Au Revoir, Zizou
World Cup 2006 will be Zinedine Zidane's last international tournament
Asad Yawar (AlexYawar)
Published on 2006-03-17 16:37 (KST)
Zorro; the King of France; even, according to Thierry Henry, God. No appellation,
it seems, is too all-encompassing for Real Madrid and France midfield icon
Zinedine Zidane. Germany 2006 will be the world's last chance to see the most
important player of his generation -- arguably, the only one who deserves a
mention in the same breath as Maradona, Pele, Di Stefanol -- strut his imperious
stuff on the international stage.
Zidane's vitality stems from his completeness. In terms of playing style, he is
simply peerless. Technically he is superlative: he possesses exceptional
ingenuity, awe-inspiring close control, and with one flick can open up the most
resilient defense. Moreover, Zidane can shoot with power and unerring accuracy.
Add into the mix considerable expertise from dead ball situations and enormous
reserves of mental strength (no doubt partly the result of a happy and
uncomplicated childhood), and it is perhaps unsurprising that "Zizou," as Zidane
is affectionately known by the French public, has won practically everything
there is to win: the World Cup (in 1998), the European Nations Cup (2000), the
UEFA Champions League (2002), the World Club Championship (1996 and 2002), as
well as domestic league titles with Juventus, Real Madrid and countless personal
accolades.
But Zidane's magnitude cannot be measured in mere footballing attributes and
titles. He is one of the very few people in any walk of life who has changed the
psychology of a nation, both on and off the field. Before his ascent, the French
team were regarded as a perennial "nearly" team, replete with artistry but
bereft of steel. While their marvelous team of the mid-1980s, headed by another
son of immigrants, Michel Platini, were victorious in Euro 84, success at the
World Cup eluded them.
Indeed, when Zidane made his international debut against the Czech Republic on
Aug. 17 1994, France had fallen spectacularly into the doldrums, failing to
qualify for consecutive World Cups: Italy in 1990, and most spectacularly, the
United States four years later. Needing just one point from their final two
games, both in Paris, against minnows Israel and unrated Bulgaria, they somehow
conspired to lose them both.
From the moment Zidane stepped onto the field against the Czechs as a substitute
for Auxerre midfielder Corentin Martins, France were never the same proposition.
He scored two goals in the last five minutes to rescue the game for his team,
the match ending 2-2. Zidane rescuing France would become a leitmotiv in
subsequent years.
In the 1998 World Cup final, Zidane provided the attacking cutting edge that his
team so desperately needed, scoring a dynamic double against Brazil which
effectively sealed the tournament for France. Two years on, the French conquered
Europe as Zidane - balletically inspirational from start to finish - prevailed
at Euro 2000 in the Low Countries. In the latter tournament, he was indisputably
the best player on show by some distance, with his performances in the last
eight against Spain and semi-finals versus Portugal virtuoso displays. Zizou
turned France into winners.
Looking Back at the Best
Zidane's quartet of ecstasy
• July 12, 1998, Saint-Denis, France. Zidane scored two dramatic goals against
Brazil in the World Cup final, changing the way France perceived itself forever.
• June 28, 2000, Brussels, Belgium. Netted a perfect penalty -- a golden goal --
under unbelievable psychological pressure in the penultimate minute of extra
time in the Euro 2000 semi-final against Portugal.
• May 15, 2002, Glasgow, Scotland. Accomplished the seemingly impossible when
volleying in the greatest goal in Champions League history, against Bayer
Leverkusen in the 2002 final.
• June 13, 2004, Lisbon, Portugal. Single-handedly wrung one of the greatest
international comebacks ever with two injury-time strikes against England in
France's first game of Euro 2004. / Asad Yawar
Together with his team-mates in the French national team - overwhelmingly with
parental backgrounds from countries as diverse as Guadeloupe, New Caledonia,
Senegal and Ghana, as well as other European Union countries - he showcased the
potential for a new France, one comfortable with ethnic and religious
differences and socially united towards common goals.
In the years following their World Cup triumph, support for the openly-racist
National Front collapsed. Many "root" or native French couples even named their
babies after Zidane, when just a few months prior to the World Cup, giving a
French child of non-immigrant origins an Arabic-Islamic name ("Zinedine" means "beauty
of the faith" in classical Arabic) would have been virtually unheard of.
But there is much more to Zidane than even this, since it is in the personal
realm where his attainments have impressed the most. In a footballing milieu
where many of his contemporaries appear to be more interested in text message
intercourse than any idea of social responsibility, Zidane quietly prioritises
others.
His work as an ambassador with the United Nations stretches back many years, and
in conjunction with Ronaldo, he organizes an annual game -- Friends of Zidane
vs. Friends of Ronaldo -- which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for the
impoverished. He is generous with his time, too, patronizing and making regular
appearances at SOS Children France, an organization which helps physically and
mentally handicapped children.
His relationship with his family is equally refreshing. Zidane gave his first
check he received as a professional footballer (at AS Cannes in 1988) to his
parents, and then bought them a house on the outskirts of his home town
Marseille, away from the grimy housing projects of La Castellane where he was
raised.
Married to his childhood sweetheart Veronique - the couple now has four children
- their relationship is so close that when at Juventus, Zidane was lambasted by
the Italian media for allowing her to influence a possible move to Madrid. Every
inch the chivalric knight, this has only intensified his erotic appeal. After
the World Cup in 1998, Zizou was swamped with offers of sex from women across
the globe, to which he had but one response: "Don't they know I'm married?"
Furthermore, Zidane is humility personified. He is modest to a fault, radiates
warmth and is always accommodating; having met Zizou in February 1999, when he
was at the peak of his powers, I can attest that despite his manifest talents,
it is impossible to feel inferior around him. It is these kind of qualities that
have endeared him to every section of society and made him one of the most loved
footballers of all time.
In conclusion, Zidane may not be God, but there is more than a touch of the
metaphysical about him. Immerse yourself in his inimitable genius while you can.
©2006 OhmyNews