Defoe's striking ambition

With his diamond earings and bright orange boots, Tottenham's Jermain Defoe could be mistaken for just another modern day 'bling bling' footballer, with more money than sense.

Refreshingly for Tottenham and football fans in general, Defoe is a rare breed - a young man with old fashioned values. Moreover, he's a footballer that loves nothing more than playing the game.

The most impressive thing that strikes you when you meet the man known as 'JD' to his team-mates, is his single mindedness. Despite the recent frustration of missing out on a place in England's World Cup squad, his thoughts are focused on the here and now.

'I have forgotten about that now', says Defoe reflecting on Sven Goran Erikkson's snub. 'I just want to look forward, I want to enjoy my football and that's what I'm doing at the moment. If I'm playing and scoring goals then I'm happy'.

The prospect of seeing a ruthless, sharp Jermain Defoe fit and raring to go must delight Spurs fans as will seeing the other striking options they take into the new Premiership campaign.

Defoe for one has a lot of time for his fellow front men, Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane. 'Berbatov is a great player and because his movement is so good, to play with him seems really easy.

'I've been playing with Robbie (Keane) for the last few years, he's good at dropping off, getting the ball and making things happen'.

One of Martin Jol's major headaches during the last campaign was deciding on his best front pairing. Interestingly the Dutch manager has opted to start all three of his strikers in the two friendlies the club have played since returning from their French training camp.

Defoe can see a logic in the 4-3-3 formation and is excited by the possibility of playing that system in the future. 'Me and Berbatov up front and Robbie (Keane) just behind semms to be working really well to be honest. We've got strikers that want to play and score goals. If he (Martin Jol) could fit all three of us in it would be good'.

Key to Tottenham's success this season will be keeping their talented, young nucleus of English talent together. Defoe's former West Ham team mate and current colleague Michael Carrick was in outstanding form last season and this has attracted keen interest from Manchester United.

'You don't want to lose you best players' says Defoe. 'Michael (Carrick) was unbelievable for us and he's great at what he does, he's one of the best around'.

Has 'JD' made any efforts to make his team-mate and close friend stay? 'Yeah, I'm trying to injure him so he can't go anywhere' jokes Defoe. 'Michael is happy here, we are all mates and I hope he stays.'

It isn't only Alex Ferguson that is a keen admirer of the progress being made by the White Hart Lane club. Similar praise is coming from across the Premiership according to Defoe.

'Steven Gerrard was mentioning the clubs he thought would do well this season and he mentioned Tottenham. We know we are a club going places and other teams and other players know we are a team going places too'.

Defoe is optimistic that Spurs can make a push to towards the top four this season. 'We just missed out on the Champions League last season and hopefully this season we can do it. The manager has lots of belief in us, we are a young squad and he's a great coach'.

Spurs get a taste of Champions League life when they welcome Inter Milan to White Hart Lane this Sunday. Despite coming up against one the biggest clubs in world football, rest assured single-minded Defoe won't be letting the opposition faze him.

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Berba-King !

Tottenham's large travelling contingent of fans were treated to an impressive showing as their side continued its preparations for the big Premiership kick off at St Andrews. Spurs' fitness and passing impressed throughout and in £10.8 million man Dimitar Berbatov, the Lilywhites hope they have found a centre-forward capable of taking last season's achievements on to the next level in 2006-2007.

Berbatov has set himself a target of bagging 15-20 goals in his first season in England in order to fire Spurs towards a Champions League spot. On the evidence of his showing during Tottenham's 2-0 victory over Birmingham City, he has the qualities to realise this ambition.

Despite not being blessed with a lightening turn of pace, his speed of thought is second to none. Comfortable in the air or on the floor, his two goals showed a clinical edge that could take the Premiership by storm.

Spurs lined up with a 4-3-3 formation, with Robbie Keane playing as a link man between the midfield and Defoe and Berbatov upfront. This worked to great effect and the Irish skipper was at the heart of Spurs' fluent passing moves in this valuable pre-season work out. The system gave Spurs' flair players the stage to express their attacking prowess however boss Martin Jol insisted that the 4-3-3 was deployed as a fitness, rather than a tactical exercise.

In the torrential rain that fell throughout in the West Midlands, Berbatov opened the scoring on twelve minutes. Latching on to a cute ball over the top of the Blues back line by Hossam Ghaly, he took just two touches to control and rifle past Maik Taylor in the Birmingham goal.

If his first strike was good, his second was even better. Ghaly again picked out Berbatov in space on the edge of the Birmingham penalty area.

Brimming with confidence from his goal just two minutes earlier, the Bulgarian fired an unstoppable volley which cannoned in off the underside of the Blues cross bar. All four sides of the ground stood and applauded Berbatov's moment of magic. Jol was clearly delighted with the big striker after the game and commented, 'It's a long time since I saw a goal like that, but he (Berbatov) is a guy who can do that'.

Spurs played a comfortable style of football, creating a number of further opportunities while rarely looking tested by Birmingham at the other end.

Benoit Assou Ekoto looks a solid signing at left back and coming up against the former Spur Stephen Kelly, he looked by far the more accomplished player. Spurs fans cruelly taunted the Birmingham faithful with taunts of 'We'll never play you again'. Tottenham's expert performance showed that the gulf between Premiership and Championship is as big as the ambitions of the two club's going into their respective new seasons.

Fulop, Routledge (Ifil, 66), King (Davenport, 66), Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Huddlestone, Ghaly (Ziegler, 57), Tainio, Defoe (O'Hara, 86), Keane (Murphy, 64), Berbatov (Barnard, 71). Unused sub: Cerny.

Player Watch

Fulop 6/10 Rarely tested, but his successful spell on loan at Coventry last season proved that he could be trusted if called upon in the future.

Routledge 7/10 Spent large parts of 05/06 injured or on loan, but the versatile wide man showed he's still got all the speed and skill that appealed to Martin Jol twelve months ago.

Ekoto 7/10 Solid, athletic and confident performer that will surely feature regularly at full back in the forthcoming season.

Huddlestone 8/10 Despite his relative youth and inexperience, has shown whenever called upon he is a midfielder capable of playing at the top level. Could soften the blow should Carrick depart to Manchester United.

Dawson 6/10 An easy work out as Birmingham fail to trouble one of Spurs' best players of last season

King 7/10 Typical captain's performance , reliable and fitting example to the younger players around him.

Ghaly 6/10 Some way from being the finished product, but his supply for both goals demonstrates why he was such a hit for Clive Allen's reserve side last season.

Tainio 6/10 Quietly effective as always, stood in for King as skipper for last 20 minutes of the game.

