Errant Kicks Become Easy Money

If the Netherlands’ Philip Cocu and Ronald de Boer are quick about it, they can still cash in on their World Cup penalty shootout misses against Brazil on Tuesday night in Marseille.

All they need do is have their agents call a restaurant chain in England and they, too, might pocket $160,000 apiece for their miscues.

That’s what England’s David Batty was paid after his errant kick against Argentina.

A pizza maker forked out the dough for Batty to appear in a commercial in which he wore a paper bag over his head to hide his identity, then tore it off to take a bite of pizza--and to reveal that he was sitting alongside Chris Waddle and Stuart Pearce, who missed their penalty kicks against Germany in the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

DETAILS, DETAILS

It probably won’t come up in casual conversation around the water cooler, but in case anyone asks who the first player was to score a goal against Croatia, here’s the answer:

Well, here would have been the answer. It was an American, but U.S. Soccer has seen fit to completely erase the 2-1 loss in 1991 from its records, even though Croatia, not even a country at the time, counts it as a full international.

Perhaps attention to details is one reason why Croatia is in today’s semifinals and the U.S. is watching on television.

THE QUIPSTER PLAYS

Brazil’s Ze Carlos, a pretty fair mimic, has had his two hours of fame and now returns to the bench. But the fact that he played against Holland in place of the suspended Cafu on Tuesday night gave rise to one of France 98’s better quips.

Making light of the fact that the World Cup semifinal was the player’s international debut, Coach Mario Zagallo said:

“I told Ze Carlos that since he can imitate dogs, parrots and owls, now he’ll imitate Cafu.”