The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final: Italy vs France
July 9, 2006
Italy have been deemed the home team for the final in Berlin and will wear their traditional blue colors; France will wear white.
FRANCE
Honors:
Previous World Cup appearances: 11 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002)
World Cup best: Winners (1998)
European champions: 2 (1984, 2000)
FIFA world ranking: 8
Coach: Raymond Domenech
A complex personality who has struggled to win over French fans since taking over from Jacques Santini after Euro 2004, Domenech was subjected to a barrage of criticism as his team made hard work of their qualifying campaign.
He was widely blamed for the early retirements of Zinedine Zidane, Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram, all of whom subsequently reversed their decisions.
Survived a torrid early World Cup campaign accusing the media of sabotage and attracting a storm of criticism over his tactics and decision to substitute Zidane in the draw with South Korea. The 2-0 win over Togo was crucial in improving the atmosphere and with Zidane back after suspension, Les Bleus suddenly rediscovered all their old inspiration to trounce Spain 3-1 and then shock the world by dethroning Brazil.
Key Player: Thierry Henry
Playing in his third World Cup, Henry more than any other player in the French squad is out to make his mark on the tournament after a poor showing in 2002 where he failed to score a goal. Though Henry appears to have lost a yard of the electrifying pace this year that once made him almost unplayable, he enjoyed a prolific season with Arsenal in England and Europe.
On target against the Koreans and Togo, he was alone up front again in the last 16 game against Spain. He failed to score but was instrumental in setting up the first two goals and then hit a sensational winner against Brazil finally connecting on a pass from Zidane. Won the penalty for Zidane score the winner against Portugal in the semi-final.
World Cup 2006 Record:
Group G. Stuttgart, June 13
France 0 Switzerland 0
Group G. Leipzig, June 18
France 1 (Henry 9) South Korea 1 (Park Ji-Sung 81)
Group G. Cologne, June 23
France 2 Togo (Vieira 55, Henry 61)
Last 16. Hanover, June 27
France 3 (Ribery 41, Vieira 83, Zidane 90+2) Spain 1 (Villa 28-pen)
Quarter-final. Frankfurt, July 1
Brazil 0 France 1 (Henry 57)
Semi-final. Munich, July 5
France 1 (Zidane 33-pen) Portugal 0
ITALY
Honors:
Previous World Cup appearances: 15 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)
World Cup winners: 3 (1934, 1938, 1982)
European champions: 1 (1968)
FIFA world ranking: 13
Coach: Marcello Lippi
One of the most respected coaches in world soccer, Lippi is credited with building an exciting young Italian team after the twin disasters of the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.
A superb motivator and man-manager, Lippi is most famous for his successful spells at Juventus between 1994 and 1999 and 2001-2004. A rarity amongst his counterparts at the World Cup, he has never coached outside of Italy. Was instrumental in the semi-final win over Germany sending on extra attackers late in the game to catch-out the tiring Germans and avoid the lottery of penalty kicks.
Key Player: Francesco Totti
Hyped as one of the best strikers in the world, Totti has flattered to deceive at the highest level and has performed miserably at the last two tournaments he has played in, having been sent off for diving at the 2002 finals and suspended for spitting at an opponent in 2004.
Totti started the opening 2-0 win over Ghana but was substituted and replaced by Mauro Camoranesi and was replaced again in the draw with USA.
He was once more on the bench in the second round tie against Australia but scored a dramatic extra-time penalty winner after coming off the bench to take Italy into the last eight and played a key role in the semi-final defeat of Germany.
World Cup 2006 Record:
Group E. Hanover, June 12
Italy 2 (Pirlo 40, Iaquinta 83) Ghana 0
Group E. Kaiserslautern, June 17
Italy 1 (Gilardino 22) USA 1 (Zaccardo 27-og)
Group E. Hamburg, June 22
Czech Republic 0 Italy 2 (Materazzi 26, Inzaghi 87)
Last 16, Kaiserslautern, June 26
Italy 1 (Totti 90+5-pen) Australia 0
Quarter-final. Hamburg, June 30
Italy 3 (Zambrotta 6, Toni 59, 69) Ukraine 0
Semi-final. Dortmund, July 4
Italy 2 (Grosso 119, Del Piero 120 +1) Germany 0
France v Italy head-to-heads
Played 32 times: Italy leads 17-7 with eight draws: 75 goals for and 44 against.