Of Material Balance and the Law of Averages

The Law of Averages doesn’t spare anyone.

Not even if you are a descendant of Immortality herself. Or a child of Prodigy, but a mortal nevertheless. As Zidane and Trezeguet found out the hard way. Time and again, it has caught up with greats at the helm of their trade, and great-ers at the dusk of their walks of life.

As curtains draw on the greatest spectacle of ‘em all, after 30 days of blink-and-you-will-miss action, it-cant-possibly-be feats, back-from-the-dead recoveries, not-so-diminutive dwarves and fallen giants, searing heartbreaks and surging spirits, larger-than-life personas and oh-how-could-it-be-you villains and heroes, memories linger, both good and bad. Some will be mummified, to be opened ages later by innocents probing for a piece of history, some will be dissected to the last shard, and some, well, plain buried, hoping never to be revived.

24 Passes, nine players and 54 seconds - the vital statistics surrounding the goal of the tournament, scored by Argentina's Esteban Cambiasso against Serbia & Montenegro.

But this is not to discuss any of those. This is about the law of averages.

It was another day in Saint Denis in July 1998, another penalty shoot out and just another World Cup knock out game between France and Italy. The home team emerged victors, a glittering Barthez making the final save.

It was another day in Rotterdam in July 2000, another Euro Cup final between France and Italy, when Trezeguet had slotted home the Golden Goal, which gave France a victory, in the process making it the first team ever to flaunt World Cup as well as the Euro Cup under its belt.

It was another day in Berlin in July 2006. Another world cup final. France and Italy again. The great man took the penalty stroke in the game. It hit the cross bar, popped in, and out.

Shootout. The prodigious son took the penalty stroke after the game. It hit the cross bar, popped out, and stayed out. Five penalties by Italy. This time, Barthez could keep out none.

The great man scouting for his last hurrah for his country. Pulled out of retirement for one last romantic fling with history. And the romance was just about the most beautiful and sublime ever scripted. But, well, just about. Surely, it ought to have ended in any other way but this! The law of averages is not just ubiquitous, it is cruel. Cruel to the point of unforgiving, almost vengeful.

Revenge is a dish best eaten cold. Especially savoury when it has been garnished by blood, sweat and tears, 6-year old and 8-year old.

A random assortment of headlines: the good, the bad, and the ugly

L'Humanité (France): "Bravo all the same, Zizou, thank you, thank you for everything."

Berliner Kurier(Germany): “Klinsi, please stay.”

Gazeta Esportiva (Brazil): "England, the home of football, should be grateful that the Wags, anorexics addicted to shopping with hollow, lobotomised heads, are there in Germany to detract from their team's poor football skills."

L'Equipe(France): "How could this happen to a man like you?"

O Jogo(Portugal): “Thanks and So Long.” (Figo)

Another random off the cuff assortment, this time a collage