Berbatov 9/10 Exciting and natural looking goal scorer who could do big things for Spurs in the Premiership

Keane 8/10 A fine performance from a player who has matured no end in 2006

Defoe 7/10 Hoping to catch Steve McClaren's eye next season, which is pretty likely with the
bright orange boots he sported as St Andrews.

Birimingham 0 Spurs 2

Dimitar Berbatov marked his first Spurs game on English soil with two goals in the pre-season contest against Birmingham at St Andrews on Saturday.

The first was super cool - calmly slotting past Maik Taylor in the Birmingham goal. The second was simply stunning and it is doubtful whether Taylor caught sight of the Bulgarian's shot as it went flying into his net.

The goals came pretty early - with Berbatov putting his marker down for the season ahead - before the game settled down as the rain poured from the Midlands sky.

Martin Jol fielded an experimental side with the World Cup players, along with new signing Didier Zokora only just back in training or set to begin on Monday. Wayne Routledge was operating in the right full-back role, with new boy Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the opposite flank.

There was a three-man midfield of Teemu Tainio, Hossam Ghaly and Tom Huddlestone, along with a three-pronged attack featuring Berbatov, Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane - with the latter dropping the deeper.

It was Defoe who was quick to demonstrate his intentions with a power drive after five minutes which took a slight deflection to divert around the post, while Cameron Jerome forced Marton Fulop to be a bit nifty in getting off his line a few moments later after a speedy dash through the middle.

At the other end, Keane and Berbatov were setting about getting their eye in, but Maik Taylor was equal to the task at this stage.

The clearest chance came on ten minutes when, following a cleared cross from the right, Routledge dinked the ball back into the danger area with one Michael Dawson the recipient.

Daws seemed more surprised than anyone to find himself with the ball at his feet a few yards from goal and when he reacted Taylor advanced and smothered the ball.

Two minutes later a deserved goal was recorded. Ghaly picked out Berbatov to the right of the Birmingham area and the Bulgarian turned in an instant and shot low across Taylor and into the net.

Better was to come on 14 minutes when the striker effortlessly took a long ball in his stride and, from the edge of the area, literally rifled the ball past a stunned Taylor with incredible power.

The home side - including Stephen Kelly and with Stephen Clemence on the bench - looked deflated and Defoe came very close to adding to the sinking feeling when he struck first time just inches over the bar after a poor clearance from Martin Taylor.

Tainio was not far off with his header in what was the closest to a third before referee Mr Riley sounded the whistle for half-time.

The pouring rain ceased at the beginning of the second period as Birmingham stepped up their collective energy levels and began closing down and snapping into a few more tackles in midfield.

Reto Ziegler was introduced in place of Ghaly just over ten minutes into the half, just before Berbatov was just a foot or so away from a hat-trick after connecting sweetly with the ball on the fall in the area, but seeing his effort flash wide.

Keane was then given the rest of the afternoon off and was replaced by Danny Murphy, quickly followed by the swap of Philip Ifil and Calum Davenport for Wayne Routledge and Ledley King.

Fulop had to be alert to deny substitute Mikael Forrsell low to his left as Steve Bruce's side continued in sprightly mode. Having made his big impression, Berbatov was withdrawn and Lee Barnard was added to the pre-season mix.

Barnard was quickly in on the shooting act, but not enough to trouble Taylor unduly. Control of the game was regained though and the young striker was linking up well well with Murphy in a quest for a third.

That quest continued into the final few minutes with Murphy's goalbound shot blocked by Johnson and Taylor holding onto Huddlestone's 20-yard rasper. Jamie O'Hara was our last substitute for Defoe with a couple of minutes left and that was that.

Pre-Season 18/7/06 - Celta Vigo 0 Spurs 2

Robbie Keane completed 70 minutes on his return to action against Celta Vigo on Tuesday night - but Jermain Defoe stole the show in Annecy.

Back after a neck injury kept him out of our first two friendlies against Bordeaux and Nice, Keane was kept on his toes by the close attentions of defender Lequi but still pulled the strings in the first half.

Defoe then entered the fray at half-time and secured our third win in three friendlies at our training camp in France with a two-goal blast in as many minutes.

The first half was a tough test for the Irish star as Lequi barely left his side but typically of Keane, he dropped deep to pick up the ball and was involved in most of our positive attacking play.

That included two inch-perfect passes to release Wayne Routledge inside his full-back - the first ended in what must have been a close offside call as Routledge prepared for a shot on goal, the second ended with Rouledge flat on his face via Lequi but the referee waved away all appeals for a penalty.

At the other end, King and Davenport had to snuff out danger a couple of times and Hossam Ghaly coped well in an unaccustomed right-back role.

Martin Jol made five chances going into the second half and it was barely two minutes old when Defoe stated his intentions, racing onto Routledge's pass but unusually missing the target from 10 yards.

He made amends three minutes later with lightning reactions to open the scoring. Keane was involved again, this time his slide-rule pass released Ziegler into the left channel of the box and the youngster struck across Pinto only to see his effort cannon back off the inside of the post -

Defoe was alert to it however and dived to head home from close range.

It was soon 2-0 and game over as Defoe struck again. This time Tainio picked out his run and Defoe coolly lifted the ball over the advancing Pinto before tucking it into an empty net.

Chances then came and went at both ends - De Ridder went closest for Celta Vigo when his volley zipped just wide while at the other end, Jamie O'Hara, Tainio and Berbatov might have added to the total, but it didn't matter, the job was done.

Celta Vigo:

1st half: Pinto, Oubina, Lequi, Nunez, Angel, Baiano, Gustavo Lopez, Placente, Contreras, Guayre, Vila.

2nd half: Pinto, Richy, Roberto, Guerrero, Perea, Roberto, Vela, Yago Yao, Aspas, Jorge, De Ridder.

Spurs:

Cerny, Ghaly (Lee, 85), Assou-Ekotto, Davids (Tainio, 46), Davenport (Dawson, 46), King (Huddlestone, 46), Routledge (Ifil, 65), Murphy (Defoe, 46), Barnard (Berbatov, 46), Keane (McKenna, 70), Ziegler (O'Hara, 65). Unused subs: Fulop, Barcham.

Pre-Season 14/7/06 - Nice 0 Spurs 1

Ledley King completed 70 minutes on his comeback as Lee Barnard bagged the winner against Nice on Friday night.

It was defensive kingpin Ledley's first match action since breaking a metatarsal in his foot in Premiership action against Everton on April 15.

Nice provided a decent test for the skipper as well with pacy striker Moussilou a threat especially in the first half - but he couldn't find a way past Marton Fulop, who was inspired in goal as we completed back-to-back wins after Thursday night's success against Bordeaux.

'Barney', who has a nice habit of scoring in these continental friendlies (he did the same in Sweden and Mauritius), struck just before half-time, turning home Jamie O'Hara's cross from close range.

