They Can Only Hope That Great Expectations Won’t Go for Nil
There is a simple reason why the World Cup final seldom lives up to expectations.
The expectations.
For France, today’s championship match at Stade de France is weighted down with so much cultural and political baggage, you’d think the Air France luggage handlers were still on strike.
Cultural: This game is merely supposed to elevate sport from its longtime low-level standing in French society as an anti-intellectual opiate for the masses--validating it as a pursuit and pastime no less worthy than art, music and literature.
Political: A victory today by France’s Rainbow Coalition roster--which includes players of African, Arabian, Argentine and Russian descent--will be seen as a rousing triumph for the nation’s Socialist Party and a very public repudiation of the rightists’ isolationist, anti-tolerance agenda.
For Brazil, the game is being hailed as the last chance this century for Brazil to awaken the echoes of Pele, Gerson, Rivelino and Garrincha and not only win decisively, but win beautifully--with all of the artistry and elan that used to define Brazilian soccer but, sadly, has been missing from the rank pragmatists of the 1990s.
(Or, at least, so claims Pele.)
At the risk of bursting too many balloons before France and Brazil kick it off in Saint-Denis, how about retraining our sights onto a target more reasonable, more attainable today?
For starters: How about a goal?
One will do. By anyone.
It has been 12 years since a World Cup final produced a goal during the run of play. The 1994 final in Pasadena between Italy and Brazil was scoreless for 120 minutes, decided only by the scourge of the penalty shootout. The 1990 final in Rome, mean-spirited and grotesque, was decided, fittingly, on a foul in the box and an 84th-minute penalty kick--West Germany 1, Argentina 0.
Argentina’s 3-2 victory over West Germany in Mexico in 1986 marks the last time a World Cup final witnessed a ball finding the back of the net without first being placed, antiseptically, on a chalked spot of grass 12 yards from the goal line.
The World Cup final has become the Super Bowl of international sport: Hyped huger than “Armageddon,” millions whipped into a frenzy, and then . . . thud. Too many nerve-racked players restricted by too many coaches coaching not to lose is a sure recipe for entertainment disaster, no matter what language.
So today the World Cup sits and prays, hoping for a John Elway in shinguards.
France-Brazil has potential, given what’s at stake for Ronaldo, who wants to show the world why he is more famous than Michael Jordan, and the French team, desperate to keep the noveau bandwagon-jumpers from leaping back off Monday.
But it is up to the coaches, Aime Jacquet of France and Mario Zagallo of Brazil.
Jacquet has a defense weakened by the red-card suspension of sweeper Laurent Blanc and possibly the poorest collection of strikers to ever appear in a World Cup final. With Blanc out, will Jacquet play it more conservatively, circling the defenders around goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and ordering two blue shirts--minimum--to hawk Ronaldo’s every step? Or will Jacquet go for broke and run with Brazil as Chile did in the second round--gambling for glory but risking the same kind of punishment (i.e., Brazil, 4-1) that Chile endured?
The first move is Jacquet’s. Should he play it safe--and the smart money’s on this--will Zagallo take the initiative and force the action? This would entail getting Denilson, a Tasmanian devil with a soccer ball at his feet, on the field before the last half-hour.
Already, Denilson has been popping up on various All-World Cup teams, making that the only starting 11 he has been able to crash here. What is it with Brazilian coaches and their sado-masochist streaks? Carlos Alberto Parreira went an entire World Cup in 1994 stubbornly refusing to play Ronaldo, then 17, for even a minute. Now Zagallo uses Denilson only as a crowd-teaser: See, this is how we can play this game, if and when the mood strikes.
The newspapers here are touting this as “The Dream Final,” and in one respect, it certainly is. France, playing in the World Cup championship match? Dream on, dream on.
Now that the French are here, how about making this one worth the wait?
No “Dream Final” is necessary, but a couple of goals would be nice.
Yes, a couple.
Brazil 2, France 0.
