The best of 2006
The wonder strike – Joe Cole, England 2-2 Sweden, Group Stage
Joe Cole was a player who, despite never quite living up to his immense early promise, still managed to win three Premier League titles with Chelsea and make over half a century of appearances for his country. A regular, if not prolific, goalscorer, he produced a moment of magic in 2006 that is still remembered as one of the great England World Cup goals.
Cole’s wonder strike came in the final group match, against Sweden. England had already qualified for the knock-out stage, but wanted a win or draw to top the group. The game was goalless when, in the 33rd minute, a Beckham cross was just about dealt with by the Swedish defenders who headed the ball out of the box. It took one bounce before it reached Cole, in space, 30 yards out from goal. He controlled the ball perfectly on his chest, then unleashed a right-foot volley. The perfectly-struck ball flew towards the Swedish goal, over the flailing keeper Isaksson before dipping at the last to find the top right-hand corner of the net. A sensational and unforgettable goal.
As good as it was, it was not enough to propel England to victory against their bogey side. The game finished 2-2, the 12th consecutive game, dating back to 1979, in which England had failed to beat the Swedes. It actually took another five years – with a 1-0 victory in 2011 – to break what had become an incredible 43-year hoodoo against the Scandinavians.
The unlikely hero – Fabio Grosso, Germany 0-2 (a.e.t.) Italy, Semi-final
Fabio Grosso was something of a late developer as a footballer. Having begun his senior career at his local club, effectively in the Italian fifth division, it took him until the relatively advanced age of 23 before he made the move up to Serie A. Originally an attacking midfielder, he found his true calling as a left back, and after only two years in Serie A he had been selected for his country. By 2006 he was a regular member of Marcello Lippi’s side.
He contributed in Germany as part of a typically stingy Italian defence, but it was at the other end of the pitch where he made a more unexpected impact. In the round of 16, his team, down to 10 men after Materazzi was sent off, were struggling to get past a resilient Australia. In the 95th minute, with the game still goalless, Grosso made one last attack down the left. He beat one Australian defender then took the ball into the box. When Aussie captain, Lucas Neill, went to ground a touch early in the box, Grosso was alert enough to fall over him to win a last-gasp penalty. Totti converted to send Italy through.
The semi-final saw him make another critical impact. The game, against home favourites Germany, was again tied 0-0 and was well into extra time. With the clock running down, a corner was nodded out to Andrea Pirlo on the edge of the area. Pirlo found Grosso, unusually appearing on the right, and his first-time shot curled beautifully around German keeper Lehmann to decisively break the deadlock. Italy were into the final.
Grosso was not yet done. The final, against France, finished 1-1, so went to penalties. With one French effort missed, Grosso stepped up at 4-3 with the chance to secure the title for his country. His nerveless strike sent Barthez the wrong way and Italy had won their fourth World Cup. The left back had played a decisive role at the ‘wrong’ end of the pitch in three key matches, and would forever be a national hero.
The arrival of the great one – Lionel Messi, Argentina 6-0 Serbia & Montenegro, Group Stage
In 2001 a tiny 13-year-old Argentinian boy enrolled at Barcelona’s famous youth academy, La Masia. So small that he had been put on a course of human growth hormone, and so shy that some of his fellow teammates thought he was mute, it took the teenager some months to settle. Once he did, he soon showed that he was the most talented player of a ‘baby dream team’. So began a career that at time of writing (25 years on) is one of the greatest of all time. The boy was, of course, Lionel Messi.
He made his World Cup debut in 2006 at the age of 18. He was already the hottest young property in world football, and had played a handful of times for his country, but he was not yet a fixture in the first XI. In fact, it took until the 75th minute of the second group game for him to be called onto the pitch, as a sub, with his side already comfortably ahead at 3-0. His impact was immediate. He slotted into what is now his familiar number 10 position, demanding the ball, showing superb control and finding smart passes. Within five minutes he made an attacking run down the right and pulled a ball across the six-yard box for Crespo to score at the far post. His first assist. 10 minutes later his first goal. This time he found space on the right and rifled a shot past the demoralised Serbian keeper. Not a bad start for the teenager.
Sadly for Messi, his team went out at the quarter final stage in 2006. Indeed Argentina’s repeated failings at the finals were to be a rare blot on his otherwise stellar record. That was, of course, until 2022, when his genius was finally rewarded with the trophy. Few who saw his debut in 2006 thought it would take that long.
The worst of 2006
The moment of madness – Zinedine Zidane, Final, 9 July 2006
One of the greatest footballers of all-time, Zinedine Zidane was a midfield playmaker who could do everything. Blessed with immense skill, great vision and a unquenchable desire to win, he dominated the midfield, making every team he played for both dangerous and difficult to beat. In 1998 he was France’s star player as they won the World Cup for the first time, then in 2000 he was player of the tournament as he led his country to the European Championship. He helped Juventus and Real Madrid to countless trophies, and scored one of the best goals ever seen to win the 2002 Champions League Final. Thrice FIFA World Player of the Year (1998. 2000 and 2003) he was named in 2004 the best European footballer of the preceding 50 years.
If he had any weakness at all, it was his fiery temper, which could occasionally boil over on the pitch. Sadly, for both Zidane and for France, this was to be his downfall in the 2006 World Cup Final. Zidane had actually retired from international football in 2004, but was persuaded to return for the 2006 tournament. This proved to be a masterstroke as he drove his team to the final, scoring in the round of 16 vs Spain, providing the assist for the winning goal in the quarter-final, then converting the winning penalty in the semi-final. He scored again in the final – a 7th minute penalty – but an equaliser from Italy meant the game went to extra time.
