Back to Work

Well, it's back to work this morning after 6 days off. The World Cup is over. No, I haven't watched it yet.

A last few words on the 'butt' heard round the world. Everyone's waiting to hear the explanation. What did Materazzi say that made Zizou see red? Did he call him a racial slur? Did he call him a terrorist? (Frankly, that would be a pretty mild insult, I think). Did he call his mother a terrorist? Materazzi himself says it was only a mild insult. A couple of news outlets have hired lip readers to translate what the Italian said and the results are not good for the Italian.

Commentators are piling, like termites from the woodwork, to weigh in against Zidane. Dumbest act in sports history. Act of infamy. Madness. Blah blah blah. Yeah, it was a stupid thing to do. But the dumbest act in sports history? I have to think Zidane is still several slots on the list below the Top Ten Dumbest Things Mark Cuban Has Done This Week.

Does this checker his career? Sure, a little. But you have to put the act in the context of Zidane's career. He's blown his cool a few times, including a few past head butts. That's part and parcel of why Zizou's one of the greatest footballers of this generation. The dude's a little intense. You could seen the look in his eyes in the game against Brazil, or Portugal. There is a fire burning inside. I didn't see that look in anyone else's eyes in this tournament, save another footballler par excellence prone to occasional acts of madness, Wayne Rooney.

With any player whose got any kind of passion, there's always a risk of it boiling over. I think the Italians were well aware of this - Zizou was suspended in the Serie A for occasional acts of madness; you think they didn't know this? - and taunting Zidane was part of the game plan. Finally, Materazzi crossed the line and Zizou exploded. The Italians got their trophy.

A player of Zidane's experience and pedigree should've known better. Yes, it's true. But I'm willing to cut him some slack. I've got an Irish temper and over the years, I've learned to control it. But, occasionally, I hit a flash point and explode. Sometimes with the right combination of factors, even a man who should know better loses control of his temper, even for a brief moment of madness. I think that's what happened to Zidane Sunday. There's no doubt he should've chosen otherwise. There's no doubt he wishes he could take it back. But does it truly mar what he's accomplished in the previous 12 years as a footballer? Does it change the fact that he led France to its first World Cup Title in 1998? Or the 2000 Euro Championship? Does it erase all he's accomplished in club football. No, it's an asterisk, at best.

The real villian here, is Italy. We were supposed to have the beautiful game. Instead, we got the Italians ugly, defensive game. Joga Bonito? No. Joga Feo. They have some wonderful players, indeed. But they don't play. They pack their half and sit back and pound on you, launching balls forward for a quick counter. They give you 118 minutes of trench warfare, then try to win by playing some football in the last 2 minutes (as they did against Germany). Italy is successive games of penalty kick shootouts. Italy is like going to see the ballet and finding clog dancing instead. They won by playing a very conservative game. Their strategy was to target France's best player, physically and mentally; disrupt France's game, not beat them on the field. Football is a game in which the better can often lose and Italy was well aware of this.

Zidane shouldn't have fallen into this trap, but he did.