Zidane:
The Greatest Athlete You’ve Never Heard Of
My Pitch
(Must
be from the U.S or something)
2006
Most of you have never heard of him, but he is the
greatest athlete since Michael Jordan’s second retirement. His career
accomplishments make Tiger Woods’ resume seem weak. He is a hero to millions
around the world, yet, few of you would recognize the legend if you saw him.
His name is Zinédine
Zidane. Algerian by
descent and born in France, Zidane
is a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, a Christian Dior model, adidas’s biggest athlete
behind David Beckham
:D, and among other things, a
soccer immortal.
My introduction to the legend came in my freshman year of
high school. My parents had just come back from vacation in Italy. My dad had
been captivated by a televised soccer tournament that, whenever he was in a
restaurant, would cause enough excitement for waiters to regularly drop
everything and run to a television with their hands on their heads. And one
player, my dad said, was far better than the rest.
My dad described how other
teams would surround Zidane
with four or five players whenever the midfielder had the ball, but not actually
attack him. They feared he would just dribble and pass the ball right through
everyone. Sometimes, he did.
But what did I care about European soccer? I chose to
forget about the man who was recently voted the best European soccer player of
the last 50 years in a UEFA (Europe's governing soccer body) fan poll.
It's a decision I still regret.
Zidane
has won every major team award and individual accolade in the modern game.
For his club teams,
Zidane has won
league championships and a European championship, frequently earning MVP awards.
For his national team, Zidane
has led France to a World Cup and European championship — soccer's two most
respected tournaments. And internationally,
Zidane has also
won MVP accolades, including the 1998 European Player of the Year, 2000 UEFA
European Championship Player of the Tournament, and a record three FIFA World
Player of the Year awards.
Flashback to his international debut in 1994. He entered
the game against the Czech Republic with France down 2-0. A stunning strike in
the 85th minute and a header off a corner two minutes later clinched the tie for
a rebuilding French team.
On July 12, 1998,
Zidane would shock
the world and cement his legendary status. The midfielder single-handedly
dominated defending champion Brazil in the finals of the World Cup with two
first half goals, mesmerizing the world in the process. That evening, his face
was flashed upon the Champs-Elysées in Paris, as the French celebrated in the
streets and proclaimed “Zidane
for President.” Those chants still occur today.
Zidane
is like Michael Jordan on steroids. Or Barry Bonds with Jordan's clutch
abilities. He carries his teams, winning everything with his astonishing
performances. Give him an inch and he takes the game.
He led France to the
European Championship crown in 2000 with play that was so brilliant, renowned
French sports newspaper L'Equipe stated that, “watching
Zidane in Euro
2000 was like falling in love.”
This was the soccer tournament my dad described to me.
His sublimely volleyed, game-winning goal captured the
2002 Champions League (Europe's club championship) for Real Madrid. Some regard
it as one of the greatest goals ever.
And the legend continued
last June, as Zidane
rescued France in the 2004 European Championship with two second-half injury
time goals to tie and defeat England.
Stunned, the English
announcer eventually said, “Zinedine
Zidane — who else could have done that?”
In 2003, I got my first-ever glimpse of the legend
playing for his club team, Real Madrid. Aired on ESPN2, the match was the first
of a two-game series against Manchester United. It was billed as the game of the
year between the world's two best club teams — and it was. I had never watched a
European soccer game before, so I didn't expect much, but what I saw changed my
view about sports forever.
Zidane
destroyed the Red Devils by himself .
He moved differently than everyone else, he seemed to float with the ball. He
didn't just fake-out world-class players like Beckham with unfathomable ease and
fluidity, he faked out the entire Man U team. The crowd “oohhed” and “ahhhed”
almost every time he touched the ball, watching him unleash dangerous passes and
mind-bending fakes across the entire field, setting up other players to score
with laughable ease. He assisted on the first two goals of Madrid's 3-0 win, and
had the secondary assist on two more in Madrid's 6-4 series win.
Watching him that day, I realized he was an athlete
unlike anything I'd ever seen. He had something more than just physical prowess.
He was more than just a genius playmaker. He was more than just an athlete. Pele
called him the greatest soccer player of the last decade. I call him the
greatest athlete I've ever seen.
When he was voted the best
player of the last 10 years in a July 2005 ESPN Soccernet poll, the description
of him said, “not since Diego Maradona has one player mastered every facet of
the game so completely. That Zidane
is still plying his trade is a gift for every football fan; enjoy him while you
can.”
Zidane
is now ancient by soccer's standards — age 33 — and though his magic is fading,
he can still dominate like no other at times. When the World Cup arrives this
June, Zidane
will be showing his magic No. 10 jersey for last time. He will retire from
soccer by 2007, but whether he'll even wait that long is unclear.
I was a fool not to watch
Zidane
in his prime. I missed so much magic. You just don't know sports until you've
seen the legend in his No. 10 France jersey, putting on an absolute soccer
spectacle.
Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't miss the
chance to see him in June.