Sports/Olympics / Feature and Column
World Cup-The world comes full circle for France
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-07-06 09:04
MUNICH, July 5 - France completed one of soccer's greatest comebacks on
Wednesday -- whatever the outcome of Sunday's World Cup final against
Italy in Berlin.
Win or lose, their incredible turnaround from the depths of despair
following their humiliating first-round exit as defending champions in
2002, plus their uninspired start to this tournament, is the stuff of
sporting legend.
Their transformation from tired-looking, over-the-hill has-beens to
potential world champions in the 17 days since their 1-1 draw with South
Korea in Leipzig on June 18 to Wednesday's 1-0 semi-final win over
Portugal is just amazing.
Zinedine Zidane, who will play the last match of his glittering career in
Sunday's final symbolises their re-birth, and together with Fabien
Barthez, Lilian Thuram and Patrick Vieira heads to Berlin in search of a
second World Cup winner's medal.
Eight years ago in the World Cup they hosted, a place in the World Cup
final always seemed a possibility. Just eight days ago another appearance
in soccer's biggest game seemed an impossible dream.
HARD TO BELIEVE
It now seems hard to believe that after France drew their opening Group G
match 0-0 with Switzerland in Stuttgart on June 13, they had failed to
score in four successive matches in the finals -- their last goal coming
when they beat Brazil 3-0 to win the World Cup in Paris eight years ago.
Five days later little had improved, allowing the Koreans to snatch a 1-1
draw in Leipzig after Thierry Henry had finally ended the goal drought in
the ninth minute of that match.
Had they failed to beat Togo, France would have finished behind
Switzerland and South Korea and gone out in the first round again. But
goals from Vieira and Henry in a 2-0 win over the Africans meant they
survived at South Korea's expense.
There were flashes of their old magic in that match, but more
importantly, France were re-discovering their self-belief, even though
Zidane was suspended and did not play.
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