We reflect on the wonderful, woeful and downright weird moments from day 12 of the World Cup finals.
Wonderful, woeful and downright weird moments from day 12
Dignified Exit of the Day: Whatever shred of dignity Raymond Domenech brought to South Africa, he left on the training field on Sunday as he read out his striking players' statement.
But somehow, Domenech managed to make himself look an even bigger fool when he refused the hand of South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira after France's 2-1 defeat at the hands of the host nation.
Domenech had no problem shaking the hands of Patrice Evra and Thierry Henry, the reported leaders of his revolting players - take that whichever way you wish - but not Parreira, because the Brazilian had supposedly earlier questioned France's right to be at the World Cup.
Regardless of the fact that Perreira probably had a point, Domenech even now, obviously has not learned to pick his battles. Enjoy the flight home Raymond. (Ian Watson)
Post-Match Quote of the Day: "We need to be dignified in victory and defeat." - Domenech.
There are no words to describe the ridiculousness of that statement. (IW)
Miss of the Day: Even Chris Iwelumo would have been in fits of laughter after Yakubu's astonishing miss that cost Nigeria victory against South Korea.
With the ball put on a plate - not literally, but almost - in the centre of the goal, Yakubu managed to sidefoot his four-yard effort wide of the upright, with the South Korea keeper completely out of the equation.
Blame it on the Jabulani. (IW)
Shot of the Day: The criticism of the Adidas Jabulani football is easy to understand, with some questioning its softness and others comparing it to your old-school penny-floater. The thinking behind the ball is we'd see a feast of long-distance efforts rippling into the back of the net, though in the group games so far that's not really materialised.
However, after Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal v Ivory Coast) and David Villa (Spain v Honduras) both smacked the woodwork with long-distance efforts, you feel Adidas (and the watching world) have been a trifle unfortunate.
They say bad luck comes in threes and that proved to be the case when a similar effort today, this time from Mexico's Andres Guardado, hit wood from fully 35 yards. You could argue his effort came even closer than Messrs Ronaldo and Villa, for while theirs bounced over, his bounced down just a yard from the line.
Hard luck, Senor, but it's still an effort worthy of winning our Shot of the Day honour. (James Marshment)
Celebration of the Day Twenty-four years to the day since the 'Hand of God' knocked England out of Mexico '86, Diego Maradona celebrated Martin Palermo's late strike with the same vigour he showed all those years ago at the Azteca.
The fact that the goal was as inconsequential as any you will see in South Africa this summer did not matter to Maradona, who sprinted across his bench before joyously jumping on members of his backroom staff.
Before the tournament, many said Argentina would do well in spite of Maradona, rather than because of him, but those sceptics are being made to look as daft as the England defenders Maradona left trailing in his wake for his second goal 24 years ago.
Tactically, he may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but is there another World Cup coach who is capable of fostering the same spirit among his players? I suspect not.
The image before their first game of half the Argentina players bending over on the goalline while the rest of the squad smashed balls at their vulnerable backsides as punishment for losing in training is one of the images of the World Cup so far for me. Can you see Fabio Capello allowing such a forfeit? (IW)
Bad Lookalike of the Day: South Africa's efforts to reach the last 16 may have fallen just short, despite their brave 2-1 victory over the hapless French. However, their efforts in their in Bloemfontein clash will undoubtedly have lifted the spirits of the Rainbow Nation, who unfortunately become the first host nation not to progress to the knockout rounds of their own World Cup.
Nonetheless, another memorable footnote to come out of today's win was the super-cool haircut being sported by South African custodian Moeneeb Josephs. In what can only be described as a late 80s/early 90s 'acorn cut', Josephs cut a slight resemblance to Will Smith in his Fresh Prince of Bel Air days. A bad lookalike, perhaps, but we at the Towers loved the throwback barnet. Check it! (JM)
