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It's time for a new king of the hill
Posted: Wednesday July 08, 1998 05:51 PM
PARIS (CNN/SI) -- Lilian Thuram attacks too much and leaves France's defense
exposed.
That was the view of Croatia coach
Miroslav Blazevic before Wednesday's semi-final against the French at the
Stade de France, St Denis.
France found that to be quite the contrary. Indeed, Thuram attacked to
perfection.
He scored both goals as the hosts came from a goal down to beat Croatia
2-1 and reach the World Cup final for the first time in their history.
France erupted into scenes of unconfined joy. Thousands upon thousands of
people poured onto the Champs Elysees here in Paris - and the City of Light
more than lived up to its name. The place was vibrantly alive with World
Cup delight.
Thuram was the hero. His first goal pulled France level just more than a
minute after Davor Suker had fired Croatia in front. His second was a
fabulous strike after he had robbed Robert Jarni on the edge of the area.
The one sour note for France, Laurent Blanc - one of their star
defenders in this tournament - was sent off for allegedly striking Slaven
Bilic. The replay showed it was more a push. Bilic grabbed the top of his
head, when Blanc's hand had gone nowhere near that area. He actually caught
him on his chin.
Blanc will now be suspended and will miss the biggest football match of
his, or anyone's, life. Bilic should be ashamed.
So its France against Brazil in
Sunday's final - the first time the hosts have ever met the reigning
champions at this stage of the tournament.
South America and Europe have met seven times before in the World Cup
final and South America holds a healthy 6-1 lead. The only European side to
beat a South American team in the final was Germany when
they beat Argentina 1-0
in 1990.
South America also has the edge in overall World Cups won with
eight to Europe's seven.
Yet another plus point for South America is the fact Brazil is the only
country to win a World Cup outside its continent (1958 in Sweden).
Four years later, Brazil became the only the second country after
Italy to
successfully defend the title. Now their team is set for a historic repeat
on two counts.
According to my calculations, I said in yesterday's column, just
one nation had won the World Cup having lost in the first round. Well, my
calculations aren't always as mathematically accurate as I'd like them to
be, so make that two. West Germany did it twice (1954 and 1974) and
Argentina followed suit in 1978. Brazil will have to join that elite band
if they are to win Sunday's final. They lost 2-1 to Norway in their
last first round group game.
Brazil have never lost a final - depending on which way you look at the
history books.
They have appeared in four head-to-head finals over the years and
won them all (1958, 1962, 1970 and 1994). They were also runners-up on home
soil to Uruguay in 1950. But then a group format decided the winners -
there was no one-off final showdown.
Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 in the match which ultimately decided who finished
first and second, so that is classed as the "final" for historical
purposes. Other than that, Brazil remains perfect in the biggest World Cup
game of all.
That sequence could well end on Sunday. Brazil have some wonderful
players, who can be devastating on their day. But rarely have they
sustained the skill and total footballing dominance which highlighted their
successes in 1958, 62, 70. They are at least a step below their 1994 level.
Ok, I hear you say, but they have reached the final again. Lay off them.
And admitted, getting to the World Cup final is a magnificent achievement.
But by Brazilian standards, simply getting there isn't enough. They have to
do it with panache and an arrogant swagger which says: "We are the
best."
I don't demand that, their own fans do - not to mention the legendary
players of old, who want away with the dour stuff and welcome only flair.
That kind of skill level and superiority hasn't been questioned in
their previous World Cup victories. The style was there, so was the
swagger.
This year, though, they've gritted it out - beating Scotland with
a fortunate own goal, losing to Norway after a woeful display, edging Denmark in a
five-goal exchange and taking out Holland on penalties, when for me the
Dutch deserved to progress and looked the more cohesive team for large
parts of the semi-final. Only against Morocco and Chile did Brazil
have plenty of breathing room.
They have ridden their luck, capitalized on the moments of sheer
brilliance from the likes of Ronaldo and Rivaldo and survived the lottery
of a shoot-out on the back of goalkeeper Taffarel and four trusty spot kick
kings.
But enough is enough. It's time for the coronation of a new world ruler.
And now Brazil have to face France, I think that's about to happen.
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