now that's futbol

today's brazil/france game was the kind of game that gets the blood circulating, even by sitting on a poufy red couch. two teams of comparable skill face off and watch the ball zing down the field- deflected and attempted shots into the goal.

i really thought brazil would win the cup this year- what i have always appreciated about them is their ability to keep and control the ball giving an impression from the bird's eye view that you are watching a clean game of pinball. this year all the brazilian games have been during hours when i'm at work so this was my first match of theirs to watch during this cup.

my experience with the world cup began in 1998 when i spent the summer abroad in france, practicing and studying french. the enthusiasm and passion there engulfed the streets like a flood- you couldn't help but get into it. at the time, zidane was starting to make a name for himself in the world cup and was the main footballer we rooted for. during the 98 games france shut out brazil and won the cup on home turf. it was an exciting time.

and today was some sort of new rematch (as if the 2002 games were an aberration). up until today i couldn't have cited who could really take on brazil but then even within a few minutes of watching the game from the second half it was really enjoyable to see how tight the french were playing- all of their fancy footwork and head boppings of the ball in mid-flight were a sight to behold. zidane's grace on the field made him appear to be this cool, calm leader while henry's fiery aggressiveness and beautiful kick into the goal box got me cheering.

so when they won, i must admit i was as shocked as the brazilians, but glad zidane might not be retiring and pleased to have watched a solid game of good futbol.