Will Perkins' Flickr page - Zidane's Super Move:
Creative Common's License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Finizio's Flickr page - Voltando le spalle alla coppa:
Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
When I think of the World Cup these days, I think of France in 1998. And when I think of France in 1998, there is one man who comes to mind more than any other: Zinedine Zidane.
There is a good reason for that. I had not been to France in just shy of nine years when 1998 rolled around, and was dying to go again. That year, France hosted the World Cup. Somehow, my brother managed to get tickets to the semi-final game at the Stade de France in St. Denis, just outside of Paris (and within easy view of Paris). So when he offered me one, I decided to do everything possible to make the trip to France. Essentially, that clinched what would end up being a six week vacation in France. This was something that had been common when we were kids, but to take a trip like that as an adult would be incredible! Plus, it was a summer of change for me, as I graduated from Bergen Community College and looked forward to going to Rutgers that fall. Also, I had been saving up through the spring for this trip, and although it was likely unwise, I was prepared to resign from my job, which I did. Probably, in retrospect, I should have told them that I would be back.
Anyway, clearly I am getting sidetracked. Back to the 1998 World Cup. France had fared well in the World Cup in 1982 and 1986, finishing fourth and third, respectively. However, they missed the 1990 and 1994 World Cup tournaments outright, and there had been an air of disappointment regarding the French side. Nobody could be quite certain what to make of them, or how far they might go. We hoped for the best, but as fans of any struggling sports team can relate to, we prepared for the worst.
The star for France was unquestionably Zinedine Zidane. He actually was having a relatively weak World Cup tournament for much of the early part, although France was surprisingly strong. My family rejoiced when they opened with a convincing 3-0 win over South Africa, and then were really impressed when they followed that up with a crushing 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia. They held on against Denmark in a game I watched while at work, sneaking peeks at the Houlihan's television (which were showing the game) whenever I could. That clinched the group for France, and it was onto the elimination round.
First up was Paraguay, which was not a highly rated team. France struggled, and Paraguay's goalkeeper, José Luis Chilavert, was amazing! The game remained scoreless, and went into extra time. Finally, Laurent Blanc pounded the "golden goal" to win it, the first one ever in a World Cup contest, and it was onto a showdown with Italy in the quarterfinal. That was scoreless, too, and it went into a penalty kick shootout. France survived that, and suddenly, they had qualified for the semifinal round.
In other words, my brother and I would be seeing them at the Stade de France. I remember that sinking in once my father and I watched that quarterfinal game against Italy on Univision (we did not have cable, so we had to watch it on the Spanish stations). By then, I was about to depart for my flight to France, and knowing that we would have the privilege of seeing l'Equipe de France, specifically, and that they had a chance to qualify for their first ever World Cup final ever, made it very exciting.
When I got to France, it felt amazing. I remember walking around by Montmartre, and letting it sink in that I was back in France, in Paris. It is a beautiful city, and easy to miss. But there was excitement for the next day, for the big showdown between France and their semifinal opponents, who were themselves a bit of a surprise: Croatia. As it turned out, that proved to be France's toughest game, and the most exciting game that they would participate in throughout that tournament.
Through the first half, though, the game remained scoreless, like it had in the Parguay and Italy games, so it seemed par for the course.
That did not last too long in the second half, though. Croatia's Davor Šuker broke through the French defense after a mistake by French defender Lilian Thuram, and capitalized by scoring a goal in the 46th minute. Just like that, the Croatians were up, 1-0.
There is a good reason for that. I had not been to France in just shy of nine years when 1998 rolled around, and was dying to go again. That year, France hosted the World Cup. Somehow, my brother managed to get tickets to the semi-final game at the Stade de France in St. Denis, just outside of Paris (and within easy view of Paris). So when he offered me one, I decided to do everything possible to make the trip to France. Essentially, that clinched what would end up being a six week vacation in France. This was something that had been common when we were kids, but to take a trip like that as an adult would be incredible! Plus, it was a summer of change for me, as I graduated from Bergen Community College and looked forward to going to Rutgers that fall. Also, I had been saving up through the spring for this trip, and although it was likely unwise, I was prepared to resign from my job, which I did. Probably, in retrospect, I should have told them that I would be back.