Fulop was the star though with a number of saves right out of the top-drawer in the first half. The pick of the bunch was his first notable action, somehow reacting in time to push out Moussilou's stab from eight yards out after 15 minutes.

He denied the same player three times, low down to his right from 18 yards after 35 minutes and then, seconds after Barnard's goal, flicking out a leg to turn a one-on-one chance around the post.

Jermain Defoe entered the fray for Wayne Routledge at half-time and we took more control of the game in the second half.

However, it took until the 63rd minute for the next goalmouth action as Teemu Tainio squared a clever pass to O'Hara who arrowed a shot towards goal that Lloris saved comfortably.

Defoe - who else - provided the next spark after 70 minutes when he turned away from Yahia and drilled in a shot from 25 yards that Lloris did well to cling onto low to his right.

King departed soon after, replaced by Danny Murphy, and O'Hara tried his luck again, this time a curler from 25 yards that was heading into the top corner until Lloris clawed away.

Nice hit back late on but fluffed their lines in front of goal - most notably when Camara glanced a good headed chance wide.

Line-ups:

Nice (squad)
Gregorini, Onyekashi, Fanni, Abardonado, Yahia, Echouafini, Balmont, Rool, Hnondrato Campos, Camara, Moussilou, Bellion, Diakite, Gace, Kante, Scotto, Toure, Traore, Lloris, Moreaua.

Spurs:
Fulop, Stalteri, Ziegler, Huddlestone, King (Murphy, 72), Davenport, Routledge (Defoe, 46), Ghaly, Barnard (McKenna, 85), Tainio, O'Hara. Subs: Cerny, Defoe, Ifil, Lee, Barcham.

Pre-Season 13/7/06 - Bordeaux 1 Spurs 2

Jermain Defoe got straight back on the goal trail as Kieran McKenna's late header toppled Bordeaux in Thursday's friendly in France.

The striker looks determined and as sharp as ever following his summer disappointment with England and struck a typical Defoe goal to open the scoring on a windy night in Albertville.

With 35 minutes on the clock, Danny Murphy fed the ball into the 23-year-old and he worked a yard of space on the edge of the box before rifling into the bottom corner.

McKenna, on as substitute, then grabbed his chance with both hands with just three minutes left - arriving with perfect timing to nod home Reto Ziegler's cross.

Summer arrivals Dimitar Berbatov and Benoit Assou-Ekotto both started as we kicked-off our pre-season campaign against the runners-up in Ligue 1 last season.

Berbatov partnered Defoe up front, Assou-Ekotto started at left-back with Edgar Davids captaining the side and lining-up alongside Danny Murphy in midfield.

Bordeaux are slightly further down their pre-season path and started well, Ducasse cracked the crossbar after nine minutes but Radek Cerny's goal wasn't threatened further.

We were starting to find our collective feet when Defoe opened the scoring and the livewire forward almost caught out Valverde with a cheeky lob from the half-way line that drifted just over.

Bordeaux levelled in the final seconds of the first half as Darcaeville combined with Marange and Micoud provided the finish from close range.

Berbatov went close from 20 yards at the start of the second half before the first substitutes as O'Hara and Ziegler replaced Defoe and Routledge, Martin Jol switching to a 3-5-1-1 system.

Davids forced another opening for Berbatov with 20 minutes left, well saved by Valverde, before the Bulgarian international and Phil Ifil were replaced by Lee Barnard and McKenna.

It didn't take long for tigerish midfielder and reserve regular McKenna to make his mark as he guided Ziegler's cross back across Valverde and into the far corner for the winner.

Line-ups:

Bordeaux (squad):

Valverde, Dos Santos Souza, Jurietti, Alonso, Darcaeville, Francia, Valencia, Micoud, Laute, Rame, Baysse, Faubert, Ducasse, Balde, Bregerie, Marange, Cid, Obertan, Tremoulinas.

Spurs:

Cerny, Ifil (McKenna, 79), Assou-Ekotto, Davids, Dawson, Gardner, Routledge (Ziegler, 60), Murphy (Lee, 87), Berbatov (Barnard, 79), Defoe (O'Hara, 60), Reid. Subs: Davenport, Fulop, Huddlestone.

快叫爸爸!

小英是个很懂事的女孩，家住台中。

有一个周六下午，小英补习回来，坐在客厅做功课。

这时突然门铃响，懂事的小英赶紧跑去开门，

她看到一个英俊高大的男士在那里。心里正犹豫他是谁的时候，

妈妈从厨房走出来，看到他，即露出欣喜的笑容说∶ 「你终於来了！」

这时，妈妈突然回头对小英说∶「叫爸爸！」

小英心想∶「好奇怪，这个男的是谁，为什麽我要叫他爸爸，难道.....? 」

她什麽都没说，默不出声。

妈妈看小英一点动静都没有，就再一次对她说∶「叫爸爸！」

小英仍是无动於衷，瞪著眼睛望著妈妈和那个男士，决定以沉默代表自己最後的人性尊严。

妈妈大怒并语严厉地说: 「快叫爸爸!」

小英和妈妈僵持著。

妈妈急了、也火了，伸出右手打了小英一巴掌，并且大吼∶「快叫爸爸！你站在那里发什麽发呆阿。」

小英顿时傻了，没想到妈妈竟会为了一个陌生男人而打他，小英难过的哭了出来，

著陌生人说∶「爸 ...爸.......」

妈妈哭笑不得地说∶「你白痴啊 ? 你这样叫爸爸，他怎听到阿 ？人家来修水塔，你赶快到房里去叫爸爸，带他上楼。」

WORLD CUP 2006 - CHAMPION - ITALY

The prize giving ceremony for the World Cup 2006!!!

Zidane oh! Zidane!!

Dear Zidane

You stole the thunder from Italy with the headbutt which makes most wrestker pale in comparison.

Until now, no one knew what happen.

It was not a welcome sight when more than billion of people were watching you just moments ago produce one of the best magic of your entire playing career. Too badm Buffon was equal to that.

The header probably prompted the majority of the voters to cast you as the player of the World Cup 2006,

Your headbutt left your fellow players in a daze.

Some don't even want to take the penalty kicks.

It was not meant to be....but we will never know what would be the outcome if you were around to encourage your players.

Thank you for all those brilliant moves over the years....but not that headbutt...

Cheers!

FINAL: Italy 1 France 1 (Italy wins 5 - 3 on penalties)

Italy won the World Cup on penalties as Zinedine Zidane ended his wonderful career with a red card for a shameful headbutt.

Fabio Grosso smashed the winning kick past Fabien Barthez as the Azzurri claimed their first world title since 1982.

It is their first ever win on penalties in the World Cup and heals the scars of their shoot-off defeat in the 1994 final to Brazil.

