their fourth overall, putting them one ahead of Germany and only one behind Brazil. The penalty shoot-out victory for Italy was that country's first in the World Cup Finals: Italy's three previous penalty shoot-out competitions (including the 1994 final) had all been lost. The victory also led to Italy topping the FIFA World Rankings in February 2007 for the first time since November 1993.
Route to the final[edit]
Pre-match[edit]
The opening performance was by singers Shakira and Wyclef Jean, who performed a special version of 'Hips Don't Lie' called The Bamboo Version.
Match[edit]Summary[edit]
Zidane during the 2006 World Cup Final
The final started with each side scoring within the first 20 minutes. Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring by converting a seventh-minute penalty kick,[3] conceded by Marco Materazzi, which glanced off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal. Materazzi then levelled the scores in the 19th minute, a header from six yards following an Andrea Pirlo corner from the right. Both teams had chances to score the winning goal in normal time: Luca Toni hit the crossbar in the 35th minute for Italy, later having a header disallowed for offside, while France were not granted a possible second penalty in the 53rd minute when Florent Malouda went down in the box after a cover tackle from Gianluca Zambrotta. France appeared to be the side with better chances to win because of the higher number of shots on goal. They were unable to capitalise, however, and the score remained at one goal each.
At the end of the regulation 90 minutes, the score was still level at 1–1, and the match was forced into extra time. Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon made a potentially game-saving save in extra time when he tipped a Zidane header over the crossbar.
As Zidane and Materazzi were jogging up the pitch close to each other, they briefly exchanged words after Materazzi was seen tugging at Zidane's jersey before Zidane began to walk away from him. Moments later, Zidane suddenly stopped, turned around and head-butted Materazzi's chest, knocking him to the ground. Although play was halted, referee Horacio Elizondo did not appear to have seen the confrontation. According to match officials' reports, fourth officialLuis Medina Cantalejo informed Elizondo of the incident through his headset.[4] After consulting his assistants, Elizondo issued Zidane a red card in the 110th minute.[5] It marked the 14th overall expulsion of Zidane's career, and joined him with Cameroon's Rigobert Song as the only players ever to be sent off during two separate World Cup tournaments.[6] He also became the fourth player red-carded in a World Cup final, in addition to being the first sent off in extra time.[7]
Extra time produced no further goals and a penalty shoot-out followed, which Italy won 5–3. France's David Trezeguet, the man who scored the golden goal against Italy in the Euro 2000 final, was the only player not to score his penalty; his spot kick hit the crossbar, leaving Fabio Grosso – who scored Italy's first goal in the semi-final against Germany – to score the winning penalty.[8]
Details[edit]
Attendance: 69,000[9]
Statistics[edit]
Post-match[edit]
German PresidentHorst Köhler, UEFA presidentLennart Johansson, and the local organizing committee president Franz Beckenbauer were among those present on the pitch stage during the awards ceremony. President Köhler handed the trophy to Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro without FIFA presidentSepp Blatter's presence.[10] As Cannavaro raised the trophy, a short version of Patrizio Buanne's 'Stand Up (Champions Theme)' was played.[10]
Aftermath[edit]Provocation of Zidane[edit]
After video evidence suggested that Materazzi had verbally provoked Zidane, three British media newspapers claimed to have hired lip readers to determine what Materazzi had said, with The Times, The Sun and Daily Star claiming that Materazzi called Zidane 'the son of a terrorist whore'. Materazzi disputed this claim, eventually winning public apologies from The Sun and Daily Star in 2008,[11][12] as well as libel damages from all three British newspapers.[13]
Zidane only partly explained that repeated harsh insults about his mother had caused him to react.[14] Materazzi admitted talking trash to Zidane, but argued that Zidane's behaviour had been very arrogant and that the remarks were trivial.[15] Materazzi also insisted that he did not insult Zidane's mother (who was ill at the time), claiming, 'I didn't talk about his mother, either. I lost my mother when I was fifteen, and even now I still get emotional talking about it'.[16][17]
