Germany put on a display By CHRIS KITCHING -- Winnipeg Sun Mon, July 10, 2006

BERLIN -- "C'est la vie."

That phrase summed it up for a dejected French couple walking aimlessly down a busy avenue in Germany's capital last night.

Each step carried a weight of disbelief and sadness because of how France had just lost the 2006 FIFA World Cup to Italy.

A month of build-up had come down to a series of penalty kicks to crown soccer's world champion. Excited fans standing shoulder to shoulder at official FIFA Fan Fests and tiny lounges cringed with every shot, erupted in celebration with every goal and fell to their knees with the lone miss.

As the couple walked away from the excitement of the night, hundreds of Italians celebrated in the streets, waving their country's flag and shouting several chants.

They hugged and cried, jumped up and down and toasted the victory. Some re-enacted French star Zinedine Zidane's head butt that earned him a red card and an exit from the match, earning laughs from their countrymen and women and glares from France's supporters.

My friends and I watched the match at several different pubs and lounges in central Berlin, blending into pro-Italian crowds.

Surprise

Germans beside us cheered the Italians, and that came as a surprise considering it was Italy that bounced Germany to the bronze medal game. From what I'm told, though, France and Germany don't have the best relationship.

German police were out in full force for the after-party, wearing most of their riot gear. I saw few problems, other than a few disorderly fans who had a little too much to drink. The French took the loss gracefully, and the Italians -- for the most part -- savoured the win with sportsmanship.

Hundreds of thousands of fans watched from a large Fan Fest area, which apparently has a capacity of close to one million, and is divided by a long cobblestone line that marks where the Berlin Wall once stood.

Italians celebrated there together, alongside others from around the world, and then dispersed into smaller groups as the party moved elsewhere. The French were few and far between, but so were the Germans.

Berlin was an impressive showcase of the ultimate highs and lows of soccer. Exhilarating and painful, but that's life for fans of the most beautiful sport on Earth.