France's David Trezeguet was the only player to miss, firing his shot against the crossbar, and Italy skipper Fabio Cannavaro then lifted the World Cup to celebrate his 100th cap for his country.

It was a wonderful moment to mark a brilliant tournament by Juventus skipper Cannavaro.

But the final will be remembered for many years for Zidane's moment of madness on his last game before retirement.

He charged at Italy defender Marco Materazzi and butted him in the chest in the second period of extra-time.

Horacio Elizondo, who sent off Wayne Rooney the quarter-final, reached for the red card after consulting with a linesman. Zidane made his way slowly down the tunnel in tears.

He will not be back as he always planned to retire from football after the final.

Sadly the enduring image of one of the greatest footballers of his generation will be of him ramming his bald head into Materazzi.

The Italian defender fell to the floor and his team-mates reacted furiously.

Both players had been involved in a tussle and Zidane's temper seemed to snap after something Materazzi said.

At first, Elizondo seemed to have missed the incident but after talking to his assistant, he pulled out his red card.

Zidane and Materazzi had been the key actors in the drama all night.

France went ahead through Zidane in the seventh minute when Materazzi was adjudged to have fouled Florent Malouda as he made a clumsy challenge inside the area.

The France skipper stepped up and copied Peter Crouch's cheekily chipped penalty - with one vital difference.

Where Crouch landed his kick in Old Trafford's Stretford End against Jamaica, Zidane's made it into the goal - just. His dink hit the underside of the bar, bounced down a yard over the line and spun out.

Argentinian ref Elizondo and his linesman were on the ball and gave the goal.

Zidane jogged away with an arm raised as he joined Pele, Vava and Paul Breitner as the only players to score in two World Cup finals.

It was a breathless start and Materazzi made amends for conceding the penalty when he climbed above Patrick Vieira to level the scores.

The former Everton centre-back, in the team because of an injury to Alessandro Nesta, met Andrea Pirlo's out-swinging corner and headed in his second goal of the tournament.

Luca Toni then hung in the air and rattled the bar with a header before the break as France struggled to cope from corner kicks.

Again it was Pirlo's expert delivery which caused the problem and Barthez was relieved to have the woodwork on his side.

France opened the second-half well.

A typical burst of Thierry Henry's pace and power down the inside left channel sliced open Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta.

The striker opened up his body for a right-foot shot but struck it tamely, straight at Gianluigi Buffon.

Zambrotta then hacked clear from Henry in front of goal and the Arsenal captain dithered over a chance moments later.

France lost Vieira in the 55th minute. He limped off holding his hamstring and was replaced by Alou Diarra.

Marcello Lippi made two changes on the hour, removing playmaker Francesco Totti and English-born Simone Perrotta, in a bid to halt the French charge.

Within seconds, Toni found the net with a header from a Pirlo free-kick but one of his team-mates had drifted offside and it was ruled out.

Pirlo shaved the post with a curling free-kick and Lippi played his final card in the 86th minute when he sent on Alessandro del Piero.

Just like the Euro 2000 final between the countries, extra-time was needed.

Trezeguet, who scored the golden goal in Rotterdam six years ago, came on but this time he would be the villain not the hero.

Buffon made a fingertip save to keep out a powerful header from Zidane in extra-time before the France captain did more damage by sinking his head into Materazzi.

Henry, who was knocked out in a first-minute clash with Cannavaro, limped out of the final in extra-time.

Italy had trusted in fate all the way to Berlin.

The Azzurri have reached the World Cup final every 12 years since 1970.

And their domestic football is in the midst of a corruption scandal, just as it was when they last conquered the world, 24 years ago.

In the stadium where Jesse Owens won four gold Olympic gold medals, Italy won the World Cup for the fourth time.

3rd & 4th Placing: Germany 3 Portugal 1

Bastian Schweinsteiger was the hero for Germany as they officially ended the 2006 World Cup as the third-best side after demolishing Portugal 3-1 in Stuttgart.

The host nation may have been craving for the final, but they proved they were still hungry in the `mini-final'.

Schweinsteiger, who was left out of Germany's semi-final after a perceived dip in form, showed he was back to his best with two excellent strikes in the 56th and 78th minutes.

In between, his free-kick also tempted Petit to put through his own goal and the standing ovation when Schweinsteiger left the field to be replaced by Thomas Hitzlsperger was more than merited.

Nuno Gomes headed in a late consolation, but Portugal ultimately had no answer to neither Schweinsteiger, nor his Bayern Munich team mate Oliver Kahn, who was phenomenal in the Germany goal.

The hosts made a bright start with the pressure generated by the home fan's expectations in previous games no longer evident.

Third place in the World Cup may still have been at stake, but there was more of a willingness to entertain the fervent supporters among Jurgen Klinsmann's men than to win without providing a spectacle.

While Germany may not be renowned for being the most technically gifted side in the world, they were nonetheless learning from their opponents Portugal, who with the fleet-footed Cristiano Ronaldo and vision of Simao Sabrosa were also looking to please the crowd.

Nuno Valente, Deco and Pauleta forged the opening chance of the game with some neat interplay which was copied by Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and Bernd Schneider within seconds.

Neither side were able to provide the finish the build-up play had deserved, though.
Philipp Lahm created the next chance of the game with a typical raid down the wing, tempting Nuno Valente into a rash challenge.

Bernd Schneider sent the resulting free-kick into the danger area and the ball finally fell to the feet of Sebastian Kehl on the edge of the area, but the Borussia Dortmund midfielder's shot took a slight deflection as it flew agonisingly wide of the post.

Miroslav Klose, with five goals the tournament's top scorer, was looking to engrave his name on the golden boot award, but in doing so, failed to spot his strike partner Lukas Podolski as he sent in a weak effort.

He would certainly have heard Podolski's scream after the shot failed to ruffle the back of the net, however.

Simao and Pauleta were at the centre of Portugal's most dangerous play and, with fifteen minutes gone, they combined to give Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn his first moment of anxiety.

The latter beat the offside trap to latch onto the former's delicate through ball and looked to place his shot into the far corner, but Kahn dived low to his left to make the save.

Portugal were growing in confidence and the impressive Kehl had to be alert to avert the danger after Deco looked for a colleague across goal.

Kehl then showed his attacking prowess, feigning to shoot with his right foot, shifting the ball back onto his left and then attempting to lob Ricardo from 20 yards, but the last line of the Portugal defence back-tracked to tip the effort over the crossbar.

Podolski was named FIFA's young player of the tournament on Friday and he tried to justify the choice with a fizzing 20-yard free-kick which Ricardo, in self-defence more than anything, fisted away.

Simao was Portugal's creative outlet on the left wing instead of Luis Figo and he spotted Deco, once again given far too much room inside the Germany penalty area.
The Barcelona playmaker turned to curl his shot just over the angle of post and crossbar.

