Beside World Cup Champions there are other heroes in the shape of players and teams whose contributions cry out for some sort of recognition. Here is the list of all 2006 FIFA World Cup Awords ant it’s winners.
Adidas Golden Ball
Zinedine Zidane (FRA)
Adidas Golden Shoe
Miroslav Klose (GER)
Gillette Best Young Player
Lukas Podolski (GER)
Zinedine Zidane finally spoke out, in a live interview on French television channel Canal Plus, about his headbutt incident with Marco Materazzi in the 2006 FIFA World Cup final. He said he was provoked into head-butting defender Marco Materazzi during the World Cup final because the Italian insulted his mother and his sister. Zidane apologised for his behaviour but he said he could not regret it.
Materazzi said very harsh things about my mother and my sister. I tried not to listen to him but he kept repeating them. I knew it was my last game and I knew that there were only 10 minutes to play but things happened very swiftly. I apologise to all the children who watched the match on Sunday. There was no excuse for it. I want to be open and honest about it. I have no regrets.
Sepp Blatter has told Italian newspapers that Zinedine Zidane may loose the 2006 adidas Golden Ball award which he was awarded on first day after the FIFA World Cup 2006.
Blatter said that before taking any decision he wanted to see the results of the FIFA investigation into the sending off incident involving Zidane and Italian defender Marco Materazzi.
It’s not FIFA that decides who wins this award but an international committee of journalists. All the same, the FIFA executive committee has the responsibility of intervening when it is a matter of conduct which goes against the ethics of the sport. That is why I gave the orders to our disciplinary commission to investigate what happened.
I’ve known Zidane for several years, his tremendous personality, the way he lives his life, his modesty and his love of his family. To see him acting like that leaves me vexed, both for himself and for all sense of fair-play.
The midfield maestro Zinedine Zidane won the adidas Golden Ball at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. Despite he was sent from the field, for butting Marco Materazzi in the chest, French No. 10 was voted the best player at 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany.
| 09-July-2006 |  |
ITA : FRA |  |
1:1 (1:1, 1:1) PSO 5:3 | Berlin |
1986 World Cup, France beat Italy 2-0 in the Round of 16.
1998 World Cup, France eliminated Italy in the quarter-finals through penalty shoot-out.
2000 EURO Champs, France lifted the title after defeating Italy through a Golden Goal…
Will Les Bleus once again get the better of Squadra Azzurra, or will World Cup glory go to Totti and Co. this time?
| 04-July-2006 |  |
GER : POR |  |
3:1 (0:0) | Stuttgart |
The World Cup’s third-place playoff game can’t compete with glamour of the final. But it could bring a chance for host Germany and Portugal to take a little bit more prestige out of the tournament. With both sides having nothing to lose, we could be in a thriller for the World Cup 2006 third place.
FIFA unveiled the ten candidates for the 2006 adidas Golden Ball which is presented to the outstanding player at each FIFA World Cup finals, with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee and the winner voted by representatives of the media.
Representatives of the media will vote for one player out of four Italians, three Frenchmen, two Germans and one Portuguese.
After 27 days of World Cup action, there are only two teams left in battle for the World Cup trophy. Italy and France will play on 9th of July in Berlin and we are asking you to predict the winner.
Leave your World Cup Final prediction in the sidebar poll.
The battle of the living legends - Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane won medals together at Real Madrid and each has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award. With both set to retire from international football after Germany 2006 this semi-final will be far more than just a game.
| 05-July-2006 | |
POR : FRA | |
0:1 (0:1) | Munich |