Zidane later apologised but added that he did not regret his offence because he felt that this would condone Materazzi's actions.[18] Two months later, Materazzi offered his version of events, claiming that after he had grabbed Zidane's jersey, Zidane remarked, 'If you want my shirt, I will give it to you afterwards', and he replied to Zidane that he would prefer his sister, but claimed during the interview that he was unaware Zidane even had a sister.[19] Over a year after the incident, Materazzi confirmed that his precise words to Zidane were: 'I prefer the whore that is your sister'.[20]
Reactions[edit]
After the final, then-President of FranceJacques Chirac hailed Zidane as a 'man of heart and conviction'.[21] Chirac later added that he found the offence to be unacceptable, but he understood that Zidane had been provoked.[22] However, French newspaper Le Figaro called the headbutt 'odious' and 'unacceptable'.[23]Time magazine regarded the incident as a symbol for Europe's 'grappling with multi-culturalism'.[24] Despite the ongoing furore, Zidane's sponsors announced that they would stick with him.[25]
The incident was extensively lampooned on the Internet and in popular culture. Family Guy parodied it in the episode 'Saving Private Brian', in which Zidane headbutts an old lady while delivering her a birthday cake. The Simpsons parodied it in the episode 'Marge Gamer', in which Homer Simpson shouts 'Zidane!', when headbutting the linesman. In addition to becoming a staple of parody via numerous online videos and GIFs, a novelty song titled Coup de Boule ('Headbutt') reached the top of the French charts. A statue of the incident was made in 2014.
In light of Zidane's statements, FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings to investigate the incident. FIFA also affirmed the legality of Elizondo's decision to send Zidane off, rejecting claims that Cantalejo had illegally relied on video transmission to make a decision about handling Zidane's misconduct.[26] FIFA issued a CHF 5,000 fine and a two-match ban against Materazzi, while Zidane received a three-match ban and a CHF 7,500 fine. Since Zidane had already retired, he voluntarily served three days of community service on FIFA's behalf as a substitute for the match ban.[27]
The Hidden Face of Zidane, written by journalist Besma Lahouri and published in September 2008, claimed that Zidane had expressed his regret for the incident during a conversation with his cousin.[28]
In October 2009, in an interview conducted on French radio station RTL, Zidane stated: 'Let's not forget that provocation is a terrible thing. I have never been one to provoke; I have never done it. It's terrible, and it is best not to react'.[29]
Viewer figures[edit]
According to FIFA, 715.1 million individuals globally watched the final match of this tournament.[30]IPG's independent media agency Initiative Worldwide estimated a 260 million people viewership.[31] The independent firm Initiative Futures Sport + Entertainment estimates it at 322 million viewers.[32]
See also[edit]References[edit]
2006 Football World Cup Finalist
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2006_FIFA_World_Cup_Final&oldid=898528884'
Soccer fans can play along with their favorite international stars in this interactive adaptation of the 64-match, 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament held in Germany between June and July. Using an enhanced version of the graphics engine featured in 2005's FIFA Soccer 06, the game includes 125 national teams and all-new modes of play. The main mode focuses on qualifying and advancing through World Cup competition in the country's 12 official stadiums, while Global Challenge lets players re-create 40 historic moments from past World Cup tournaments.
The game also introduces a context-sensitive shooting system that takes into account multiple variables, including the athlete's shooting ability, the amount of defensive pressure, and his proximity to the goal. Animations for players on the pitch have been expanded, with signature-style moves for nearly 100 top-ranked superstars, from Claudio Reyna to Frank Lampard to Xavi. Throughout each mode, players have the chance to unlock rewards such as legendary athletes and licensed apparel for use in multiplayer games. Online support is included for head-to-head matches against players from around the world.
2006 FIFA World Cup is inspired by Winning Eleven, which until now, was the game to beat. By incorporating some of the best of Winning Eleven's features, along with some classic EA elements, 2006 FIFA World Cup is a hybrid soccer game that definitely raises the bar for EA.
