Anger Management or Better Sportsmanship?

In continuation of the excellence exhibited in the Germany-Portugal clash yesterday, the World Cup Soccer Finals played out very well today. Unfortunately, the final verdict had to be deferred to a penalty kick-out. But more than Italy's 5-3 victory over France, more has been said of the Zidane-Materazzi incident. From the video, it appears like Materazzi got what he deserved. I would have liked Zidane to have been spared the misery of sitting out the last few minutes of what is probably his last game. But at this level, and with his experience, Zidane should have known better.

Zidane's initial response to Materazzi was subdued; but Materazzi's continued tauts irked Zidane enough to momentarily lose his cool. Even as he struck Materazzi, the look on Zidane's face and his body language exhibited the regret; but it was too late and his illustrious career had to end with a red card.

So, would anger management classes have made a difference for Zidane? I don't believe any degree of anger management is going to take out all of our anger, unless of course you are on the path to becoming a monk - a very good one at that. What could have definitely helped is if Materazzi had exhibited better sportsmanship and played the game fair instead of resorting to extreme mind-games as a few teams repeatedly do in Cricket.

I hope the next World Cup is played with more fairness, less fakes, better sportsmanship and more spectacular footwork and strategies.

Zidane-Materazzi Video:


Update (Jul 10)
Materazzi's skills: (via digg - there is no escaping the past)


Related Tags: Soccer, Game, Sports, Italy, Portugal, Germany, France, World Cup 2006, Fake, Footwork, Foul, Red Card, Zidane, Materazzi