What a week to move to France - the glorious last seven days of the World Cup. During the flight from Dubai, Zidane had a renaissance and started playing like the spring-heeled former World Footballer of the Year that struck fear - and goals - into the opposition.

Unfortunately, five days is a long time in football; from the horn-honking street parties following Les Bleus' semi-final win, to the eerie silence that followed Zidane's red card. I was watching the game in Monaco, where a bizarre time lapse in TV coverage meant we heard the Italian cheers before they had even taken the fifth penalty. The French press claims Zizou was hard done by, but the inexplicable head butt was a sorry note to end the competition.

Meanwhile, I switched my allegiance from the "ruggedly handsome" Zidane to Fabulous Fabio Cannavaro, having broken with my countrymen and supported Germany in the third-place play-offs.