Jul 12, 2006 01:04 AM
3386 Views
(Updated Jul 14, 2006 10:25 AM)
The curse of twenty four hour news channels on television is upon us. People who never knew Zidane will now know him as the French football player who is shown the red card in a World Cup final for headbutting a rival Italian player. The clipping aired at least 100 times in ten different news channel will definitely join the Hall of fame for news clippings.
However people who love the beautiful game and had actually stayed up all night last Sunday to watch the World Cup Final will only know the brilliance of Zidane and what he acheived in that particular match. The icy cool temparament coupled with precision passing to his teammates was evident and a joy to behold. Everytime the ball came to him, it is as if for a split second time stands still. The next second we see the ball gliding pass hapless defenders towards its by now obvious destination. The sheer speed at which Zidane does this decision making can only be attributed to a genius. His face is expressionless but the intensity of his desire to acheive his objective can be easily seen in his eyes.
Zidane as we all know by now is the son of Algerian immigrants who grew up in a rough neighbourhod in Marseille. His football career kickstarted in the French club Bordeaux after which he joined Juventus in 1996. After a glorious stint in Juventus (during which he helped France to win the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euro Cup) he joined Real Madrid in 2001. The transfer fee of 46 million pounds made him the most expensive player in football history. He had been dogged with injuries the last of couple of years. However he expressed his desire to lead France for one last time in the 2006 World Cup before calling it a day. That desire burnt so brightly and fiercely that France inspite of a miserable start in their group league matches was able to reach the World Cup Final this year.
Zidane's inspired play helped France to upset the reigning world champions, Brasil in their way to the Final. After the defeat ardent Brasilians fans cannot help but admire the skill and grace of this amazing player. 1998 was revisited and the circle of life was complete.
Watching Zidane is like entering a zone of absolute calmness in the midst of chaos. To me he is the Monk who had acheived nirvana / zen in his thirst for perfection.
It is therefore extremely heart breaking to see Zidane walking out of his last footbal match in disgrace. The man who religiously exchanges jerseys at the end of each match after embracing his rival captain cannot do this. But as they life has its fair share of ironies. The monk who is suppose to be in absolute control of his senses let it go at a crucial time. Destiny cannot be denied. We are yet to know Zidane's side of the story for what happened that night. The fact remains that the momemtary lapse of reason will be hard to justify. Zidane himself I am sure knows that by now.
For admirers like us Zidane will be remembered as a truly gifted football player who was more than just a footballer. France will always be in debted to him for his contribution in regaining national pride and promoting the cause of multi racialism. Zizou zindabad.
The world will not hear the chant of Zizou, Zizou any more in a football stadium. But the beautiful game will continue awash in the lingering fragrance of Pele, Maradona and now Zidane.
