h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh yes I hear the Northern Italians are a prosperous and surely lot! We we ain't all that prosperous no more and so we became also less surely.

I wonder where that leaves us Irish?

I can tell you that exactly: with us East Germans

You would wonder, according to a report today, we are the second richest country in the world...

http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0710/economy.html?rss

I look around at our health service and transport infrastructure and just our general level of social facilities, and I wonder about it all - I really do. A lot of very rich people here but also a lot of people just struggling to make ends meet.

Ooh - I see Zidane has been awarded the Golden Ball award for the tournament. Well, better him than Matterazzi, I guess...

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/10072006/356/t/red-carded-zidane-wins-golden-ball.html

I feel for him I do. Have an idea in the long run the whole thing might stick to the Italians more than to Zidane, everybody says now oh yes shame, he had to be sent off, but it must have been something bad Materazzi said and anyways the Italians are louts Wonder if we'll get to know, i would like to .

It's a big public interest story. ZZ is going to be put under a lot of pressure to reveal what was said. Whether he does so is another issue.

You can already see a head of steam beginning to form:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/france/5164094.stm

Well it is beginning to give the superficial impression that the Italians won the title mainly by their successful attempts of getting strong players of opposing teams off the field by hook and by crook. That is of course not quite just. *trying to look impartial and just and marginally failing*

That's the way it's beginning to appear - Henry and Viera both got fouled very early on in the game on Sunday with Viera having to leave the field and Henry didn't really perform at all in the first half.

Pity. It doesn't really afford me any satisfaction. Well after the world championship is before the european championship, and we will see what we will see.

Well well well, things start chrystalizing out.
Materrazzi says he had gripped Zidanes shirt "only for a few seconds" when Zidane turned round and "in an arrogant tone" said to him "If you want my shirt I give it to you later!"
Materrazzi said he then insulted Zidane but still won't say what his words were exactly.

Right - I saw that. Zidane is going to tell all in the next few days - lip readers have been saying everything from him mentioning that he hopes all his family die, to him being a terrorist. Tells you a lot about the lip-reading business!

What's this about the World Cup official, Mr Kiessling, shooting himself? Did he take some heat from the fans regarding the organisation of the competition?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5168890.stm

First time I hear of that, have no idea what made him do such a thing.

I hear Jürgen Klinsmann won't go on training our team, and although that makes me sad, and apprehensive for the future of German football, I can understand him. For one who had already shaken the German dust off his shoes, he has done a lot for our country. And the mass media and football gerontocracy were very nasty to him, right up to the cup. Now they all have egg on their faces.

That's a pity, but I reckon he will leave a legacy in any case. There's no going back now for the German team.

No there isn#t, and luckily they took his advice as to his successor and it seems the whole trainer team stays on *perks up*

ZZ revealed some details of why he reacted in a Canal Plus interview last night. He apologised, but was unapologetic at the same time. I think that this will probably draw a line under the whole affair.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5169342.stm

That Materazzi was out to make Zidane lose his cool, I'm more and more convinced of that. They knew exactly that with insistence he could be provoked, evrybody knew that, what with his history.

I'm even beginning to think my original suspicion is true after all, that it was their tactic for this world cup to target key players of opposing teams. The Frings story seems to tie in with that. I did not really want to believe it of them, but by now maybe it would be naive not to at least consider the possibility.

I hear many people calling the Italians cheats now, and they're fuming of course, call us lots of names in blogs. It's a pity, they did show inspired football and should not have resorted to that sort of tactics. I blame the trainer Lippi, call me fanciful but I feel he doesn't have a good face, and seemed to look down on other teams like the Romans still ruled the world and could do no wrong for that reason.