It may have been a goalless first half, but it held a lot of promise for the second 45 minutes and, like in the first half, Germany were soon in the mood to attack.
This time, however, they were rewarded as Schweinsteiger fired a 25-yard drive past a nervy Ricardo.

Within minutes, the German fans were off their seats once again, this time applauding Philipp Lahm's volley from Klose's far-post cross which sailed just over the bar, while Schweinsteiger once again sent the emotions among the 52,000 sell-out crowd wild.

The Bayern Munich midfielder may have been frustrated at his omission from the starting eleven against Italy and he seemed intent on taking it out on the ball, not that anybody was complaining.

Portugal's half-time substitute Petit made the unlucky intervention which sent Schweinsteiger's low driven free-kick past his own goalkeeper as Germany doubled their advantage.

Goal number three was equally impressive and it could be nobody but Schweinsteiger who handed Germany victory with another stunning strike.

An almost carbon-copy of his first goal allowed Klinsmann and co. to celebrate third place in the World Cup.

Ricardo at least this time could not be blamed, such was the power and precision in Schweinsteiger's shot.

As Germany, and in particular Schweinsteiger, appeared to be finding it easy to find the back of the net, it was not for the lack of trying that Portugal were unable to do likewise.

Kahn was eager to make up for his mistake which handed Brazil the World Cup four years ago and he made several inspirational saves to keep out Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Germany captain, in perhaps his last ever Germany appearance, played his part in a memorable evening for Germany, although he could do little to stop Nuno Gomes from heading in a consolation late on.

All that remains now is for Klinsmann to decide on his future, but as his name echoed around the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium, turning his back on emotions such as those the host nation have experienced at the 2006 World Cup would take a lot of guts.

洞 房 之 夜

有位秀才小登科，洞房之夜翌晨，眾兄弟來拜訪，大家問他感覺如何？

他起身搖扇吟唱道 ：

" 春宵一刻值千金，弟昨夜以一技之長，一柱擎天，一馬當先，一拍即合，一炮而紅，一鼓作氣，

一氣呵成，真的是一夕纏綿，一夜風流是也 ! "

大家無限欽羨，轉問大嫂感覺又如何？

只見她好生哀怨地唱道 ：

" 真是一言難盡，他本來是一籌莫展，好在我助他一臂之力；但也一波三折，非一蹴可及，

只見一木難支，一觸即發；隨即一縱即逝，一落千丈，最後一敗塗地，奄奄一息；

簡直一無是處，多此一舉，真想一刀兩斷，一了百了 ! 唉！真是一場春夢，一事無成 ! "

Semi Final - Portugal 0 France 1

Zinedine Zidane showed England how to beat Ricardo from 12 yards and fired France into the World Cup final - it just needed a couple of steps and a firm right-footer inside the post.

Easy, and the French are off to Berlin to play Italy on Sunday.

Zidane, super-cool as always, converted the 33rd-minute penalty after Ricardo Carvalho had fouled Thierry Henry.

Ricardo, hero of the quarter-final shoot-out with saves from Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, went the right way but could not reach.

Zidane, at 34, showcased his incredible talent in the first-half. There are few players in the world who caress a football with such grace an beauty.

He flagged in the second-half but FIFA will be thrilled to have a living legend in Sunday's final.

At the final whistle Zizou and Henry embraced. The two biggest egos in the team, who were supposed to be feuding at the start of the tournament, may give this French team one last hurrah.

Zidane's moments of magic were often overshadowed in Munich by the obvious ill-feeling between the two teams.

The dark arts of diving, play-acting and intimidating the officials were all on display.

Surprisingly there were only two bookings but the one for Louis Saha, two minutes after coming on for Henry, will rule him out of the final. Carvalho, booked for a foul on Sylvain Wiltord, would have been suspended for the final but will now be suspended for the third-place play-off.

There is a history of bad blood between the teams, rooted in the Euro 2000 semi-final when France won with a golden-goal penalty - also scored by Zidane.

The goal six years ago sparked an ugly brawl on the pitch and Portugal players surrounded the referee. The Portuguese FA were fined £73,000 and three players - Nuno Gomes, Abel Xavier and Paulo Bento - were banned for a total of nearly two years.

William Gallas, never afraid to speak his mind, warned of Portuguese gamesmanship before the semi-final.

Wayne Rooney would probably echo his thoughts after Cristiano Ronaldo antics in the quarter-final.

Ronaldo's first touch in Munich's Allianz Arena was greeted with a deafening chorus of whistles and jeers.

Whether or not it was the work of England fans who had tickets for this game in hope, it seemed to inspire him.

The Manchester United winger produced some twinkle-toed skills to torture right-back Willy Sagnol but the other side of his game was never far away.

Raymond Domenech went wild when Ronaldo tumbled tamely under a Patrick Vieira challenge under the noses of the French bench. Domenech threw his arms in the air, made a diving gesture and then produced the dreaded imaginary card.

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari responded angrily and began shouting at the France coach from his own technical area.

The mood on the touchline got worse when Henry went over for the penalty, two minutes later.

Carvalho slipped as he tried to win the ball and Henry took advantage of his flailing leg, by going over after contact. Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda pointed to the spot.

Scolari erupted again, this time turning his fury on fourth official Mark Shield and pointing to a TV camera to suggest a close look at the replay.

Zidane made it look easy from the spot, tucking the ball inside Ricardo's right-hand post.

Ronaldo produced another elaborate dive in a bid to win a penalty, eight minutes before the break.

He threw himself to the turf as he jostled with Sagnol for position under cross from Luis Figo.

Between the tantrums there were outbreaks of brilliant football, played at a flying pace.

France could have been ahead in 38 seconds. Miguel lost track of Florent Malouda and the Lyon midfielder was through on goal as he collected a long defensive clearance.

Malouda pulled his shot across the face of goal but it set the tone for an open game.

Fabien Barthez saved from Deco and Maniche fired just over after a neat backheel by Ronaldo - all in the first 10 minutes.

Henry almost squeezed a shot under Ricardo in the opening moments of the second half and the Portugal keeper made a flying save from Franck Ribery.

Pauleta rifled a shot into the side-netting before making way for Simao Sabrosa in the second-half.

Figo missed a glorious chance to equalise, 12 minutes from time, when Barthez made a hash of a driven free-kick from Ronaldo. The keeper patted the ball up into the air straight to Figo in front of goal but the Portugal captain headed the chance over from six yards.

Scolari's team piled pressure on in the closing minutes.

France wobbled but were not beaten and set up a repeat of the Euro 2000 final against the Italians.

Semi-Final Germany 0 Italy 2

Jurgen Klinsmann's World Cup dream was destroyed by two Italy goals at the end of extra-time as Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero struck to secure a place in the final.