It was in extra time that the red mist descended. In the 110th minute a French attack was cleared and Zidane was jogging back up the pitch with Italian defender Marco Materazzi a step or two behind him. The two were exchanging ‘pleasantries’ when Zidane suddenly stopped, turned and headbutted Materazzi hard in the chest. The Italian went straight down, possibly more in shock than pain, and the referee had no choice but to give Zidane a straight red card. The Frenchman later claimed that Materazzi had grievously insulted his sister, but it was still inexcusably unprofessional to react like this.
Insult was added to injury when Italy won the penalty shoot-out to deny France a second World Cup. This was to be, in fact, Zidane’s final game as a professional, a less-than-fitting way for one of the all-time greats to sign off.
The Battle of Nuremburg – Portugal v Netherlands, Round of 16, 25 June 2006
In April 1945 a real battle was waged in Nuremburg as the American army fought fiercely with German forces to capture the city. 81 years later came a football contest that, whilst obviously hugely less significant, also became known as the Battle of Nuremburg.
The two protagonists this time were the footballing sides of Portugal and the Netherlands, the occasion the Round-of-16 knockout match in the 2006 World Cup. The two had met in the 2004 Euros semi-final, a game won 2-1 by Portugal, but that had been a relatively civilised affair. This was not.
It took a mere two minutes for a player to go into the referee’s notebook, Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel deliberately taking down Cristiano Ronaldo. Defender Khalid Boulahrouz soon followed, for a cynical foul that eventually forced Ronaldo to leave the game. Portugal midfielder, Maniche, then became the first from his team to get booked, before scoring the only goal of the game, then his teammate Costinha somehow managed to get booked twice in 15 minutes to receive a red card.
The second half was, if anything, even worse. There were a further 11 yellow cards shown, three of which resulted in reds. There should, in fact, have been four reds, but Portugal captain Luis Figo somehow avoided one for an appalling headbutt. Both sides finished with only nine players on the pitch and with a heap of bad feeling between them.
It took another 16 years for the record for most yellow cards to be broken. The teams involved, Argentina and, once again, Netherlands.
Yet another sh*t penalty shootout – England 0-0 (a.e.t) Portugal (Portugal win 3-1 on penalties), Quarter final
In 2006 England boasted a pretty decent team. The back four was as good as any in the country’s history – Terry, Ferdinand, Cole and Neville – the midfield featured Beckham, Lampard and Gerrard, and up front we had the 20-year-old wunderkind who would go on to become England’s record goalscorer, Wayne Rooney. For once, we qualified without any drama from our group, then we earned a scrappy win over Ecuador to reach the quarter finals. Standing in our way to the semis was a talented and tough Portugal side featuring their own young superstar, Rooney’s Manchester United teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The game was pretty even with both sides creating plenty of chances. A turning point came, however, in the 62nd minute when Rooney tussled for a ball in the centre of the pitch with Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho. Both went to ground, but as Rooney clambered to his feet, he was judged by the referee to have deliberately stamped on Carvalho. With the Portuguese writhing around in apparent agony and his colleagues assailing the ref, Rooney was shown a straight red card. It looked extremely unjust, and seemed even more so, when Ronaldo winked towards the Portugal bench, suggesting his team had hoodwinked the ref. To their credit, England continued to try to win the game and made several chances but the game finished goalless after extra-time, meaning England had to face their tournament nightmare – a penalty shoot-out.
Portugal tried to help us out by missing with two of their first three attempts, but we returned the favour, when our two most dependable players, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, also missed to leave the scores tied at 1-1. When Postiga scored with Portugal’s fourth, it was up to defender Jamie Carragher to keep us level. Rumour has it that Carragher was brought on specifically for the shoot-out by England’s Assistant Manager, Tord Grip, who had been impressed by the Liverpudlian’s cool finish in the 2005 Champions League final. There was one teensy weensy little issue with this – Carragher had not actually taken a penalty in the final – but, to be fair, he was competent and confident from the spot. Unfortunately, his confidence deserted him in Gelsenkirchen and his weak penalty was saved. This left none other than cartoon villain, Ronaldo, to put us out of our misery. He duly obliged and, once again, England had failed (miserably) on penalties. We would have to wait another four years for a chance to redeem ourselves.
The man who got booked thrice – Graham Poll, Croatia 2-2 Australia, Group Match
England sent only one referee to the 2006 World Cup, 42 year-old Graham Poll, at that time our most experienced and competent match official. Unfortunately for Poll, he made an error at the tournament that may well be the thing he is most remembered for from his long and otherwise distinguished career.
It was in his third match, a Group F game between Croatia and Australia. There was a huge amount at stake in the match – a win for Croatia would see them qualify from the group, a win or draw would be good enough for Australia. Poll had a decent first half, although he did wave away a strong penalty claim from Australia. His second half was not so good. He missed a blatant Croatian handball for another Aussie penalty, and should probably have ruled out Kewell’s 79th minute equaliser for offside. Then, as the game became more frantic in its later stages, he began brandishing yellow cards like confetti. There were three for Croatia, including a second for Dario Simic in the 85th minute, and two for Brett Emerton of Australia, the second in the 87th minute. His fatal error came in the 90th minute when he booked Josip Simunic for the second time in the match, but failed, to the shock of everyone watching, to send off the Croatian. Simunic somehow managed to get himself booked for a third time three minutes later, at which point Poll did send him off. But the damage to the referee’s reputation had been done.
In the confusion, Poll did have a smidgen of an excuse. Simunic had been born and brought up in Australia, so spoke English with an Aussie accent. When Poll put the number 3 in the book for the second time, he recorded him as the Australian number 3, Craig Moore. It was not enough for FIFA to forgive him – Poll and his two assistant referees, also from England, were dropped for the knock-out stages and had to return home in some dudgeon.