Why Zizou, Why?!

As I type out this post, FIFA has initiated discipinary proceedings against one of the greatest footballers of our generation, Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi, the Italian defender for their respective actions in bringing the beautiful game to disrepute. Zidane has apologised for his actions to his fans and has asked kids across the world not to follow his lead this time round.

Like millions of people across the world, I too stayed awake and watched history being made at the finals of WC 2006. Frankly, I was pretty much neutral. My favourites, Argentina, had been knocked out by their coach. So I wasn't supporting either France or Italy. I felt that while the first half was really gripping, the second half was yawn-worthy with Italy getting back to their old defensive ways.

And then in extra time, we saw two terrific headers from Zidane; one, which was brilliantly saved by Gianluigi Buffon, and the other, which has now becoming the most infamous headbutt of all time. As the events unfolded, and I watched the great man walk off the pitch, one thought raced through my mind, 'Why Zizou, Why?! Why a headbutt?'

Now, I can well understand an individual's blood boiling over in complete rage over hurtful comments, and losing one's mind can well lead to one losing complete control over one's actions. As a result of this a person is well liable to lash out at the offender. A punch in the jaw, a slap in the face, tearing out of hair, biting off a ear or a vicious kick would typically be the vehicle of such outpourings. But a headbutt to the chest? Fairly unheard of till now.

Most of the discussions that have surrounded this controversy have focussed on the motives and the 'What Ifs?' had the headbutt not happened. But I ponder deep on the reasons why Zizou chose a headbutt over other methods of expressing himself.

Maybe he is an Arian like me. Being a ram would then be an innate nature of his every actions. If such is the case, the next time somebody provokes me, they had better guard themselves against a lethal headbutt. Or maybe he's a Taurian Bull. If that's the case, then its a good thing Zidane didn't try this against the Spaniards who might have been more deft at tackling a charging bull. However, a quick bit of Googling dashes my hopes of an explanation on this front. www.who2.com informs me that his birthday is on June 23 and that makes him a Cancerian. Cancer - the crab. Maybe the pincers would have been more devastating on Materazzi.

Maybe Zizou was genuinely upset that his previous header had been deftly handled by Buffon. 'Ze ball was easy for you, eh Buffon? Here, try blocking your defender!' Come to think of it, I believe, Zizou's face did register surprise when he saw Materazzi slump to the floor instead of rocketing to the goal.

And why on the chest? Why not a WWF, or WWE as it is now called, style headbutt to the offending head? Maybe the offensive abuse by Materazzi was not sufficient enough to warrant a headbutt to head. A warning from Zizou to Materazzi, if you may - 'The next time, your head gets it!'

One explanation which I have received after much consultation with many of those equally anguished as me, is that this is a definite indication that in spite of being overwhelmed with rage, Zidane did manage to show some control. That is, he controlled his hands and legs, but, in a manner of speaking, he lost his head. I hope that the FIFA takes this into account while taking disciplinary action. Clearly, Zizou was the more disciplined between the two. After all, Materazzi showed absolutely no restraint in dishing out his abuse!

However, more than a 100 hours after watching the incident, I am nowhere closer to an answer and still ponder forth. 'Why Zizou? Why a headbutt to the chest?'

Heartbreak!

Argentine lost! Damn those Germans. And while I'm damning them, let's be particular and damn Jens Lehman (is that one 'n' or two?) and Miroslav Klose in particular. As is true of all fans who end up on the losing end of a battle, it is my wont to portion out blame to all and sundry. But no, I'm going to reserve my ire for one Jose Pekerman whose inexplicable strategy was responsible for leaving Argentina majorly crippled for the last forty minutes of the game.

An exercise: Who is Argentina's key player? Now if you have even the remotest interest in the game, your answer would be Juan Roman Riquelme. No? Then maybe Lionel Messi (aka the 'Messi-ah' aka the next Maradona). No? Then definitely Chelsea's star striker Hernan Crespo. No? Then don't kid me - you don't have even the remotest interest in the game.

Right through the World Cup, Argentina has been seen and loved for its striking abilities. Six goals against any team on this stage, even a hapless Serbia & Montenegro, is no mean feat. And while their defence through the World Cup finals was good, Argentina is no Italy when it comes to holding off a rampaging attack. After an engaging first half in which Argentina seemed more likely than Germany to score, Ayala's strike in the 49th minute only seemed a fulfilment of what was imminent. And then, Pekerman decided to try and convert Argentina into an Italy.

Germany had scored 10 goals in the Finals leading into the match - same as that of Argentina. Klose was the top contender for the Golden Boot. With Podolski and Ballack as well, their attacking abilities had been much written about. To try and hold off Germany, which was bound to go all out and attack, for 40 minutes was virtually an impossibility. The only alternative was to continue pressing forward and get another goal to seal victory. Apparently, the Argentine coach didn't agree.

Abbondanzieri's injury was a blow to Argentina but I don't think it would have changed the match result. By substituting the play maker Riquelme and their leading goal scorer Crespo, and leaving no room for Messi to come on, the Argentine attack was toothless. Only Tevez looked remotely dangerous. In such a situation, if Germany were to score in regulation time and the match were to go into extra time, Argentina would have no hope of scoring the winning goal in that time without a one of these three key players on the pitch. If the match were to go into penalty shoot out, it would be Jens Lehman vs Franco. Lehman would win such a contest 100 times before losing one. And that is exactly what happened.

Pekerman has tendered his resignation now but I just wish he'd done so before the match.

* Image from AFP