Klinsmann's Germany team seemed to be an unstoppable force, heading for Sunday's showpiece in Berlin.

But, with the semi-final less than two minutes away from a penalty shoot-out, Grosso fired Italy into the lead in the 119th minute.

Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann, outstanding all tournament, could do nothing to keep out the curler from the left-back.

A minute later and substitute Del Piero made it two, sending delirious Italy into their first World Cup final since 1994.

Marcello Lippi's team celebrated on the pitch as the whole of Germany sank to their knees.

The World Cup hosts were starting to believe in Klinsmann's team, who had been dismissed as no-hopers before the competition kicked off.

They had been thrashed by 4-1 by Italy in a friendly on March 1 but this was always going to be a much tighter contest.

There was a backdrop of ill-feeling to the game because the German camp had accused Italy of promoting TV evidence that Torsten Frings had thrown a punch in the fracas which followed their quarter-final win against Argentina.

Frings had indeed thrown a punch and was duly suspended from the semi-final as a result.

Italy were still without Daniele de Rossi, serving the last of his four-match ban for cutting Brian McBride with an elbow in the group stages.

Tempers simmered in the electric atmosphere of Dortmund's Westfalen Stadion and the semi-final never seemed far from a flashpoint.

Players from both teams dived and over-reacted to the slightest bit of contact.

Michael Ballack often seemed happy to tap the ball to one side and fall over the nearest opponent.

It would be nice if he could copy his national team manager Klinsmann and drop the diving habit when he moves to England.

Italy kicked the ball out for an injured player and Germany refused to give it back. Twice Italian players refused to shake German hands.

New Chelsea signing Ballack started the game strongly and thought he had a penalty in the 16th minute.

The Germany skipper nodded the ball past Andrea Pirlo and the AC Milan midfielder lifted an elbow to block it.

He was inside his own box but Mexican referee Benito Archundia missed the offence.

Italy almost took advantage of Germany's distraction. Francesco Totti split the defence with a long pass. English-born Simone Perrotta latched onto it but his touch let him down and Lehmann smothered the chance.

Germany's best chance of the first-half fell to Bernd Schneider, who burst onto a pass from Miroslav Klose.

Schneider caught his shot sweetly but it rose over the bar, helped by a fingertip from Gianluigi Buffon.

Twice Fabio Cannavaro denied Lukas Podolski with superb blocks and the German striker wasted a good chance when he volleyed wildly over from 10 yards.

Klose carved through the Italian defence early in the second half but Buffon sprinted from his line to make a brave save at his feet.

Podolski then made former Everton defender Marco Materazzi seem rooted to the spot with a quick turn and shot.

Buffon stood firm at the near post and beat it away. Arne Friedrich raced onto the rebound and crashed it into the stands.

The hosts had dominated the second half but Totti almost caught them napping in the 85th minute.

His clever chip found Perrotta but Lehmann sprinted out to punch the danger clear and take the game into a thrilling 30 minutes of extra-time.

Lehmann was saved by his woodwork when substitute Alberto Gilardino skipped past Ballack in the area and beat the Arsenal keeper with a miskicked shot.

It struck the foot of the post and rolled across the face of goal.

Gianluca Zambrotta rattled Lehmann's crossbar a minute later with a ferocious 20-yard effort.

Podolski headed hopelessly wide when unmarked in front of goal and Buffon then made a flying save to frustrate the Cologne youngster again.

Lehmann turned a screamer from Pirlo round the post but he could do nothing to keep out Grosso's effort. Pirlo threaded a perfectly-timed ball into the box to the full-back who bent it first time past the sprawling Lehmann.

Germany piled forward in search of the equaliser but Gilardino slipped a pass to Del Piero and he scored the second with the last kick of the game.

Brazil 0 France 1

Brazil's defence of the World Cup ended tamely in Frankfurt at the quarter-final stage with a 1-0 defeat against the France team that beat them in the 1998 final and had their measure again.

Thierry Henry's second-half strike, his third goal of the tournament, was enough to kill off Carlos Alberto Parreira's side who produced a display bereft of any of the football the five-times world champions are famous for.

The likes of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho were unable to make any headway against Les Bleus, who won the tournament last time it was staged in Europe and now could well do so again, with their next assignment a semi-final in Munich with Portugal.

Apart from the opening 10 minutes and a late Brazil rally, the French dominated the match and got the reward they deserved after 57 minutes when Henry netted his third goal of the tournament.

Henry's winner was a far-post volley from a free-kick delivered by inspirational playmaker Zinedine Zidane, the hero of the 1998 final who will retire when France's tournament is over.

Brazil's star-studded side never looked like breaking down a French side that remained solid throughout and will be favourites for the semi-final with a Portugal side coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari, the man who led Brazil to glory in 2002.

Brazil had the better of the opening 10 minutes and Ronaldinho won a free-kick when he was bundled over by William Gallas on the edge of the area but Juninho Pernambucano's free-kick struck the wall and was deflected over.

Brazil created their best chance when Ronaldo headed over a free-kick from Ronaldinho after 11 minutes but after that early spell it was mainly France for the remainder of the match.

A couple of blocked shots from Henry showed the French were in business and next Franck Ribery fired over after a Zidane corner was headed out to him.

Ronaldinho, in a more advanced role because of Parreira's decision to omit Adriano from the starting line-up, almost played in Ronaldo but the man who has scored more World Cup goals - 15 - than any other player was beaten to the ball by Fabien Barthez.

Cafu was booked for pulling the shirt of Eric Abidal after losing possession and minutes later Zidane curled an ambitious free-kick over from 35 yards as France continued to get better.

Some magic from Zidane put Patrick Vieira through the middle and he was halted by a challenge by Juan who was lucky to escape with just a caution from Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo, although it would still have been enough to rule him out of any semi-final with Portugal.

Henry's free-kick struck Ronaldo in the wall and the Brazil striker too earned a yellow card although he had appeared to be trying to protect himself. It gave France an even better chance but Zidane drove the ball into the wall with Lucio making the block.

To the relief of the Brazilians the half-time whistle sounded but at the start of the second half France were still in the ascendancy with Vieira heading a Zidane free-kick wide.

Next Henry put the ball in the goal although Medina Cantelejo had already whistled for offside against Vieira.

The goal that rewarded France's dominance came after 57 minutes when Zidane floated in a free-kick from out on the left and an unmarked Henry stole in at the far post to volley the ball into the roof of the net.

France almost made it 2-0 when Ribery drilled the ball across the goal and Juan, in an attempt to clear, almost scored an own goal.

Henry also almost set up Ribery but his shot was blocked by the onrushing goalkeeper Dida.

