France has finally exacted revenge* for losing to Italy at the World Cup in 2006. In two meetings, France won and tied (including a 0-0 score on Saturday) the lackluster Italians to gain full control of Group B for Euro 2008 qualifications.
And the French deserve it. They are a class footballing side. The Italians, for their part, are still feeling their way under the direction of coach Roberto Donadoni.
The game was marred from the start by a rather churlish incident as Italian soccer fans jeered the French national anthem.
As a Canadian, I have witnessed how unfortunate this can be as we have booed the American anthem in the past. Specifically, a few times during international hockey games that left Hockey Canada red faced. The Montreal Canadiens have had problems in the past also.
Many claimed it was to oppose America's involvement in Iraq. In othe words, it's a political statement at a sporting event. After all, some will argue, national anthems are actually political and nationalists tools.
Rubbish.
Sports fans are not foreign policy experts so best they pipe down. As for anthems used for propaganda, while this may be true from a bygone era, this is no longer the case. Anthems by their nature are political but they have evolved into a habit and it has become common courtesy to respect one's anthem.
The Italians failed on this point and the Italian soccer federation is justifiably not pleased. Neither were star players Massimo Oddo and Alessandro del Piero who have stated they have never heard their anthem booed. Even former Italy coach, and most recently Real Madrid, Fabio Capello was disappointed.
Donadoni added,'We need to say sorry to the French. We have done a bad thing.'
Indeed, two wrongs don't make a right.
However, there's a but here. The French need to own up too. If the French accorded themselves a bunch of "buts" for Zidane, the Italians earned their share here. If they were concerned about what provoked Zidane then it stands to reason people should want to know what provoked Italian fans. Right? Hey, I'm just following the logic the French used to defend Zidane. If they do employ this thinking then they ironically need to shoulder part of the blame.
That the French are not entirely blameless for the reaction by the fans is something del Piero suggested also.
France does not get called out for enough with this sort of stuff. In the past year, it's been nothing short of astounding at how often the French have gone public with disparaging and unsubstantiated remarks about Italy.
Yes, they are Latin rivals and this is bound to happen but it does have the feeling of excessiveness now. Life balances out in the end. If you feel aggrieved on one end, it usually will comes back to you for the good on the other. If you look at the history of a soccer player, I bet he gained as many favorable calls as he lost. The French seem to be focusing on the perceived injustices and are behaving accordingly.
I don't know what the Italians did to earn such scorn besides having the audacity to win on a day they did not have their "A" game.
In fairness, not all the French players have been yapping but the ones who did have gone public. The only reports I could find about Italian players going public is with the odd response to French assertions - and even then it's been limited.
Interestingly, the French and Italian players seemed to harbour no animosity during and after the game as they high-fived one another and exchanged jerseys.
That said, I'm not daft enough to believe that Italian players are perfect angels, but all I can comment on is the remarks made in public.
Here, France has Italy beat, hands down.
Let's call this a draw and move on.
*Since writing this note, France's revenge is complete as they went on to lose to Scotland twice. In doing so, it put Italy in a tight spot in Group B.
And the French deserve it. They are a class footballing side. The Italians, for their part, are still feeling their way under the direction of coach Roberto Donadoni.
The game was marred from the start by a rather churlish incident as Italian soccer fans jeered the French national anthem.
As a Canadian, I have witnessed how unfortunate this can be as we have booed the American anthem in the past. Specifically, a few times during international hockey games that left Hockey Canada red faced. The Montreal Canadiens have had problems in the past also.
Many claimed it was to oppose America's involvement in Iraq. In othe words, it's a political statement at a sporting event. After all, some will argue, national anthems are actually political and nationalists tools.
Rubbish.
Sports fans are not foreign policy experts so best they pipe down. As for anthems used for propaganda, while this may be true from a bygone era, this is no longer the case. Anthems by their nature are political but they have evolved into a habit and it has become common courtesy to respect one's anthem.
The Italians failed on this point and the Italian soccer federation is justifiably not pleased. Neither were star players Massimo Oddo and Alessandro del Piero who have stated they have never heard their anthem booed. Even former Italy coach, and most recently Real Madrid, Fabio Capello was disappointed.
Donadoni added,'We need to say sorry to the French. We have done a bad thing.'
Indeed, two wrongs don't make a right.
However, there's a but here. The French need to own up too. If the French accorded themselves a bunch of "buts" for Zidane, the Italians earned their share here. If they were concerned about what provoked Zidane then it stands to reason people should want to know what provoked Italian fans. Right? Hey, I'm just following the logic the French used to defend Zidane. If they do employ this thinking then they ironically need to shoulder part of the blame.
That the French are not entirely blameless for the reaction by the fans is something del Piero suggested also.
France does not get called out for enough with this sort of stuff. In the past year, it's been nothing short of astounding at how often the French have gone public with disparaging and unsubstantiated remarks about Italy.
Yes, they are Latin rivals and this is bound to happen but it does have the feeling of excessiveness now. Life balances out in the end. If you feel aggrieved on one end, it usually will comes back to you for the good on the other. If you look at the history of a soccer player, I bet he gained as many favorable calls as he lost. The French seem to be focusing on the perceived injustices and are behaving accordingly.
I don't know what the Italians did to earn such scorn besides having the audacity to win on a day they did not have their "A" game.
In fairness, not all the French players have been yapping but the ones who did have gone public. The only reports I could find about Italian players going public is with the odd response to French assertions - and even then it's been limited.
Interestingly, the French and Italian players seemed to harbour no animosity during and after the game as they high-fived one another and exchanged jerseys.
That said, I'm not daft enough to believe that Italian players are perfect angels, but all I can comment on is the remarks made in public.
Here, France has Italy beat, hands down.
Let's call this a draw and move on.
*Since writing this note, France's revenge is complete as they went on to lose to Scotland twice. In doing so, it put Italy in a tight spot in Group B.
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