Dave John
There was perhaps no finer sight for some England fans and punters at this World Cup than seeing Cristiano Ronaldo sobbing his eyes out after Portugal's semi-final demise at the hands of France.
Whatever role he played in the dismissal of Wayne Rooney plus that knowing wink to his bench has made the Manchester United winger public enemy number one in some quarters.
But he perhaps has the chance to end the tourament on a better footing when his side take on hosts Germany in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
More of him later.
This is a fixture that historically produces goals.
The last seven going back to Argentina in 1978 have delivered at least three - as to the reason, there could be a few.
Perhaps a slightly more relaxed atmosphere now that the main prize has gone for the two teams taking part encourages an open approach.
Perhaps tiredeness from the previous month's exertions leads to more space to exploit in front of goal.
Whatever conclusion you want to draw, the facts are that this is unlikely to produce a 0-0 scoreline.
So, on to who will come out on top.
Jurgen Klinsmann's hosts must have thought the Gods were on their side this year.
They looked to have been heading into the familiar (and successful) territory of a penalty shootout against Italy in the semi-finals.
Just where they would have wanted their opponents I guess.
But Italy's greater determination not to have to try and beat the Germans in sudden death clinched the deal with high-quality late goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero.
It is case now of picking themselves up in a bid to finish the job.
"They were all finished, down and devastated. There was distress too, and a huge sense of emptiness," German team manager Oliver Bierhoff reported.
But I would not put it beyond them to be back in shape and ready to go with typical Germanic determination.
They will be desperate to give the fans - who have been behind them magnificently throughout - one last hoorah.
Plus they have an extra day to recover since their semi-final compared to the Portuguese.
The latter have injury doubts over Miguel while Ricardo Carvalho will miss the game after picking up another booking against France.
It is easy to understand why bookmakers go 8/11 about the home side - they seem to have plenty of ticks in the right boxes as the curtain comes down.
Those ticks can hopefully be turned into profit by backing them to come up trumps 2-1.
So it look like more tears before bedtime for Ronaldo but he might just pop up with the game's opener at 12/1.
Totesport
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By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.