Lucio was then booked for a crude foul on Henry with Brazil, even after the introduction of Adriano, looking out of ideas and then Cicinho came on for Cafu and Robinho for Kaka.

Robinho fired over from a half-chance and Ronaldo screwed a 20-yard shot wide.

Next Lucio volleyed over after a weak Barthez punch but Brazil were looking a beaten side. Ronaldo won a free-kick with what looked a dive that earned Lilian Thuram a booking but Ronaldinho's free-kick was just over.

Substitute Louis Saha, released by Zidane, forced a save from Zidane and Barthez beat away a Ronaldo shot.

The final whistle signalled a deserved French victory and further delayed the retirement of Zidane, who must now be dreaming of a golden farewell.

England 0 Portugal 0 (Portugal won 3 - 1 on penalties)

Another quarter-final, another penalty shoot-out and more World Cup heartbreak for England after a 31- defeat to Portugal on spot kicks following a stalemate.

Wayne Rooney was sent off for a flash of temper in the second half, leaving his 10 team-mates to battle through 120 minutes.

They did it heroically but crumbled once again when it came to penalties.

Only Owen Hargreaves found the net out of four England players and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner.

Luiz Felipe Scolari completed his hat-trick over Sven-Goran Eriksson and the Swede's dreams are left in tatters.

Portugal move onto a semi-final in Munich on Wednesday, England come home and Eriksson hands the reins to Steve McClaren.

England players were in tears as they wondered what might have been if they had not lost Rooney in a 62nd-minute tussle with Ricardo Carvalho and Ronaldo.

Rooney and Ronaldo are supposed to be friends - they shared a joke before the game in the tunnel.

But there was nothing friendly about the way Manchester United's Portuguese winger got his club-mate sent off.

Rooney was battling to keep possession from three Portugal defenders when he raked his studs across the leg of Carvalho, who was on the floor trying to win the ball.

Chelsea defender Carvalho over-reacted and Ronaldo sprinted to the referee, apparently to demand a red card.

Rooney turned to his Manchester United team-mate and pushed him away.

Referee Horatio Elizondo then reached for the red card and sent Rooney off.

Elizondo, from Argentina, sent Beckham off in the World Club Championships in 1999.

Ronaldo instantly became the target of abuse for the thousands of England fans packed inside the AufSchalke Stadium.

He was jeered for his dramatic dive to win a free-kick under pressure from Ashley Cole a few minutes later.

Beckham, off the pitch injured, hobbled to the touchline to make his feelings known.

The Rooney red had many similarities to his own sending-off in France `98, for a split-second of indiscipline against Argentina.

Aaron Lennon was on and looking sharp but Eriksson had to reshuffle after the red card.

Joe Cole made way for Peter Crouch, who went up front on his own, and Gerrard moved to the left of midfield.

Lennon had a sharp chance to win it for England in the 83rd minute when keeper Ricardo failed to hold a stinging free-kick from Frank Lampard.

The rebound fell straight to the Tottenham teenager and he hit the target with a left-foot shot.

But it lacked power and Ricardo was able to recover in time to save it.

Portugal made their extra man show in the closing minutes, pushing England back.

Paul Robinson made an brilliant fingertip save from Luis Figo in the 79th minute and Rio Ferdinand made a crucial saving tackle to halt Nuno Valente's run at goal.

Robinson, dubbed a weak link by the Portuguese in the run-up to the game, made good saves from Viana and Maniche as the 90 minutes ticked away.

Terry went close to snatching a dramatic winner in stoppage time at the end of normal time.

His effort was deflected over by former Newcastle midfielder Viana and the game went into extra-time.

Terry's booking came on the half-hour and it was harsh.

The Chelsea skipper made a strong aerial challenge to beat Tiago to the ball.

Both players landed in a heap and needed treatment but referee Elizondo showed a yellow card to the England defender.

Terry picked himself up and battled on bravely.

England had started the game much more positively than any of their previous four in the competition.

Owen Hargreaves was outstanding in front of the back-four and both Lampard and Rooney forced saves from Ricardo in the first half.

England lost Beckham, seven minutes into the second half. He fell awkwardly after a heavy challenge and, despite trying to continue, was forced off.

The England skipper sat in tears on the bench as Lennon made an instant impact.

The Spurs teenager jinked his way into the penalty area on one run and, when Rooney miskicked, Joe Cole fired narrowly over.

A wonderful chance dropped to Lampard but he miscued it horribly and it bounced into the turf and then over.

Moments later, Rooney was off and the game totally changed.

England's 10 men dug in and showed real courage to take it into extra-time but were still able to create chances as a breathless game pulsed with excitement.

Eight minutes into extra-time and Miguel made a brilliant clearance to stop Crouch nodding a Gerrard cross into the net.

Robinson saved a skimming shot from Simao and Ronaldo flashed a 25-yarder just over the bar.

England appealed for a penalty when Valente tackled Lennon in the 106th minute but the Everton defender took the ball and the referee was correct not to point to the spot.

Helder Postiga, who scored a late equaliser when the teams met in Euro 2004, had the ball in the England net but it was rightly ruled out for offside.

Eriksson settled for penalties and sent on Jamie Carragher to take one.

But England's best chance of winning the World Cup in 40 years disappeared, somewhat predictably, as Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher missed penalties.

Italy 3 Ukraine 0

A rampant Luca Toni scored twice to end Ukraine's World Cup odyssey and take Italy into the World Cup semi-finals.

Toni finally ended his goalscoring drought on German soil with two second-half goals to crush the hopes of an entire nation.

Gianluca Zambrotta had opened the scoring in the sixth minute before last season's top Serie A scorer stole the limelight.

Toni headed the Azzurri's second shortly before the hour mark before capping a wonderful evening for Marcello Lippi's men shortly after.

Playing in their first ever quarter-final, the Ukrainians looked nervous and jittery and were at the mercy of their rivals in the opening half.

Oleg Blokhin's men did battle after the re-start and were only denied by superb saves from Gianluigi Buffon before Toni killed them off.

An estimated 46million Ukrainians back home watched their heroes make their exit and the Ukrainian players can feel proud of having gone so far in what has been a sensational first World Cup campaign.

Italy now take on host nation Germany in Tuesday's semi-final in Dortmund.

Francesco Totti, whose last-gasp penalty as a substitute secured a 1-0 win for the Azzurri in their last 16 match with Australia, returned to the starting XI playing behind lone striker Toni.

Lippi's decision to drop Alberto Gilardino and play with Toni from the start surprised many with the former having played in all four of the previous matches but it proved a cunning move after all.

Ukraine surrendered possession very easily and were punished early on.

Zambrotta picked up a lay-off from Totti and fired a left-footed shot from 25 yards towards the near post which stunned goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy.

The keeper did get a touch but it was not sufficient to prevent the opening goal.

