Color this tourney red, yellow and blue

BERLIN -- This might have been the most colorful World Cup. A good thing if blue -- as in Italy's Azzurri and France's Les Bleus -- is your shade of choice. A bad thing if the most memorable hues are yellow and red.

When Italy and France meet in today's final, Olympic Stadium will be awash in cobalt and azure. The Italians bring a deep, stingy and versatile squad in search of a fourth world championship. The French, who won their only title in 1998, are blessed with experience and creativity, with a roster of stars including a captain, Zinedine Zidane, who will leave the soccer stage in the biggest game his sport can offer.

Hopefully, their performances in the final will erase the images of a foul-afflicted, theatrics-plagued, sometimes filthy tournament in which referees were as much in the headlines as the players.

What more can anyone ask for in a championship matchup?

These are two classic European teams that have pushed aside scandal or criticism to peak at a perfect time. The more touted countries heading to Germany 2006 are long gone. Brazil and Argentina, two of the pretournament favorites, couldn't get out of the quarterfinals. Nor could England. Spain and the Netherlands fell in the second round. A German team that inspired waves of patriotism -- flag waving, painted faces, spontaneous singing of the national anthem -- was stunned by two goals at the end of extra time in the semis.

Still standing: A French team on the border of dissension a couple of weeks ago, revitalized by its beloved Zizou. And an Italian club whose easiest job in the last month has been playing soccer on the highest level, temporarily outside the maelstrom tearing through its national game.

"It is true that for a long time already, it was 'either we do it together or we die very fast,'" France coach Raymond Domenech says of a team that struggled to qualify for the World Cup and barely got into the second round. "For some 15 games, we have been living with a knife at our throat."

They survived even without Zidane, a three-time player of the year who was suspended for getting two yellow cards in the first two games. While he missed the match with Togo, his teammates squeezed through to the second round.

Ever since, with Zidane at his masterful best -- and with everyone getting along with Domenech, for once -- France has looked even better than the 1998 champs.

"First and foremost, everybody sticks together," said Thierry Henry, who scored the winner against Brazil -- off a free kick by Zidane, naturally. "They all come back and fight together. When we have to make the difference, we do so."

Italy's concerns have had nothing to do with camaraderie. Indeed, the only team whose entire roster plays club ball at home has found comfort with each other. Thirteen of the 23 players are with the four clubs facing relegation in the match-fixing scandal, yet they've all used the probe as a unifying force.

"The mood of Italian soccer right now is fantastic, for played soccer," coach Marcello Lippi says. "For the rest, I don't know."

Controversial Cup

Both teams benefited from controversial penalty calls on their way to the final. Italy's Francesco Totti scored from the spot in second-half injury time against Australia. Zidane got the only goal of the semifinal victory over Portugal after a suspect penalty.

Those are just two instances when game officials were in the spotlight. There were perhaps 300 more -- the World Cup record for yellow and red cards has been shattered. Through 62 games, there have been 27 ejections and 336 yellow cards.

Players have boosted the total with their dives, or overacting with the slightest contact, or tugging shirts, or vicious tackles. Referees haven't helped by being inconsistent at best, incompetent at worst. One, a highly regarded Englishman, handed out three yellow cards in one match -- to the same player. Another gave out a record four red cards and a record-equaling 16 yellows in a second-round fiasco between Portugal and the Netherlands.

"It's just been bad," U.S. coach Bruce Arena said last month. "Part of it is due to fact they've been overcoached. That's the way it is. I'm afraid one of the legacies of this World Cup will be officiating. And it's a shameful legacy, it shouldn't have come to this."

Arena's team was one of the biggest flops of the tournament. Ranked fifth by FIFA heading into the World Cup, the Americans went out with a whimper in the first round, showing none of the skills and resolve that carried them to the 2002 quarterfinals.

Even worse were the second-ranked Czechs, who bombed out in the same opening-round group, which Italy won and surprising Ghana came in second to advance -- the only African nation that got out to the knockout stage.

Not that the top-ranked Brazilians impressed, either. Their cavalcade of stars crashed against France. Three-time player of the year Ronaldo did set the World Cup career scoring record with 15, but that was about the only noteworthy achievement by the five-time champions. FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldinho was a major bust.

Offenses weren't on display often, either. The 2006 World Cup averaged 2.27 goals per match through the semifinals, just a shade above the record low of 2.21 in 1990.

Thankfully, the tournament showcased a new stream of standouts who could be dominant players by the 2010 World Cup in South Africa: Carlos Tevez of Argentina, Cristano Ronaldo of Portugal, Wayne Rooney of England and Lukas Podolski of Germany.

And the monthlong event was a peaceful festival that drew millions to outdoor viewing areas, where they mingled as friends, not foes. The projected hooliganism never developed, perhaps because of the strong security presence everywhere, or possibly because everyone preferred partying.