The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 23

HBPllibfe Open season Final flourish paes Ssg 5 Tour de France, Rugby 9 wNa Racing 10 SB Monday July 13 1 998 IfflS www.football.guardlan.co.uk France on top of the world Broth thefi PH(3RAPH: THOMAS KIENZLE In which two French caf intellectuals chew over this week's World Cup moments. All conversations lubricated by the best loved premium beer in France. World Cup final: Brazil 0 France 3 Zidane's double leads the rout as hosts put paid to below-par Brazil David Lacey in St-Denls HbhBBHrSv IkBSSIIBBBWsSSSsSBBlW VHBSSSSSSbSSSSSsIvBBSBBSShBbI BBBIn rHaiSliaBH I WaisiBHliaSBnBBaBiS BHgR8pr HhIHHv NHBlflMillHflBHBlfl 2 IBkHbS MBmIEIsBBSS9bh BuBBBBBsBBBLBBSsBBBBBsf HbILbLIbbh 1 VI HHsfSBbb jBsHBssBRfirc'f SSnftrafM I5lQffiB9B9BBlBflBBB yBHiiBBl i nflev.aWHIBHHBnBPa BBW BbW BPSlBBBBnsBHBIHBBIVlBBBBKr rS. rv ml 7aH Brazil Taffarel Cafu Junior Balano Aldalr Roberto Carlos Cesar Sampalo Dunga Rivaldo Leonardo Bebeto Ronaldo Guivarc'h OJorkaeN Zidane Petit Deschamps Karembeu Uzarazu Desailly Leboeuf Thuram When we hail our defeated players as heroes, is it that our need for pain outweighs the need for victory? Barthez (France Last night, however, it was Zidane's strength and judgment which twice punished Brazil at corners with near-post headers. Never has a team won a World Cup with such an obvious lack of a cutting edge to its attack.

Both Stephane Guivarc'h, who does not look like Kenny Dalglish's wisest buy at Newcastle, and Christophe Du-garry, who replaced him for the last 25 minutes, missed simple opportunities. For once, against Brazil, this did not matter. Ronaldo was not properly fit and seldom disturbed the authority of Desailly or Frank Lebouef, who as expected proved a more than adequate replacement for Blanc. On the few occasions Brazil did look like scoring they were thwarted by the at times comical but increasingly capable Fabien Barthez in the French goal. Barthez has never made a more important save than the one that denied Ronaldo a goal early in the second half.

The first goal arrived in the 27th minute. Petit's inswing-ing corner from the right evaded Lilian Thuram but behind him Zidane was already getting above Leonardo to meet the ball with a sharp downward header past Taffarel. Little was going right for the holders. Ronaldo surged through the middle only to be flattened, innocently enough, by Barthez's determination in leaving his line to beat him to the ball. Bebeto slunk around the outside of the French defence to meet a cross from Leonardo but could get no power into his header.

Not so Zidane; both he and France were heading for glory. On the stroke of half-time Guivarc'h should have scored after Thuram's long ball from the right had been completely missed by Junior Baiano. With only Taffarel to beat he saw his shot pushed wide by Brazil's goalkeeper. From Djorkaeff corner on the left, however, Zidane thrust his way through the defence, brushed Dunga aside and again nodded the ball down into the net. For a player who had waited until now to score his first goals in the tournament Zidane's sense of timing was inspired.

After that few doubted what the outcome would be. Desail-ly's departure merely sharpened the closing drama, which included Denilson's shot clipping the French bar in the closing minutes. As the match entered stoppage time Dugarry found Vieira to his left and he in turn sent Petit through to score with a precise shot inside the left-hand post. Now France could believe it: at last, for the nation's football, the day of glory really had arrived. SUBSTITUTIONS Bmzlll Donllson lor Leonardo, h-t, Edmundo (or Sampaio, 75min.

Franct Boghossian (or Karombeu, 58; Dugarry (or Guivarc'h. 66. Vioira for Djotkaoll, 76 SBNT OFFi Desailly BOOKED Brulli Junior Baiano. Francai Deschamps. Dosailly, Karombou.

