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2002 Tournament Report
| GERMANY | 0-2 | BRAZIL |
| Ronaldo 67, 79 |
World Cup Final
Yokohama International Stadium
31 June 2002
Yokohama International Stadium
If the World Cup is a microcosm of life on earth, rock on. OK, so the Italians, the Spanish and the Portuguese went home in a huff; most of us had a ball. No one, so far, has been assassinated for an own goal; the co-hosts were not in the least inscrutable, and we saw a mix of cultures not a clash.
There was a mélange of playing styles to match, from lung bursting all-action to breathtaking artistry. Most games fulfilled the dramatic brief: ending in joy or tragedy and, unlike a theatrical final curtain, providing both simultaneously. The entertainment was engrossing or exhilarating, sometimes both.
Yes, there were disappointments. Disappointing that one of the world’s great players should believe cheating to be a tactical ploy. Disappointing that a referee should believe that errors by officials are part of the game, not an aberration. But, somehow, soccer survives. For this we must thank the nature of the game, so simple yet so responsive to the imagination.
It’s about survival but, since all but one of thirty-two countries must ultimately face defeat, for most it’s about how to die. Here coaches, as well as players, deserve our respect. In the white heat of media hype they sit with their “arses in the bacon slicer”, trying to keep a nation’s hopes alive. I salute the many who, despite the cost of losing, go for broke.
Captain Cafu
3-in-a-row, and the Trophy too
pic 
In the end there were no upstarts in the final. Brazil versus Germany has a familiar look, though few would have predicted this pairing when both struggled to qualify. And there has been plenty to disturb the status quo during the past month. Sénégal for one, representing French football all the way to the quarter-finals while the holders went home on the first plane.
Argentina too left early as Beckham healed a personal wound. Portugal and Italy did not go gently, complaining of errors by officials, and Spain was denied a winner against South Korea by another. Though the co-hosts may have reached the semis with the help of several good fortune cookies, they and partners Japan will no longer eat in the kitchen.
With many of its teams performing well in European club competition, the elevation of Turkey was not surprising. The achievement of the USA, on the other hand, was in out-performing the sum of its parts.
The Irish were extraordinary. In chaotic circumstances a 38-year-old whose career had been winding down suddenly found himself leading his country. Sharing his defensive duties were two players from the English second class, one out of contract, the other returned from long-term injury. The ability of such men to confront world-class opposition is part of the romance of the World Cup. With Duff enrolling in master class and Keane with the spirit to score, you have to speculate that had the Irish been less flaithiúlach with penalties, the scale of their homecoming might have been legendary.
Triumphant 5 times winners
The Brazilians are the stuff of legend. Fortunate in their opening game against Turkey, they confirmed superiority in the semi-final. En route they brushed aside China, played an exhibition match with Costa Rica, defeated Belgium’s industry with artistry and eased past England.
Years ago the Harlem Globetrotters toured Europe exhibiting basketball magic. With them they brought opponents, good pros, whose function was to provide the sounding board against which the Globetrotters’ fame could resound. In Yokohama this was Germany’s role. The important difference is that the World Cup Final is no exhibition.
This German squad falls short of those gracing the record books as West Germany. After an early flurry against the dispirited Saudis it concentrated on survival. This courted disaster against Robbie Keane’s spirit, but the subsequent ability to stop opponents scoring saw the Germans through against Cameroon, Paraguay and, a little fortunately, the USA. Thirteen goals scored, only Keane’s conceded; yet the keeper was their star. It was not an auspicious passage to the final, where, without Ballack, Germany’s hopes lay in disciplined organisation.
Ronaldo
Golden Boot winner
At the final final whistle came the storybook ending, Ronaldo exorcising his demons with the goals that won the trophy, the first tragedy for Kahn, the second testimony to Brazil’s beautiful game. The best team won the war though the Germans took the tactical battle to dominate the flanks. It was a fascinating stuff, this first Asian World Cup Final, refereed with clarity and contested with passion and sportsmanship.
Kahn
Lev Yashin award, but 1 error
Greed, corruption, cynicism and confusion; the human frailties are on display every four years. But tug away the shirt pulling and see how brightly the diamond gleams. See the courage, the camaraderie, the skill and dedication that this parable for how we live inspires. A shy smile, part challenge part tribute, from an attacker to the defender who has, this time, thwarted him; Turkish victors linking with South Korean opponents to salute the crowd. Ronaldo’s tears and celebrations. These moments say it all.
“Football isn’t a matter of life and death. It’s more important than that.” Suddenly Shankley’s famous dictum seems more than a credo disguised as a joke. It’s a universal truth too.
Brian de Salvo
Teams
Germany: Oliver Kahn (c); Thomas Linke, Carsten Ramelow, Oliver Neuville, Dietmar Hamann, Miroslav Klose (Oliver Bierhoff 74), Jens Jeremies (Gerald Asamoah 77), Marco Bode (Christian Ziege 84), Bernd Schneider, Christoph Metzelder, Torsten Frings
Brazil: Marcos; Cafu (c), Lucio, Roque Junior, Edmilson, Roberto Carlos, Gilberto Silva, Ronaldo (Denilson 89), Rivaldo, Ronaldinho (Juninho Paulista 85), Kleberson
Officials
Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Ita)
Assistants: Leif Lindberg (Swe), Philip Sharp (Eng)
Fourth: Hugh Dallas (Sco)
Brian de Salvo's reviews of the earlier rounds:
