Tuesday, Jun. 27, 2006

Time To Settle Scores For France And Spain

By BRUCE CRUMLEY

Any World Cup knock out round match is, by its very nature, a high-stakes encounter. When France meets Spain in their Round of 16 contest in Hanover Tuesday night, however, the clash with also have elements of a classic grudge match.

The Spanish are coming in looking to settle some long aching scores. They have never beaten France in international tournament play (ie. World Cup qualifiers or final round; European Championship games; Olympics). The last time the two met in such a context was during their sumptuous 2000 European Championships quarter final, which France won 2-1 after Raul botched what seemed like an un-missable chance to equalize late in the game. The showdown in Hanover, meanwhile, coincides with the exact date of France's Michel Platini-powered triumph over Spain in the 1984 European Championship final.

Because of history, the Spaniards will not only be looking to pierce France's reputation of "ownage" in their duals; they'll also hope to use it in the larger effort to shattering Spain's status as the perennial little engine that couldn't.

Despite fielding some of the best teams on paper over the past two decades, Spain's only title goes back to a 1950 European crown. Casting off the "eternal under-achiever" label would be even sweeter if it also involved pay back to the French.

But there will also be a bit of Bleu attitude factored into the game. Their last match with Spain was a misnomered "friendly" that the Iberians won 1-0 with overly aggressive play that — in one case — saw them literally ripping the shorts off sprinting French players. Personal history will also loom large. Zinedine Zidane has become a quasi-hero in Spain in his five splendid years with Real Madrid. But for that very reason, Zizou doesn't want to see his adopted country end his career prematurely by knocking France out before Zidane's stated goal of being able to walk away from the game holding another world title.

Conversely, Claude Makelele is spoiling to show Spanish fans what a great player their league lost when Real decided he wasn't worth keeping around. After establishing himself as a mighty midfielder with both Celta Vigo and Madrid, Makelele felt slighted when Real decided in 2003 he wasn't needed any longer, and encouraged his jump to English club Chelsea.

And finally, Thierry Henry — whose extra-footballing activities include leading an anti-racism campaign — will doubtless want to send a little message to Spanish coach Luis Aragones. In 2004, as he tried to pump Henry's Arsenal team mate Antonio Reyes up during a Spain training session, Aragones was filmed by TV cameras urging Reyes to prove his footballing worth to the world by playing better than Henry, whom he called a "piece of s... (racist slur)".

Frankly, France will need extra motivation to beat Spain — a side that the best overall football thus far this Cup. Moreover, Spain's duo of youthful offensive gems (José Torres Sanz and David Villa) are reminiscent of the blossoming scoring powers of Henry and David Trezeguet — both newcomers who helped power France to its 1998 and 2000 titles. Plus, logic doesn't favor a French side that couldn't top teams like Switzerland and South Korea in group play. However, over the past half decade or so, France has tended to play to the level of its various rivals, and could well find its previously sluggish play inspired to rise to Spain's sparkling standard.

Should that happen, a French upset is not just feasible, but could serve as a spark les Bleus need to ignite them to even more surprising exploits between now and July 9. The rational bettor's money is therefore on Spain, while France fans are repeating the mantra that when it comes to knockout round games, "anything can happen". As Spain knows only too agonizingly well.