Anyway, clearly I am getting sidetracked. Back to the 1998 World Cup. France had fared well in the World Cup in 1982 and 1986, finishing fourth and third, respectively. However, they missed the 1990 and 1994 World Cup tournaments outright, and there had been an air of disappointment regarding the French side. Nobody could be quite certain what to make of them, or how far they might go. We hoped for the best, but as fans of any struggling sports team can relate to, we prepared for the worst.
The star for France was unquestionably Zinedine Zidane. He actually was having a relatively weak World Cup tournament for much of the early part, although France was surprisingly strong. My family rejoiced when they opened with a convincing 3-0 win over South Africa, and then were really impressed when they followed that up with a crushing 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia. They held on against Denmark in a game I watched while at work, sneaking peeks at the Houlihan's television (which were showing the game) whenever I could. That clinched the group for France, and it was onto the elimination round.
First up was Paraguay, which was not a highly rated team. France struggled, and Paraguay's goalkeeper, José Luis Chilavert, was amazing! The game remained scoreless, and went into extra time. Finally, Laurent Blanc pounded the "golden goal" to win it, the first one ever in a World Cup contest, and it was onto a showdown with Italy in the quarterfinal. That was scoreless, too, and it went into a penalty kick shootout. France survived that, and suddenly, they had qualified for the semifinal round.
In other words, my brother and I would be seeing them at the Stade de France. I remember that sinking in once my father and I watched that quarterfinal game against Italy on Univision (we did not have cable, so we had to watch it on the Spanish stations). By then, I was about to depart for my flight to France, and knowing that we would have the privilege of seeing l'Equipe de France, specifically, and that they had a chance to qualify for their first ever World Cup final ever, made it very exciting.
When I got to France, it felt amazing. I remember walking around by Montmartre, and letting it sink in that I was back in France, in Paris. It is a beautiful city, and easy to miss. But there was excitement for the next day, for the big showdown between France and their semifinal opponents, who were themselves a bit of a surprise: Croatia. As it turned out, that proved to be France's toughest game, and the most exciting game that they would participate in throughout that tournament.
Through the first half, though, the game remained scoreless, like it had in the Parguay and Italy games, so it seemed par for the course.
That did not last too long in the second half, though. Croatia's Davor Šuker broke through the French defense after a mistake by French defender Lilian Thuram, and capitalized by scoring a goal in the 46th minute. Just like that, the Croatians were up, 1-0.
Thuram obviously felt bad. Croatia's lead had been largely because of his error. So, he decided to make up for it, scoring a goal in the very next minute, to make Croatia's lead a short-lived one. Then, he followed that up with another in the 70th minute to give France their first lead of the game. Those two goals were the only international goals of Thuram's career, but they could not have come at a better time, and more than made up for his earlier mistake. France still had to survive a scare, as Laurent Blanc was given a red card and sent out of the game, putting France a man short. But they held on to qualify for their first ever final at the World Cup.
I remember the celebrations as my brother and I walked back home from the Stade de France that night. Yet, it felt incomplete, because there was one match to go. And it would be a tough one, against the defending champions, Brazil, who were then, as they are now, the most decorated nation in the sport.
The anticipation was wild, but the game finally came. And Zidane, who again had been having a slow tournament to that point, finally had his moment to shine.
Zidane broke through with a header in the 27th minute to give France the early 1-0 lead. The French defense - one of the best that I have seen - made that stand up through the rest of the first half, allowing Zidane's second goal from another header in the first minute of extra time in the first half give France a surprisingly comfortable 2-0 lead to go into halftime with.
