Zidane Sent Brazil Home

Brazil crushed when everybody in the World Cup expected it to happen. The elimination of the world champions did not surprise anyone. After the way they played in the competition so far, Carlos Alberto Parreira's players couldn't have won the world cup. The only question on everyone's lips was when would they stop? And when better to leave the competition than after a clash against France. And that's not necessarily because they've met 8 years ago in a World Cup final, but because Zidane had to say a proper good bye to the world of sport.

France began the match pretty disoriented, but recovered on the way. Thierry Henry harassed the Brazilian defense continuously, while Riberry did a great job infiltrating between the "cariocas" defenders. The true magician on the field was Zidane. He ruled the whole game, making everyone forget about Kaka or Ronaldinho. If we were to count, I don't think the French midfielder gave more than 5 wrong passes. And that's not all. His dribblings and changes of direction made everyone think about the 1998 final.

The first half went on without major scoring chances from both teams. Still, the French players ruled the field - and could have scored if Zidane hadn't missed out on the opportunity to score from a free kick with less than 5 seconds to go. The second half was pretty much like the first one, with the Brazilian side entering more determined on the field. Still, it was France that opened the score, when Thierry Henry managed to beat Dida after a perfect cross from Zidane. It was already 1-0 and Brazil was panicking.

Even if they were 0-1 down on the scoreboard, "the cariocas" did not bring up a great response. More, it was still the French players to have the offensive initiative. Riberry managed a great pass towards Henry, but Lucio was there to save the day for Dida. Eventually, Parreira realized that Cafu had to exit the game and introduced the RealMadrid defender Cicinho. And, with Robinho entering the game to substitute Kaka, Brazil managed to get their first shot on target, after 89 minutes. Unbelievable! The game ended with France on the winning side since, let's admit it, football can't be that cruel.

The "les bleus" story continues, and Zidane's last adventure should end, for the sake of football, with a world cup crown. Until then, France will face Portugal in the semifinals. The last time that happened, France went on and won the European Championship. Could that only be a coincidence?