The 2006 FIFA World Cup ended in a blaze of colour and a roar of sound when Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro lifted the coveted trophy in the centre of Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

Italy had beaten France on penalties after a close game ended in a 1-1 draw and a red card for superstar Zinedine Zidane who was dismissed for head-butting opponent Marco Materazzi in extra time.

But the packed stands of Italian fans behind the goal didn't care about the closeness of the victory. Their team were champions and they bellowed out their national anthem after sturdy Italian captain Cannavaro emerged from a scrum of players and climbed a table on the medal podium to life the trophy aloft.

As the loudspeakers blared and the crowd roared millions of silver shards poured down from the edges of the stadium's roof, reflecting the powerful floodlights in a glittering sheen of silver rain that wrapped the stadium in an air of magic.

Seconds later barrages of fireworks started to explode from the stadium roof, illuminating the night sky in a dazzling array of colours as thousands of streamers poured down on to the pitch.

The Italian players ran to the fans to grab scarves, hats and other items in the national colours, as they danced with complete abandon to celebrate their victory, colliding with each other in exuberance as they were chased everywhere by dozens of green-vested photographers.

And when they left the field after an hour to celebrate in the dressing room all that remained were the streamers and silver shards on the bright green field, and thousands of Italian fans still singing in the stands at the top of their voices.

The Socceroos, who lost to Italy 0-1 in the second round of the World Cup, played exceptionally throughout the tournament and can tell their grandchildren it took the World Champions to knock them out.