France's defense held throughout the second half, as well. And when Emmanuel Petit broke through with a third goal for France in the third minute of extra time, France had clinched their first ever World Cup championship.
What memories! Talk about celebrations afterwards, they said that Paris had not seen that kind of a party, with the whole city shutting down, since the liberation! It was unreal, and that World Cup, dominated by Zidane's heroics in many ways, serves as one of my personal favorite memories, and among my favorite memories of adulthood dating from before my son was born. I was in awe watching him play, and still sometimes watch some old videos of him playing on Youtube. Hard to imagine being able to make some of the moves that he makes at the speed that he makes them.
Yet, it seems that for most people, Zidane is remembered for another World Cup memory that is a whole lot less flattering to his image.
Of course, I am talking about the infamous headbutt that happened not in France's first ever World Cup final in France in 1998, but the second World Cup final in Germany eight years later. Zidane got ejected from the game, which was the final game of his career, win or lose.
It was shocking, of course. I remember feeling that up to that point, France had a real chance of winning that game. It was not guaranteed, of course. But they were tied with Italy, and there was not much time left. Surely, it would go to penalty kicks, and you just can never tell what is going to happen then.
Only, suddenly, the championship game - the biggest sports event in the world (sorry, American fans of the Super Bowl, but the numbers clearly bear this out) - something strange and surreal happened. It disrupted the entire game, and from that point onward, it felt like the outcome was certain. Except that it was not the outcome that any French fan wanted.
We saw Zidane completely lose it, and just headbutt an Italian player, Marco Materazzi, right on the field of play. They replayed the event over and over, and of course, Zidane received the red card for the final game of his career. The cameras followed Zidane as he walked off the field, right past the World Cup trophy that he was never going to lift again, and which he cost his nation with his actions.
For American sports fans, the closest likeness that I can think of, off the top of my head, was the infamous 2nd and 1 play in Super Bowl XLIX, when the Seahawks seemed on the verge of winning a title, but then inexplicably opted for a high risk pass which, of course, was intercepted. That is not the same thing as your star player being kicked off the field for a violent headbutt, true. But there was still that moment of shock and a lack of clarity, because you just could not believe that you actually saw what you just saw. Perhaps a better example would have been Charles Martin's incredibly late and unprovoked hit on Bears quarterback Jim McMahon back in 1986. But that was a regular season game, not a playoff game, much less a championship, so it was not nearly as memorable. Some people remember it, of course. But mostly only American football fans. Meanwhile, even people who are not fans of soccer know all about the headbutt incident by the "French guy."
Much like with Super Bowl XLIX, there was just a feeling that this cannot possibly be what will define this championship. Yet years later, that is exactly what everyone remembers. It has been 12 years since the headbutt, and it still annoys me to think about. One way or the other, that is not how that final should have gone. It should have been decided with all players for both sides on the field, playing for a championship. Maybe France does not win in that scenario, but at least then, you see them fight for it. Instead, it felt to me like the air just went out of the French side, and they never recovered.
It was shocking, of course. I remember feeling that up to that point, France had a real chance of winning that game. It was not guaranteed, of course. But they were tied with Italy, and there was not much time left. Surely, it would go to penalty kicks, and you just can never tell what is going to happen then.
Only, suddenly, the championship game - the biggest sports event in the world (sorry, American fans of the Super Bowl, but the numbers clearly bear this out) - something strange and surreal happened. It disrupted the entire game, and from that point onward, it felt like the outcome was certain. Except that it was not the outcome that any French fan wanted.
We saw Zidane completely lose it, and just headbutt an Italian player, Marco Materazzi, right on the field of play. They replayed the event over and over, and of course, Zidane received the red card for the final game of his career. The cameras followed Zidane as he walked off the field, right past the World Cup trophy that he was never going to lift again, and which he cost his nation with his actions.
