Yes, I watched the game live. The finals of the 2006 Soccer world cup was etched into my memory. This is the fourth soccer world cup I'm blessed to watch and without a doubt the best finals. '94 was a damp squib, remembered more for Baggio's mistake. '98 was another damp squib known this time for Ronaldo's mystery illness. '02 was a one-sided match.
When the matches started a month ago, I was rooting for Argentina to win. After the first round, I was more than confident that this would be the world cup where I would be able to see my favorite team lifting the cup. But, as luck would have it, they got knocked out in the quarters. I almost immediately lost interest,but for one team....ITALY. Gone are the days when the Italian team is considered a boring team. They still maintain that traditional strong back four, but the forwards have evolved over time. This world cup saw the Italians playing swiftly and aesthetically.
This world cup is not about a single team. More often than not, the world cups are known to throw one better team which went on to win. But this world cup had more than one good team. France, Germany, Argentina...who would forget the grittiness of the Aussies or the stubborn Ivorians. True, this world cup recorded lesser number of goals, but entertainment wise I rate this the best since '90.
We had one disgraced match (20 cards featuring The Netherlands and Portugal) and some ugly moments (Zidane's head-butt, Rooney's send-off fiasco) but which world cup doesn't? After all, they are humans and emotions tend to fly around. For a whole month I forgot Cricket, Tennis , movies everything. I risked coming late to the office this month... afterall, not every year is the Soccer world cup year.
In this moment of joy, one thought still burns me. When can I proudly say that India is playing the soccer world cup? My friend teases me saying even my grand children will carry the same feeling. I pray not...
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