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Portugal v France semi-final review
Diving shame
In a match littered with diving, it was fitting that one of the game’s greatest stars settled things. Richard Godden reports on a disappointing second semi-final |
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Both Italy and Germany emerged from their semi-final with their heads held high after an intense battle in Dortmund. What a pity that the same couldn’t be said about one of the sides in the other last four clash. Portugal won few friends after their poor showings against Holland and England, and their stock dropped dramatically again after a disgraceful showing against France.
Les Bleus ensured that they repeated their Euro 2000 semi-final win thanks to Zinedine Zidane’s first-half penalty – which, coincidentally, means that the Final of that tournament was replicated six years later. The ex-Juve hero converted after Thierry Henry had been tripped by the slightest of touches from Ricardo Carvalho. But the game was overshadowed by a collection of Portuguese attempts at conning referee Jorge Larrionda. Thankfully the Uruguayan official was having none of it, and Luiz Felipe Scolari’s toothless troops are left to rue another near miss at a major event.
“We know South American referees and that they know how to kill a game,” stated the former Brazil tactician, who had previously won 11 and drawn one of his 12 World Cup Finals matches before this defeat. “All I can say is that he was right when he granted the penalty on the French player and he made a mistake when he didn't give Portugal a penalty when Cristiano Ronaldo was fouled. I don’t believe that France were better than Portugal – it was a balanced match and one penalty decided it.”
Surprisingly, given his pre-match criticism of their opponents and his repeated diving gestures to the referee throughout the game, France Coach Raymond Domenech refused to criticise the antics of the Portuguese players. “I do not govern the behaviour, decision or choices of Mr Scolari,” said the much-maligned tactician. “They played well but there’s only one winner.”
All that was left was a final word on Zidane. The former Juventus playmaker announced his retirement in the lead-up to the tournament and, while star names like Ronaldinho and Frank Lampard have failed to deliver the goods, Zizou was decisive once again. “He is the man who shows us all how to play,” said Florent Malouda. “He is a crucial player and our leader. When he plays well, the team plays well – that is all I can say about him.”
STAR MAN – ZINEDINE ZIDANE (FRANCE)
Although Lilian Thuram was a rock at the heart of the French defence, it’s hard to look past Zidane as the star man. A class act as ever, and as cool as you like when slotting home the decisive penalty.
[Click here for Germany v Italy review] |
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