Loaded with features and packed with action, 2006 FIFA World Cup, has just the right blend and balance of controls, moves and challenges. It's accessible to all gamers, and the online modes let you play with or against players of equal skill levels. The hardcores will want to play through the tournament mode to unlock the hardest difficulty level where the AI is programmed to kick your ass. Regardless of what difficulty level you play at the AI plays a very realistic game. What may seem to be unfair at first, can be attributed to your lack of skill. I wasn't prepared for the ass-whooping that I got on the Perfect difficulty level but after a couple of days I was able to compete without embarrassing myself.
Unlike World Cup games of the past, 2006 FIFA World Cup, features all of the teams - yes all of them. Even the ones that didn't make the finals. Virtually every country is represented here. If Antarctica has a soccer team, you'll find them here. In all, there is a total of 127 teams. You can skip ahead and choose a team that has already made the finals, or you can try your hand at an underground team in hopes of bringing them all the way to the cup. To keep things in as realistic perspective as possible, the teams that are already in the finals will have a better chance of getting to the cup than teams that didn't. This is due to the fact that these teams typically have better players.
Players that have better overall stats will perform the various moves such as passing and kicking with more finesse. FIFA World Cup takes this a step further with the star player feature that targets renowned players such as Beckham, Owen and Crespo and allows them put their unique skills to use on the field. Whether it's passing, shooting, dribbling or all-out speed, when the ball is in the hands of any of these players, (which will be indicated by a star over their head) they will display almost superhuman skills in the areas of their specific talents. Quite often the game will revolve around these star players.
FIFA World Cup, now incorporates the smoother and more intuitive analog control system. There are less moves in this game than Winning Eleven but I find that refreshing. It makes things a lot more straightforward as I don't have as many things to remember. I didn't use most of the moves in Winning Eleven and unless you're playing it for months on end you probably won't need all of them anyway. The game controls great the way it is. Just use what you've got. There is passing, shooting, dribbling, chip shots, short crosses, one-two passes and the ability to change your strategy in real-time with the D-pad. You can also call over teammates to help defend you or get into a better position for a pass.
A lot of the control is context-sensitive. The CPU takes into account the players' stats as well as his position on the field and if he's moving or standing. There is no power meter per se, so if you want a more powerful kick make sure the player that has the ball has the appropriate stats for that move, and also make sure that the player is running and has the required momentum for a more powerful shot.
During a penalty shot the goalie has the ability to psyche-out the shooter by moving around and taunting him. To make the shot, the shooter has to line up the ball in the shot meter. The longer he takes to line-up his shot the more he will become adversely affected by the crowd and the goalie. The shot meter will begin to shake as the shooter becomes unnerved making it more difficult to line up properly. By the same token, the shooter can also unnerve the goalie by dancing around and taking faking shots.
The animations are very smooth and realistic. The goal animations are incredibly varied. I don't think I've seen the same one twice. Sometimes the ball bounces off the post and other times it deflects off the goalkeeper. The players' and crowd's reaction to goals seem spontaneous. Television theme songs mp3. You can see the look of glory on the players' face and the audience responds with cheers, throwing confetti and waving flag and banners. The stadiums look virtually identical to their real-life counterparts. They come complete with their own national anthems. There are more than 100 different anthems. Even the commentary is impressive, not only for the drama and excitement that Clive and Andy provide but the fact that they seldom repeat their comments. I don't know how much dialog these guys recorded but there seems to be many hours' worth.
People who downloaded FIFA World Cup: Germany 2006 have also downloaded:
2002 FIFA World Cup, FIFA World Cup 98, FIFA Soccer 07, FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, FIFA 2000, UEFA Euro 2004 Portugal, FIFA Soccer 2004 (a.k.a. FIFA Football 2004), FIFA Soccer 2005
The 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, governed by FIFA. Previous editions before 2005 were not governed by FIFA and were held under the title Beach Soccer World Championships. Overall this was the twelfth edition of the World Cup since its establishment in 1995. It took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 2–12 November 2006. The winners of the tournament were hosts Brazil, who won their first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup title and their tenth title overall.
