A tale of two goalies
How crazy are soccer goalies?
It takes a certain kind of person to patrol the front of a net that?s eight yards wide by eight feet high and think he?s going to keep the ball from getting past him. Every team sport seems to have a specialty position like this, where one player stands disproportionably between victory and defeat. Hockey has goalies, baseball has pitchers, football has quarterbacks (although kickers take even more abuse when they perform poorly), and basketball has point guards. All these positions require a different mix of brains and brawn than your typical athlete. The brain of a soccer goalie? That can be a scary thing to deal with.
Goalkeeping happens to be in the spotlight for Sunday?s World Cup final. The two combatants, Italy and France, appear to be matched up fairly evenly. Italy is a slight favorite at +160, with France at +200 and a draw (after regulation and stoppage time only) priced at +190. There are two main reasons for Italy?s shorter odds. One is that France is an older club; Les Bleus almost failed to make it out of the group stage, but their veterans found their legs just in time. It doesn?t look like age will be playing a significant role in Sunday?s match. That leaves the second reason Italy is favored: a trusted commodity between the pipes.
Gianluigi Buffon has been an absolute rock for the Azzurri. The man they call ?Gigi? has allowed a grand total of one goal at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and that was an own goal by defender Cristian Zaccardo in Italy?s 1-1 draw with the United States. A large part of the credit has to go to Italy?s defense, but there is no question Buffon has lived up to his billing as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Buffon?s reputation was built over the past decade with Serie A clubs Parma (1996-2001) and Juventus (2001-today), and was cemented in 2003 when he was named both the Best Goalkeeper and Most Valuable Player at the UEFA European Football Awards. Buffon has also been with the national team since 1997. He wasn?t in goal, however, when France beat Italy on the way to winning the World Cup in 1998, nor was he available when France won Euro 2000. Sunday will be the first time the French have ever faced Buffon.
?The fact that I haven?t been beaten individually by France gives me a certain amount of tranquility,? Buffon told the Associated Press on Friday. That?s music to the ears of Italy supporters. Buffon?s surroundings have been anything but tranquil this summer. Juventus is at the center of the match-fixing scandal that has gripped Serie A. Buffon is one of the players accused of participating in illegal betting, a charge he denies. The prosecutor in the case has asked for Juventus to be relegated to Serie C and to have their 2005 and 2006 championships revoked. Buffon?s manager and former teammate, Gianluca Pessotto, recently fell from a second-floor window in what may have been a suicide attempt.
Buffon and the Italians have done a remarkable job of putting the scandal aside and concentrating on soccer. France has also shown its steely resolve ? three national team members also play for Juventus, including star midfielder Patrick Vieira. But there is one player on Les Bleus whose mental makeup is eternally in question, and that is goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.
Some goalies seem to have been born angry. Others are wound up so tightly, they make Hollywood celebrities look like Henry Kissinger on Prozac. Then you have Barthez. The veteran keeper often seems to be living in his own special universe. Soccer is truly an artistic game, and Barthez is arguably the finest artist at his position today. As such, he is prone to making the occasional technical gaffe. Barthez even lost his starting job with Manchester United in 2003 after a tumultuous three years ? but not before winning two English Premier League championships.
We saw one of those Barthezian moments in France?s 1-0 semifinal win over Portugal. With 12 minutes left, Cristiano Ronaldo drove a free kick directly into Barthez? hands. He muffed the ball; Figo then missed an inviting header for what would have been the equalizer. Still, Barthez has only allowed two goals in six games thus far, and a clean slate Sunday would equal his winning performance at the 1998 World Cup.
Most of France cringed when Barthez was named the 2006 Cup starter over the popular Gregory Coupet. They?ll be cringing again Sunday, as will people with their money on Les Bleus.
--Perry
BetWWTS.com
How crazy are soccer goalies?
It takes a certain kind of person to patrol the front of a net that?s eight yards wide by eight feet high and think he?s going to keep the ball from getting past him. Every team sport seems to have a specialty position like this, where one player stands disproportionably between victory and defeat. Hockey has goalies, baseball has pitchers, football has quarterbacks (although kickers take even more abuse when they perform poorly), and basketball has point guards. All these positions require a different mix of brains and brawn than your typical athlete. The brain of a soccer goalie? That can be a scary thing to deal with.
Goalkeeping happens to be in the spotlight for Sunday?s World Cup final. The two combatants, Italy and France, appear to be matched up fairly evenly. Italy is a slight favorite at +160, with France at +200 and a draw (after regulation and stoppage time only) priced at +190. There are two main reasons for Italy?s shorter odds. One is that France is an older club; Les Bleus almost failed to make it out of the group stage, but their veterans found their legs just in time. It doesn?t look like age will be playing a significant role in Sunday?s match. That leaves the second reason Italy is favored: a trusted commodity between the pipes.
Gianluigi Buffon has been an absolute rock for the Azzurri. The man they call ?Gigi? has allowed a grand total of one goal at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and that was an own goal by defender Cristian Zaccardo in Italy?s 1-1 draw with the United States. A large part of the credit has to go to Italy?s defense, but there is no question Buffon has lived up to his billing as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Buffon?s reputation was built over the past decade with Serie A clubs Parma (1996-2001) and Juventus (2001-today), and was cemented in 2003 when he was named both the Best Goalkeeper and Most Valuable Player at the UEFA European Football Awards. Buffon has also been with the national team since 1997. He wasn?t in goal, however, when France beat Italy on the way to winning the World Cup in 1998, nor was he available when France won Euro 2000. Sunday will be the first time the French have ever faced Buffon.
?The fact that I haven?t been beaten individually by France gives me a certain amount of tranquility,? Buffon told the Associated Press on Friday. That?s music to the ears of Italy supporters. Buffon?s surroundings have been anything but tranquil this summer. Juventus is at the center of the match-fixing scandal that has gripped Serie A. Buffon is one of the players accused of participating in illegal betting, a charge he denies. The prosecutor in the case has asked for Juventus to be relegated to Serie C and to have their 2005 and 2006 championships revoked. Buffon?s manager and former teammate, Gianluca Pessotto, recently fell from a second-floor window in what may have been a suicide attempt.
Buffon and the Italians have done a remarkable job of putting the scandal aside and concentrating on soccer. France has also shown its steely resolve ? three national team members also play for Juventus, including star midfielder Patrick Vieira. But there is one player on Les Bleus whose mental makeup is eternally in question, and that is goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.
Some goalies seem to have been born angry. Others are wound up so tightly, they make Hollywood celebrities look like Henry Kissinger on Prozac. Then you have Barthez. The veteran keeper often seems to be living in his own special universe. Soccer is truly an artistic game, and Barthez is arguably the finest artist at his position today. As such, he is prone to making the occasional technical gaffe. Barthez even lost his starting job with Manchester United in 2003 after a tumultuous three years ? but not before winning two English Premier League championships.
We saw one of those Barthezian moments in France?s 1-0 semifinal win over Portugal. With 12 minutes left, Cristiano Ronaldo drove a free kick directly into Barthez? hands. He muffed the ball; Figo then missed an inviting header for what would have been the equalizer. Still, Barthez has only allowed two goals in six games thus far, and a clean slate Sunday would equal his winning performance at the 1998 World Cup.
Most of France cringed when Barthez was named the 2006 Cup starter over the popular Gregory Coupet. They?ll be cringing again Sunday, as will people with their money on Les Bleus.
--Perry
BetWWTS.com
