IN ANOTHER FOUR YEARS MAYBE

The cup is over and Brazil did not win. Heck, Brazil did not even make it to the semifinals, let alone the finals. My countrymen were a sorry sight running around the soccer field without ever kicking the ball to goal - it was indeed embarrassing. And during that game, Zidane shone.

And shine he did again during the final against Italy. That is, until he decided that whatever it is that Materazzi told him justified a headbutt in the other player's chest. Unbelievable.

My friends and I were sitting at the counter of this DC Italian bistro called Tomate (pretty good, actually, except for the manager's semi-rude imposition that we all watch the final on ABC as opposed to Univision) when all of a sudden images started to flutter and in front of our eyes we saw that godlike man Zidane deliberately attack the Italian player. I was in shock. We were all in shock.

And we all cheered when he was shown the door and had to leave the field.

Ok: of course I was rooting for Italy. As much as I am not crazy about the Azzurri, I could not in sane mind root for the French after they kicked us Brazilians out. But independently of that, and independently of anything else, the decision to expel Zidane was absolutely, 100% correct.

I don't care if Materazzi insulted Zidane's mother (which, let's face it, is most likely). Football players are constantly pushing each other's buttons; a considerable amount of physical and emotional abuse is part and parcel of any football match, especially a World Cup final. Zidane showed complete lack of sportsmanship and overall disregard for his teammates, the sport and all of us fans of the game.

Sure I feel sorry for Zidane, for losing his nerve at such a critical moment. But, I wonder if maybe he thought that his relevance and talent would shield him from being given a red card during not only the World Cup final but also his own final football game.