REFEREEi Bolqola (Morocco). Richard Williams, page 3 TOMORROW France will be celebrating the fall of the Bastille. But last night and into the early hours of the morning it was toasting the rise to glory of one particular Marseillais. The head of Zinedine Zi-dane brought a remarkable and historic World Cup triumph here. Two nods from the Marseille-born Juventus midfielder broke the grip Brazil had held on the trophy for the last four years.

Then in the last minute Emmanuel Petit completed a 3-0 victory for the host nation from his Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira's pass. Little went right for Mario Zagallo's team. Seeking their fifth World Cup by retaining the trophy twice, Brazil's pre-match preparations were stalled by the late hospital check on Ronaldo's left ankle and he was cleared to play by the team doctors only 45 minutes before kick-off. Originally the Brazilians had Edmundo down to play in Ronaldo's place and their players did not come out before the start for their customary warm-up. Once the final began, moreover, the French took the initiative and never really lost it.

They did, however, lose Marcel Desailly to a second yellow card midway through the second half. Desailly, already booked for dissent, was then sent off for a foul on Cafu. He was only the third player to be sent off in a World Cup final, two Argentinians Pedro Monzon and No, patron. Jimmy Hill in his St George bow-tie? The yobs in their bowler hats? Back to Bolton to No, listen The Two Fat Ladies? The Girls with Attitude? Denise van Outen, Sara Cox, Jo "Be My" Guest? Straight out of the TFI Friday studio, down to the nearest croquet lawn, slip out of No, patronl Not individuals. I'm talking about the English psyche a national state of mind which luxuriates in the pain of submission, the climactic ecstasy of humiliation.

Tina Brown7 Bill Oddie? Brian Blessed? That's it. I've had enough. measure up to its predecessor of the Eighties but its influence was equally profound. Where Michel Platini, Alain Giresse and Jean Ti-gana once ruled Didier Deschamps, Youri Djorkaeff and Petit held sway now. And when Djorkaeff tired in the second half Aime Jacquet readily turned to the younger, longer legs of Vieira to run at the opposition and keep the pressure off his depleted defence.

Zidane, inevitably, was the hero. What a strange and mixed World Cup he has had, getting himself a red card and a two-match ban for treading on a Saudi and then drifting out of other matches in which he had started to become the dominating figure. Gustavo Dezotti having set a precedent in Rome in 1990. To have one defender, their sweeper Laurent Blanc, dismissed in the semi-final against Croatia was unfortunate. To lose another in the final looked careless.

The story of why Brazil collapsed in such startling fashion may prove more intriguing than the final itself. For the moment, however, France will hold the attention for the manner in which they won their first World Cup. In essence they won it for much the same reasons that they won their only other major international tournament, the 1984 European Championship for which they were also the hosts. The present French midfield may not were hailed as heroes. Odd, that.

On the contrary. Once again, the English were able to lose themselves in the exquisite pleasure of shared grief. How appropriate that the country which Sartre so derided should have perfectly illustrated his theory of sado-masochism. You mean, Greok Street, Madame Whiplash, third Well, yes. Of course we've always known that there's nothing that the English like more than being pegged out on a croquet lawn by a dirty foreign girl in a riot skirt and bondage boots What, all of them? No, what I'm saying Big Ron? Kevin Keagan? Sir Butch Wilkins? Sol Campbell? All pegged out on a Morning, Claude.

A glorious victory, was it not? Indeed. And yet were we watching the real winners? Faire quoi? Many would say that it was precisely those who took the early plane home who contributed most to the entertainment. Ah, the naive Nigerians, Craig Brown's Barmy Army, the slippery customers from Morocco, the comical little Americans. Yes, they played their part. But only one nation actually turned defeat into victory.

Don't tell It was England. Compare their homecoming to that of other defeated teams. The Colombians were obliged to step off the plane in bulletproof vests. The English lads Adieu, patron. Terenco Blacker William Donaldson the exquisite pleasure of shared grief The story of why Brazil collapsed so startlingly may prove more intriguing than the final itself.