nathan chow:

I preferred France over Italy, so I was disappointed when Italy won the World Cup.  Still, my favorite was Brazil, who lost in the quarterfinals but won the 2006 Fair Play Award (shared with Spain). Brazil has won half of all the Fair Play Awards given in World Cup history. In a tournament marred by bloody elbowing (Italy), stepping on crotches (England), faking fouls (Italy and Portugal), and headbutting (France), Brazil was the only team whose games were watched by even the arena’s guards and whose players – particularly Ronaldinho – dared to even smile and laugh upon losing. Having more World Cup trophies than any other team is just the icing on the cake. There’s a reason why Brazil is the most admired team in “the world’s game”.