Major changes to format[edit]
After the 2005 World Cup, beach soccer continued to grow and spread worldwide at a fast rate. Therefore, FIFA established the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers, to try to allow more nations to play in the World Cup, as well as getting more national teams involved in the sport. FIFA also increased the number of participating teams in the World Cup from 12 to a record-high 16 teams. This also meant that nations would no longer be invited to play in the World Cup but would have to qualify.
With the establishment of the qualifying rounds, FIFA decided to standardise each World Cup, meaning that from this World Cup onwards, each confederation would have the same number of teams participating in each World Cup and that the 16 teams would be split up into four groups of four teams, with the top two teams moving on to the quarter finals.
Qualifying rounds[edit]African zone[edit]
African nations were allocated 2 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between September 28 and September 30, 2006. Cameroon and Nigeria were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Cameroon defeated Nigeria in the final to win the title.
Asian zone[edit]
Asian nations were allocated 3 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between May 22 and May 26, 2006. Bahrain and Japan were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Bahrain defeated Japan in the final to win the title. Iran and China were knocked out in the semi finals and played each other in the third place play off. Iran beat China to claim the third berth at the World Cup.
European zone[edit]
European nations were allocated 5 berths at the World Cup. Instead of having a specific tournament for World Cup qualification, qualification was achieved through the 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League which took place earlier in the year. The nations who made it to the second stage of the Superfinal qualified to the World Cup being Spain, Portugal, Poland and Italy. To decide who would claim the fifth berth, the defeated nations in the competition came back to play in a straight knockout tournament, with the winner progressing to the World Cup. The nation which won the tournament was France who beat Switzerland in the final.
North, Central American and Caribbean zone[edit]
North, Central American and Caribbean nations were allocated 2 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between September 13 and September 17, 2006. The United States and Canada were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. The United States defeated Canada in the final to win the title.
Oceanian zone[edit]
Oceanian nations were allocated 1 berth at the World Cup. The championship took place between August 31 and September 3, 2006. The Solomon Islands and Vanuatu were the two finalists. The Solomon Islands defeated Vanuatu in the final to win the title and qualify for the World Cup.
South American zone[edit]
South American nations were allocated 3 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between March 5 and March 12, 2006. Brazil and Uruguay were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Brazil defeated Uruguay in the final to win the title. Argentina and Venezuela were knocked out in the semi finals and played each other in the third place play off. Argentina beat Venezuela to claim the third berth at the World Cup.
Teams[edit]
These are the teams that qualified for the World Cup:
Venue[edit]
As with the previous FIFA editions of the World Cup held in Rio, the tournament once again took place at the Copacabana Beach Soccer Arena.
Group stage[edit]
The 16 teams present at the finals in Brazil were split into 4 groups of 4 teams. Each team played the other 3 teams in its group in a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the quarter finals. The quarter finals, semi finals and the final itself was played in the form of a knockout tournament.
All matches are listed as local time in Rio de Janeiro, (UTC-3)
Group A[edit]
Attendance: 6 000
Attendance: 10,000
Attendance: 10 000
2006 Football World Cup Final
Attendance: 6 000
Attendance: 10 000
Attendance: 2 000
Group B[edit]
Attendance: 5 000
Attendance: 5 000
Attendance: 5 000
Attendance: 5 000
Attendance: 4 000
Attendance: 5 000
Group C[edit]
Attendance: 3 000
Attendance: 5 000
Attendance: 4 000
Attendance: 5 000
Attendance: 1 300
Attendance: 800
Group D[edit]
Attendance: 3 000
Attendance: 5 000
Attendance: 5 000
Attendance: 6 000
Attendance: 800
Attendance: 1 400
Knockout stage[edit]
Quarter-finals[edit]
Attendance: 10 000
Attendance: 6 000
Attendance: 4 500
Attendance: 6 000
Semi-finals[edit]
Attendance: 10 000
Attendance: 10 000
Third place play off[edit]
Attendance: 10 000
Final[edit]
Attendance: 10 000
Winners[edit]
Awards[edit]
Top scorers[edit]
Final standings[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2006_FIFA_Beach_Soccer_World_Cup&oldid=850081917'
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