Friday, June 15, 2018
World Cup leftovers
World Cup leftovers
Speculation is rife that Fabien Barthez, who retired last week from international and club football, is to become a rugby union commentator.When announcing his retirement Barthez said "I am starting a new life� I will continue to enjoy myself... but without soccer."
A Reuters profile of the former French goalie lamented the retirement of Barthez, "He will be missed by former team mates but also by footballs millions of armchair fans looking for entertainment."
Armchair fans may no longer be disappointed, when asked on French television whether he is considering an offer to be a commentator at next years rugby union World Cup, Barthez responded, "Why not? That would be interesting� I grew up surrounded by rugby."
Barthezs last competitive game was the World Cup final.
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The Times reports that Marco Materrazzi is to extract yet more publicity for his part in the sending-off of Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final.
His new book titled "What I actually told Zidane," "features 249 possible phrases Materazzi could have uttered to provoke Zinedine Zidanes head-butt, from the playful (Zidane, what are you doing? You havent lost yet and already you�ve ripped your hair out) to the pensive: (Since Foucault died, French philosophy has sucked)."
The book does include what the Inter Milan defender claims were the real words he uttered to the mercurial Frenchman.
The Times continues, "The book costs about �7 and proceeds from the mining of an incident that set a bad example to millions of children across the planet will go to... Unicef� As for Zidane, what does he think? We can only guess. He has retreated from public life. With any luck, he has locked himself away to work on his own literary riposte: Why I Nutted Marco."
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Following the World Cup, Ronaldo (the Brazilian) made an advert for Brahma beer.
The commercial which was only broadcast in Brazil sees the Real Madrid striker entering a bullfighting arena to show off his skills.
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A trailer for the epic documentary which followed the German World Cup team for a year can be seen here.
The documentary, titled "Deutschland: Ein Sommermaerchen" (Germany: A summer fairy tale), is described as "an electrifying mix of fly-on-the-wall footage taken in dressing rooms, on buses and in hotels plus television clips of key scenes of Germanys matches."
It is directed by Soenke Wortmann, who won international plaudits for his 2003 drama "Miracle of Berne" about the 1954 West Germany team.
Wortmann said "I think the team moved the whole country� "It wasnt just a fleeting moment. It was such a wonderful thing and Germanys a different country now because of it. The mood was so special. I think itll have a lasting impact."
(It is to be hoped that this documentary is given subtitles and wide coverage around the world since it could be the modern equivalent of "The Glory Game" by Hunter Davies.)
