magisterial

i'm sure many of you were expecting me to write a big, expansive, excited take on france and brazil last night, but i thought it better to let the whole experience sink in before i got started. plus, knowing that most of my friends have seen their teams crash out makes me sensitive to your feelings (sorry dollev and taras and canadian gooner and gio).

i am ready now, though, so here goes:

i have heard commentators over the last few years using the word "magisterial" to describe the performance of a team, and i've always thought it was a bit much. until yesterday. for that was exactly what the french defeat of brazil was -- magisterial. with all the experience necessary to come into a game with authority, and just enough youth to envigorate the oldsters, france looked like brazil and brazil looked average. from around the tenth minute on, france took control and never let go, never ever looking like they were going to let brazil back into the game.

the french midfield made the brazilian midfield of ronaldhino, junihno, gilberto silva, ze roberto and kaka disappear. only ze roberto looked consistently threatening, but even he was well and completely controlled by vieira, ribery, malouda, makele and zidane. france didn't make the brazilians look bad, but they did make them look like a good team struggling against superior skill, and what a feat that was for the french: anyone making the brazilians look inferior have more than done their job.

everyone's talked about the magic of zidane yesterday, and it was magic. he was back to his old best. not as fast, surely; but he was crafty, spot on with his crosses (particularly the cross that bounced from henry's foot to the back of the net), and a tower of calm and strength. it was his game yesterday, his greatest in years, and it was a joy to watch such a fantastic player being great again. he was the magister that made the french victory magisterial.

still, there were three other exceptional french performances that made the game a wonder to watch -- even for neutrals (of which many shared the experience with me yesterday). patrick vieira and claude makelele were both perfect. it was they who gave zidane the time and space to weave his magic. it was they who shut down ronaldhino and kaka. it was they who started the moves forward. and patty was always ready to move into the attack. the other was frank ribery. he is the future of france, and he's a damn fine little player. ugly he may be, but his football belies his physical appearance. he is elegant, fast, tricky and tenacious. he is thrilling. and we definitely haven't seen his best yet.

which leads me to the hope i have for reaching the finals. we still haven't seen anywhere near the best from henry. he's been playing well, but he's been getting caught offside (and genuinely so) too much, and he's been a little off pace. but i saw the stirrings of henry greatness yesterday when he appeared, totally unmarked, at the far post and poke-volleyed zidane's perfect cross past a helpless dida. it was a hint of the great henry that arsenal fans know and love, and it looks to me as though he's going to be showing up for real in one of the next two games. if that henry shows up no one else will have to do a damn thing. he can win it all by himself.

now, of course, france is mostly old and they may have spent themselves against brazil, but there's a feeling these guys are exuding that makes me think they will be in the final. regardless, i feel privileged as a france fan (and relieved) to have witnessed their performance against brazil. at this point i no longer have to care about our sturdy but tired performance against switzerland, our lazy capitulation to a surprise draw against an energetic south korea and our unconvincing win against togo. a strong victory against perennially weak spain gave me hope and that hopes has now been fulfilled. france played like champions against the champions. and for all french fans everywhere we can hold our heads high once again (2002 is now just a painful memory).

allez les bleus! vive la france!