The Ukrainians looked rattled and nervous and it was the Azzurri who could have doubled their lead 10 minutes later, but Totti's central free-kick proved an easy catch for Shovkovskyi.

Blokhin, clearly unhappy with his team's poor start, made his first substitution shortly after, with forward Andriy Vorobey replacing defender Vyacheslav Sviderskyi.

They did show more aggression with Sviderskyi's inclusion but still struggled to get past Italy's well-placed defence.

The Ukrainians had the first opportunity on the half-hour mark, with Anatoliy Tymoschuk's 30-yard effort going wide of Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's far post.

At the other end, Andriy Rusol did well to clear Andrea Pirlo's dangerous free-kick with Toni ready to head home.

Blokhin's men pressed forward in search of the equaliser but they mustered little before the break, apart from Andriy Shevchenko's effort from the edge of the area which took a deflection off Fabio Cannavaro and forced Buffon to dive to his right.

Blokhin suffered another setback with Rusol forced to leave the pitch just before half-time having sustained a foot injury and he was replaced by Vladyslav Vashchuv.

For all their superiority in the opening half, the Azzurri escaped twice unharmed with Maksym Kalinichenko's angled effort towards the box poorly cleared by Andrea Barzagli.

Buffon then made a spectacular one-handed save from Andriy Gusin's close-range header to keep his team ahead.

Italy cleared the corner but Ukraine played it back in and Gusev's far-post header was superbly tipped away by Buffon.

The goalkeeper headed the post as he made the save and needed treatment.

With 53 minutes played, Vorobey's excellent cross was taken off Shevchenko's head by the solid Cannavaro, a vital clearance as the Chelsea skipper would surely have scored.

Italy were holding on with Gusev's drive warming the hands of Buffon but the ball fell out to Kalinichenko whose goal-bound effort was cleared from inside the box by a defender.

Just when their rivals were playing at their best Italy struck their second.

Totti curled an inviting ball towards the far post which found Toni who scored with a diving header to make it 2-0.

The Ukrainians never gave up hope and were unlucky not to reduce the deficit three minutes later, with Gusin latching onto Kalinichenko's brilliant cross only to be denied by the crossbar.

With 23 minutes left to play, Lippi made a double substitution with Simone Barone and Massimo Oddo replacing Camoranesi and Pirlo.

Toni put the game beyond their opposition's reach one minute later, as he tapped in from Zambrotta's low cross.

With 10 minutes left, Buffon denied Shevchenko the consolation goal by punching away his powerful free-kick.

The Ukrainians could only wait for the final whistle as the Italians got the party under way.

Germany 1 Argentina 1 (Germany won 4-2 on penalties)

Argentina departed the World Cup under the shadow of disgrace as Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann became the hero of all Germany with two saves in the hosts' 4-2 penalty shoot-out triumph.

A gripping match in Berlin's Olympic Stadium - which was 1-1 after extra time - ended with Germany advancing to the semi-finals while Argentina will face an investigation into some unsavoury clashes involving several players and officials at the end of the shoot-out.

Lehmann has been a controversial selection by Jurgen Klinsmann but he repaid his coach's faith with saves from Roberto Ayala and Esteban Cambiasso.

The keeper even buried the hatchet with his bitter rival Oliver Kahn - the Bayern Munich stopper making a point of shaking hands before Lehmann took his place between the sticks.

The Argentina players were already complaining about the behaviour of some of the Germans during the shoot-out itself, but this was Germany's day and how the bulk of the 72,000 fans celebrated.

This match may not have been the best spectacle but nevertheless it was an epic struggle and a fascinating occasion.

Contests between these powerhouses of world football can usually be guaranteed to be hard-fought affairs, usually desperately close and settled by a single goal.

That was the case in the World Cup finals of 1986 and 1990, and so it was in the Olympic Stadium.

Roberto Ayala's header had given Argentina the lead early in the second half and perhaps if the South Americans had shown more adventure they could have wrapped up the match while the Germans were chasing the game.

As it turned out, Jose Pekerman's substitutions erred on the side of caution and Miroslav Klose's header earned extra time for the hosts, for whom Ballack had been an outstanding leader.

In the first half, this was a cautious affair, with good football only flickering into life fitfully.

Nerves were taut and ambition reined in and though Argentina dominated possession they struggled to force the openings, even if Carlos Tevez's darting skill and drag-backs always threatened peril.

The first indications of those stretched nerves came when Lukas Podolski's curled free-kick from 30 yards went straight to Roberto Abbondanzieri it looked easy enough for the Argentina keeper but he managed to spill the shot and was grateful he had enough time to recover.

Under Klinsmann, Germany have rediscovered an attacking attitude this World Cup but in the first half at least the coach sacrificed adventure for pragmatism.

Perhaps focusing on set-plays and counter-attacks was the safest way to play Argentina and one quick break almost paid dividends when Bernd Schneider crossed for Ballack to flick in a header that only just cleared the top corner.

Per Mertesacker blazed over from 18 yards, a fair effort from the central defender, but that was about it for the first half with Argentina failing even to muster a single effort.

The second half was a different affair however as from the re-start Argentina had more zip in their stride.

Tevez tried an ambitious volley on the turn from 25 yards that sailed way too high but four minutes after the break, Argentina opened the scoring in the most straightforward manner.

Juan Roman Riquelme fired in a corner and Ayala beat Klose to the ball to drill in a header between Lehmann and the man on the post Philipp Lahm.

Now this was a game. Germany were left with no option but to attack and that immediately left gaps in midfield.

Argentina nearly exploited one but Luis Gonzalez saw his shot blocked after some classy build-up between Tevez, Riquelme and Maxi Rodrigues.

Klinsmann sent on his speed merchant David Odonkor and his pace immediately gave Germany added firepower.

Abbondanzieri made a complete hash of claiming Bastian Schweinsteiger's delivery and all Germany held their breath as the ball fell to Ballack but Ayala made a vital block.

There was some cost to Argentina however as their keeper was injured in the melee and was replaced by Leonardo Franco.

Rodriguez blasted into the side-netting after Tevez had carved open Germany, then Lukas Podolski hammered a direct free-kick into the wall and Tim Borowski tested the replacement keeper with a deflected long-range effort .

With 10 minutes left Argentina paid dearly for giving Ballack too much space. The German skipper picked out Borowski with a penetrating ball whose flick found Klose stealing in ahead of Juan Pablo Sorin to bury a header into the bottom corner.

With normal time running out, Rodriguez was booked for diving after being challenged in the box by Lahm though it was a knife-edge decision for referee Lubos Michel.

Germany's fitness gave them an edge in extra-time but though they had a couple of chances Argentina came closest to a goal when Fabricio Coloccini's sliced cross landed on Lehmann's crossbar.