France V. Italy For Football Glory

France booked their spot in the finals against Italy. And I have to see it is sweet justice to see Portugal not rewarded for their prancing, diving, whining and complaining ways. Honestly, there were so many dives by the boys in maroon they could've just as easily been playing in swimsuits. If Scolari had subbed on Greg Louganis in the 2nd half, it would've made perfect sense.

But that aside, Portugal actually showed up to play an interesting game of football. They finally showed me why they were in the semifinals. They opened pressing forward and got the better of the early chances. France came back and took control of the game until about the 60th minute. Thierry Henry did not have a great game; he operated in fits of genius, punctuated by absences that made you think he'd gone into the Witness Protection Program.

Carvalho's penalty on Henry was clearcut and deserved. Why he felt it necessary to both fall on his back and blatanly trip Henry, I don't know. Then again, the last time he fell, he had Wayne Rooney step on his groin, so it may have been a post-traumatic stress disorder response. Anyhow, Zidane is the coolest footballer I've seen. He looked at Ricardo, he who had guessed correctly on 4 England PKs, and then slotted the ball, with conviction, right past the lunging keeper's fingers. Zidane appears unstoppable at this point.

Zidane had a strong game. Not as dominant as against Brazil, but good enough for the semifinals of the World Cup, for sure. I thought Vieira and Makalele were vital forces in the center of midfield. Portugal's central midfield - including the oft-fabulous Deco - was rendered impotent. It was Luis Figo and C. Ronaldo who generated the attack for Portugal. Beyond that, they had nothing, except for Maniche taking long, 35+ yard blasts, like a mad bomber.

The key for france was their back four. Magnificent again. Sagnol was again, superb - I love the way he plays. Lillian Thuram was the anchor, the rock. This cup is the first time I've seen Thuram and he has been impressive. He blanketed Pauleta like a Halliburton CEO all over a no bid contract. He was kind enough to allow Pauleta one fleeting glimpse of the side netting, but that was it. Between him and WIlliam Gallas, the spine of the French defense is stout, indeed.

The weak link in the defense is Fabien Barthez, the um, creative goalkeeper. It seems that he will make at least one crazy, stupid play in every game. His volleyball service to Figo would rank right in there. He also punched a ball right into traffic and was kindly left unpunished by the Portuguese, who were likely too busy flopping around on the ground like spilt goldfish to notice the opportunity. So unpredictable is Barthez that I believe the dangerous play in defense for Les Bleus is the back pass to the keeper!

Now a few words about Portugal. It is a shame, an international travesty that a team that dives this much could get within a whisper of the World Cup Final. It is also a shame that such a team would not only lead the World Cup in diving, but also whining about the refereeing. Every time someone fell down, players would jump up, throw their arms out the side and start barking at ref (Figo is a notable exception. He let's his play speak for itself). On the replays, invariably, the "foul" would be shown to be the coarsest act of floppery. Even Carvalho, who admitted he fouled Henry, complained that the ref should've "played the advantage," and didn't because he was biased. OK. Where is the advantage when the attacker is flat on the turf??

The last time I saw this sort of immaturity, it was on my daughter's soccer team. It's amazing to see it among grown men playing at the highest level. Have they always been this way or is this something Scolari has instituted? The so-called penalty he wanted, on the replays, was clearly a dive, with minimal contact, if at all. It's a good thing that the refs avoided the FIFA directive to issue yellow cards for diving, for Portugal would've ended the game with 7 or 8 players.

And finally, the golden child, Cristiano Ronaldo. I've always saw CR as a tremendously talented player, whose two chief problems are an excessive focus on his importance and the fact that he is a punk. In the England game and against France, he showed the latter to the entire world and they didn't like what they saw. The chorus of boos he received every time he touched the ball should serve as a wake-up call to CR. And in true Portugeezer style, he complained about the ref stealing the game from his team after the game. The scary thing about yesterday, particularly if you are, unlike me, a Manchester United fan, is the way CR is returning to his diving, flopping ways that Sir Alex had largely cured him of last season. Of course, if you read the reports, that won't be SAF's problem next season. One English punter has even tried to sell him on eBay. National Emergency? In England, maybe. And there is already the I Hate Ronaldo website.

It's going to be a long four days until the final. One of my daughters has a soccer tournament, so I'll be catching some football in the interim. I'll have to be at the tournament during the Final and will be taping. My biggest worry is that someone at the tournament will reveal the score prematurely. Maybe I'll wear my iPod to prevent the possibility.