Zizou dazzles for France
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by user Deuelio
For me it was France '98 when Zinedine Zidane's mastery first captivated me. The way France's electrifying midfielder danced through defenders with ease defied the imagination. True, he did pick up a silly yellow card late in France's 3-0 drubbing of South Africa in the finale of the group stage but he more than made up for it exactly one month later at the Stade De France. Zidane, so masterful with the ball at his feet, scored two sensational headers in the first half staking Les Blues to a 2-0 lead. France's dominant backline thwarted every attack the more heralded Brazilians mounted and finished the match with a convincing 3-0 drubbing. Fittingly, Zidane was the man of the match.
In Korea/Japan 2002, Zizou appeared in just one of Les Blues' three disastorous games as the French bowed out without even tallying a goal. Then, after Euro '04, France's legendary number 10, called it quits, retiring after a brilliant 14-yr career that began with AS Cannes in 1990 as a 17-yr old.
But the lure of again wearing the national shirt in international competition drove Zizou to backtrack from the retirement life to patrolling the midfield for Les Blues. And now, aged 34, the Marseilles Marksman has again led France on a magical journey to World Cup glory.
France again toed the line of elimination in group play, needing two second half goals vs. Togo to earn advancement. Beyond that, it has been the Zizou show with the veteran player schooling the likes of Ronaldinho and 20-yr old Christian Ronaldo of Portugal.
Now all that is left is another brialliant finale to cap off one of football's glorious careers. When France take the field vs. Italy, it will be Zizou's time to shine and hoist the cup skyward once more.
Date
Wed 07/05/06, 8:05 pm EST