For American sports fans, the closest likeness that I can think of, off the top of my head, was the infamous 2nd and 1 play in Super Bowl XLIX, when the Seahawks seemed on the verge of winning a title, but then inexplicably opted for a high risk pass which, of course, was intercepted. That is not the same thing as your star player being kicked off the field for a violent headbutt, true. But there was still that moment of shock and a lack of clarity, because you just could not believe that you actually saw what you just saw. Perhaps a better example would have been Charles Martin's incredibly late and unprovoked hit on Bears quarterback Jim McMahon back in 1986. But that was a regular season game, not a playoff game, much less a championship, so it was not nearly as memorable. Some people remember it, of course. But mostly only American football fans. Meanwhile, even people who are not fans of soccer know all about the headbutt incident by the "French guy."
Much like with Super Bowl XLIX, there was just a feeling that this cannot possibly be what will define this championship. Yet years later, that is exactly what everyone remembers. It has been 12 years since the headbutt, and it still annoys me to think about. One way or the other, that is not how that final should have gone. It should have been decided with all players for both sides on the field, playing for a championship. Maybe France does not win in that scenario, but at least then, you see them fight for it. Instead, it felt to me like the air just went out of the French side, and they never recovered.
It is just not the way that you want a championship to be decided. At least with the Seahawks, you can say that, however foolish, it was an actual play, however ill-advised. The coach made a decision, and no matter how much Pete Carroll explained it, you just cannot quite get on board with throwing such a high risk pass in such a critical situation. But again, at least it was a call for a play.
In Zidane's case, it almost looked casual, which made the heat of the moment argument seem less valid. They both look calm just beforehand, and Zidane runs past Materazzi, only to turn around and put his head right onto his chest, dropping him. And yes, Zidane almost looks surprised to get ejected from the game!
Frankly, it was a shame. A shame for a championship to essentially be decided by that strange incident, which instantly became world famous - or infamous, if you prefer. he debates went back and forth. There were allegations of racism, and there were suggestions of family honor being protected. Some defended Zidane, and that he choe to defend his family before a sports championship. That, essentially, it was the ultimate selfless act by a star athlete, right there in front of the cameras for the entire world to see. Of course, some others said that there was absolutely no place for that in sports, that he is a professional athlete and should have been able to keep a lot cooler than that in such a huge situation as the World Cup final.
One thing for sure, is that it did made Zidane seem a whole lot more human.
Here are some of the quotes by both players involved in the incident (taken from the attached articles and/or video), explaining their side of the story in the aftermath of the game:
"You see on the images that he's talking to me. I asked him two times to repeat himself to be sure that I understood. The third time I responded because I understood that he was making fun of me.
"In fact, we were playing the same match, we had both scored but he was the great champion and I was useless — I wasn't in the same world. That's how I took his mocking, and I reacted."
- Materazzi
"It's something that happened very quickly. He's pulling my shirt, and I'm telling him to stop, and if he wants it, he can have it after the match. Then he starts saying very harsh words which he repeats several times. Words that can hurt more than acts. These are words that hurt me deep inside. It's much too serious to say it. These are very personal things about my mother, my sister. You hear it once, and you try to walk away. That's what I did. You'll hear it twice and the third time you snap. I'm a man before anything else."
- Zidane
Here is a video, and below it, a couple of links to articles that provided me with the quotes that I used above. Please take a look. The video does not show actual footage or images from the game, yet it is interesting and revealing about what exactly happened on that day. And the articles are quite interesting and informative, as well.
Zinedine Zidane and the Most Important Headbutt in the World Joel Golby Joel Golby Jun 26 2018:
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/7xmj4y/zinedine-zidane-and-the-most-important-headbutt-in-the-world
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/7xmj4y/zinedine-zidane-and-the-most-important-headbutt-in-the-world
Zinedine Zidane headbutt 10 years on: the hit on Marco Materazzi that shook up the 2006 World Cup by James Maasdorp, 20 Jul 2016:
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