Race for Golden Boot

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For Zvonimir Boban, no mean midfield maestro himself, Brazil’s defeat was hard to take. “This is a bad night for me,” he told HT after returning to the same hotel here last night. “But Zidane was fantastic.” Asked if this virtuoso was better than Zidane’s show in the 1998 final, Boban said: “No. It is just that we are looking at Zidane through different eyes these days.” Boban’s probably right. Expectations from Zidane have been tempered by time and his soulless show against Denmark – his only match of the 2002 finals. With Madrid struggling to assert themselves in Spain and Europe, the belief that Zidane’s time was up gained more credence. Con firmation came in Lepizig when he let out his frustration after an being invisible for most of the game against South Korea. But France turned against Togo on his birthday and Zidane simply took it form there.

“I tell my players to treat every match they play like it is their last match. For Zidane now, that comes naturally,” France coach Raymond Domenech said. Asked for a comment on Zidane, at Saturday’s post-match press conference Domenech said: “Well, that’s Zidane. You may be surprised but I am not surprised at all. We all know what he is capable of doing.

“It just wasn’t about Zidane. All the 14 who participated in this game and even players on the bench contributed to this victory. Players need to know that fellow players support them. This wasn’t about Zidane and other players, this was about Zidane among other players.” Looking elegant in a suit, Zidane made an appearance in front of the media on Saturday but didn’t speak. He did on Sunday. “This is huge. We had to put in a huge performance and did. Now we will try and get into the final as we do not want to end it here. It is so wonderful that we want to carry on,” he said.

Domenech too said July 9 when asked what his goal in the tournament was now. “This may sound stupid because we still have to play Portugal but isn’t new. Go back to your notes and check. Reaching the semi-final is great but we can’t say ‘stop’ now. That’s not the French way,” he said.

Domenech agreed that defence was a key area when you play Brazil. “You can’t face Brazil if you don’t have a system. They made it difficult for us in the end and I wouldn’t say we ruled the game. We just managed the situation better. We weren’t facing the World Cup champions, we were just playing a team of 11 players.” Asked about France’s transformation from the group stages to now, he said: “The World Cup is not just about group games. It is a series of games and we prepared for this. Some of the teams who began really well are now watching matches on television.” STARS THAT GOT ECLIPSED BY AN OLD MONK Ronaldinho (Brazil) Stage looked set for the two time World Player of the Year to rule. But was the biggest failure, showing only glimpses of his undoubted class, as part of a team that never really found its rhythm Frank Lampard (England) Came into this World Cup with a good season behind him. Lampard failed to score or set up a goal. His misery was complete when his penalty was saved in the shootout with Portugal Wayne Rooney (England) The 20-year-old striker struggled to live up to his billing having miraculously recoving from a broken foot. Rooney's World Cup ended in ignominy when he was sent off against Portugal Lionel Messi (Argentina) The striker, who turned 19 recently, seemed to generate a buzz every time he had the ball but was sparingly used. Scored a beautiful goal against Serbia but didn’t get many chances afterwards A Shevchenko (Ukraine) Suffered a knee injury before the finals and was another player not to show the full range of his talents. The normally lethal striker scored twice but had a weak penalty saved against Switzerland

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Henry shows he is big-game performer
Thierry Henry has scored 36 goals for France, including six in World Cups, but none comes close to his strike on Saturday night against Brazil, that sent Les Bleus into the semifinals.
But Henry is playing it down.

“The most important thing is not that I scored, but that we are in the semifinals,” Henry said. “Scoring that goal meant we could control the game, as Brazil had to push up. We could defend better and counterattack better.” Unmarked at the back post, he ran on to the end a free kick from Zinedine Zidane and volleyed the ball past Brazilian keeper Dida from six meters.

“They forgot about me at the second post and the right ball came to me,” Henry said. “It was an enormous joy to score. In the first half, I realized there was not too much marking on me.” Eight years ago, Henry watched France’s 3-0 victory over Brazil in the World Cup final from the bench, unable to enter the game after Marcel Desailly’s expulsion.

With 36 goals in 83 games now, Henry is five behind Michel Platini’s French record of 41.

His goal also left him as the second-most prolific French scorer at the World Cup with six, seven fewer than Just Fontaine. Prior to the goal, he had begun to look dangerous, with one run down the left leaving two Brazil defenders behind. The Arsenal striker said France’s approach to the match made the difference.

“If you just stand there and watch them play, then of course you will lose,” Henry said.

The goal also was his first on an assist from Zinedine Zidane — after 60 matches together.

“In the past, Zinedine gave me some passes, and I missed some chances,” Henry said. “But the most important thing now is to be in the semifinal.” Henry’s performance came after a disappointing opening game against Switzerland, where he missed several scoring opportunities — and then blamed hot grass and a bad referee.

But, with three goals in five games at this tournament, and five in his last seven for France, Henry is perhaps coming into his best form at the right time.

“This result was not a surprise when you look at the match,” Henry said. “We have the quality AP to go all the way.”

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I think ronaldo is golden good runner up.................

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