He scored in two finals but also ended his career with a red card
Goals, assists, injuries, foot stomp, headbutt—Zinedine Zidane was a man of many actions and reactions on football’s biggest stage. But from his first act in it till the last—which also happened to be his swansong as a professional footballer—the Frenchman made the stage his own.
Except the legend’s final moment, which was unlike any other ending.
But that was classic Zidane—the temperamental genius.
A French revolution
Once he did return for the quarter-finals after serving the suspension, the Les Bleus’ No. 10 would show his class with the ball (and the head). Zidane got the French up and running in the 4-3 penalty shoot-out win over Italy in the semi-final, and scored a couple of sublime headers in the final against a sleepwalking Brazil to put his team 2-0 up at half-time in a 3-0 victory. France captured their maiden World Cup trophy, Zidane the collective adulation of the entire nation.
Zidane headbutts Materazzi during the 2006 final. Reuters
From those dizzy heights, Zidane’s next World Cup outing would subside to a muted low. Sidelined for the first two group matches of the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan with a thigh injury, the talisman’s absence showed in France’s loss to Senegal and a goalless draw with Uruguay. He returned for their third game but couldn't prevent another defeat against Denmark as the holders crashed out of the group stage following a show that was goalless and soulless.
Zidane believed that would be the end of his World Cup journey. Except, there was more to come. Persuaded by the then national coach Raymond Domenech with France struggling to quality for the 2006 World Cup, Zidane came out of international retirement to put them back on track and lead them into the finals.
There in Germany, he scored against Spain in a second-round win, delivered a masterclass and an assist in the 1-0 outcome against Brazil in the quarter-finals and converted a penalty in the semi-final victory against Portugal.
Welcome, Zidane, in another World Cup final. Goal, Zidane, in another World Cup final. France leading 1-0, Italy equalised and with the scoreline 1-1 deep into extra-time, Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi after an exchange of words and touches. The latter went tumbling backwards as if poleaxed, the former off the park with a red card. Without their captain to step up in the penalty shoot-out, France lost 5-3.
That moment of rage would be Zidane's enduring image on the football field: walking off downcast with the head, more than those magical feet wrapped in golden boots, having the final say.
But that was classic Zidane—the temperamental genius.
