[sam h]

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Sam,

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I think the other posters were referring to the Golden Ball that is given to best player in the cup, not to the Golden Ball/European Footballer of the Year.


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If this is the case it's insane to suggest Zidane get this. He was rubbish in two matches, suspended for a third very crucial group match, played very well against Spain (though not ridiculously so), apparently played very well against Brazil (see below), and played decently but not amazingly in the match against Portugal. If he pulls a hat trick out for the final, sure, but barring something ridiculous he's a terrible choice if you simply want to name the best player of the tournament (although I could see giving it to him anyway).

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I don't see how you can call Zidane's performances against Spain and Brazil "not particularly impressive." Did you watch the Brazil game?

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Trust me, I know that he played well against Spain [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] As I said above, I did not watch the Brazil game as I was driving through the middle of the country that day (and the day before and after unfortunately). Based on what I've read he played very well in that match too.

Jared

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Sorry I guess you had made another post right before I had posted. Anyway, I'm not necessarily arguing for Zidane, although I think if he really shines in the final then it will be perfectly reasonable to give it to him. I agree that he did not actually look that great against Portugal, other than taking the penalty well. Ultimately, however, you have to weigh it against the other possible selections, given established criteria for these things. Cannavero I agree would be a good choice but defenders rarely win and Italy's defensive success is hard to pin just on him. Klose scored a great goal against Argentina but other than that actually disappeared for most of Germany's last two matches. Buffon is great but I don't think he has been sensational like Kahn was in 2002. It's strange, because in each of the last three cups there have been 2-3 players that I have thought really distinguished themselves and were very strong candidates but in this world cup I don't think anyone has really risen above the pack at all. Kind of disappointing actually.