Good game in my eyes, and the correct winner. The German team will deservedly get an honourable reception when coming home today.

Three remarks: (1) Some of the best players of the world were visivbly tired after a long season. The best players had to play so often in the many cups that they were not as good as they could be. In former times, a tired French team would have been good enough to survive the first round anyway. But now only a team with is fit can survive for the differences are not as big as before. It is a pity that a player like Zidane could not be watched at least in the semi-final. They had to pay a too high price for playing too many games during the season.

(2) Before the world cup, Rudi Voeller, the German front-man coach said, the following teams are better than we and normally we cannot beat them right now: Argentine, Italy, Brazil, England, France, and perhaps Portugal. All others we can beat. That to beat (all) others was enough for reaching the final was kind of surprising.

(3) Kahn wants to be remembered as the best goalie ever. Two things at least are still missing. First, his long kicks too often reach the wrong team. Second, his burning ambition can have negative consequences. To think that with a torn ligament in one finger he still is better than the second best German goalie is a wrong judgement. His mistake came shortly after that injury. Without him, however, the quarter final would have been Germany's last game.

Wolfgang