Zizou

2006-07-15T15:24:00.000Z

A lip-reader told The Sun that Marco Materazzi called Zidane a “son of a terrorist whore” before the French Algerian was sent off in Sunday’s explosive match.

A French Football Federation source said: “If you insult Zidane’s mother you are asking for trouble. Combine such words with a reference to terrorism, which French Algerians are very sensitive about, and a violent reaction might appear inevitable.”

Top lip-reader Marianne Frere revealed the Italian told Zidane — who understands the language after playing for Juventus — a high ball was “not for feccia like you”.

Zidane smiled at Materazzi as he walked away. But there was another exchange, Zidane turned and floored him with a butt to the chest. The lip-reader claimed the Italian had said: “We all know you are the son of a terrorist whore.”

He added: “Viffanculo”. (f*** off). A source close to the Italian squad claimed that after twisting Zidane’s nipple, Materazzi asked him: “What, don’t you like it?” The French captain replied: “A bit too hard to turn me on.”

But Materazzi shouted: “Well, I did it that way because I know that’s how your mother likes it.”

And last night a cousin claimed ex-Everton defender Materazzi called him a terrorist to get him sent off. Rabah Zidane said the Italian chose the “most vicious insult he could muster”.

He added: “My cousin is gentle but was provoked by a truly savage insult.”

Dad-of-four Zidane has refused to reveal publicly what provoked him to launch the attack.

But his agent Alain Migliaccio said: “I am not justifying his actions but the Italian said something very bad. He just cracked.”

Materazzi’s agent denied any racist slur — and said the attack came when Zidane offered to swap shirts later and the Italian replied: “‘I’d rather take the shirt off your wife.”

French president Jacques Chirac hailed him as “a genius of world football” as he greeted the French squad in Paris. He added: “You are also a man of heart, commitment, conviction. That’s why France admires and loves you.”

2006-07-15T15:12:00.000Z

Lip readers reckon the words terrorist and mother were said just before ZZ was sent off for butting Marco Materazzi.

The Italian denies the claims but Zidane's agent says the Frenchman, may reveal what was actually said later on it the week, was provoked.

Despite Zinedine Zidane's red card the French gave him a hero's welcome on his return home. The right thing to do?

2006-07-13T20:30:00.000Z

Interviewer: You know the Italian players well because you played in Italy for five years. Did you have any problem with any of them beforehand?

Zinedine Zidane: Not at all. You always have friction with certain players...that is the game, it has always been like that. But I never had any clashes with anyone.

Interviewer: Nor Materazzi?

Zinedine Zidane: No, never. There was nothing beforehand and nothing in the match until he started pulling my jersey.

He grabbed my shirt and I told him to stop. I told him if he wanted I'd swap it with him at the end of the match.

That is when he said some very hard words, which were harder than gestures. He repeated them several times. It all happened very quickly and he spoke about things which hurt me deep down.

Interviewer: Everyone wants to know exactly what he said...

Zinedine Zidane: They were very serious things, very personal things.

Interviewer: About your mother and your sister?

Zinedine Zidane: Yes. They were very hard words. You hear them once and you try to move away.

But then you hear them twice, and then a third time... I am a man and some words are harder to hear than actions. I would rather have taken a blow to the face than hear that.

Interviewer: He said these things about your mother and sister two or three times?

Zinedine Zidane: Yes. I reacted and of course it is not a gesture you should do. I must say that strongly.

It was seen by two or three billion people watching on television and millions and millions of children.

It was an inexcusable gesture and to them, and the people in education whose job it is to show children what they should and shouldn't do, I want to apologise.

Interviewer: You apologise to them but do you really regret having done it?

Zinedine Zidane: I can't regret it because if I do it would be like admitting that he was right to say all that. And above all, it was not right.

We always talk about the reaction, and inevitably it must be punished. But if there is no provocation, there is no reaction.

First of all you have to say there is provocation, and the guilty one is the one who does the provoking. The response is to always punish the reaction, but if I react, something has happened.

Do you imagine that in a World Cup final like that, with just 10 minutes to go to the end of my career, I am going to do something like that because it gives me pleasure?

Interviewer: No of course not. But at the moment you exploded...

Zinedine Zidane: There was provocation, and it was very serious, that is all. My action was inexcusable but you have to punish the real culprit, and the real culprit is the one who provoked it. Voila.

Zidan apology

2006-07-12T19:49:00.000Z

BBC SPORT | Football | World Cup 2006 | Zidane makes apology for headbutt

The France legend did not reveal what Materazzi said, but claimed it was "very personal" and concerned his mother and his sister.

"I want to ask for forgiveness from all the children who watched," Zidane said.

Zidane named best player

2006-07-11T19:30:00.000Z

BBC SPORT | Football | World Cup 2006 | Sent-off Zidane named best player

Sent-off Zidane named best player
Zinedine Zidane
Zidane's final match in professional football was the World Cup final
Zinedine Zidane won the Golden Ball award for the World Cup's best player, despite being dismissed for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the final.

France captain Zidane polled 2,012 points in the vote by journalists mostly carried out at half-time.

The midfielder, 34, beat Italians Fabio Cannavaro (1,977 points) and Andrea Pirlo (715 points) in the ballot.

He scored a penalty early on in the final but was sent off in extra time as France went on to lose on penalties.

GOAL

2006-07-09T18:17:00.000Z

Zinedine ZIDANE | Plus qu'un Joueur

Star des Bleus, star du monde, star tout court, tout a été dit et écrit sur Zinedine Zidane, qui, malgré son statut si particulier et la pression écrasante qui l'entoure, reste courtois et simple, aussi bien dans ses rapports avec ses coéquipiers, sous le maillot bleu ou en club, qu'avec la presse et les supporters. Le joueur le plus cher de la planète, le plus adulé aussi, auteur d'une première saison époustouflante au Real Madrid, au point de décrocher le titre de meilleur joueur étranger de la Liga, est un magicien, capable, comme en finale de la Ligue des Champions, face au Bayer Leverkusen, de décocher une volée foudroyante en pleine lucarne pour offrir un titre à son équipe.

BBC SPORT | Football | World Cup 2006 | Live: Italy 0-1 France

7 mins: GOAL Italy 0-1 France
Zinedine Zidane scores from the spot - but he does his best to miss. The Frenchman opts for the dink, it clips down off the bar, goes over the line and spins back.

Rino can shackle Zidane

2006-07-07T13:13:00.000Z

Soccer365

Materazzi: Rino can shackle Zidane
07/07/06 Italy's Marco Materazzi believes the best way to stop Zinedine Zidane in the World Cup final is to unleash Gennaro Gattuso on the France hero.The Azzurri players are familiar with Zidane from his days at Juventus and they have seen him lead Les Bleus to some of their greatest triumphs.
Among Zidane's many achievements was beating Italy in the final of Euro 2000.
But defender Materazzi claims his side now have a gameplan to stop the great man in his final match as a professional.
"We have players that can mark Zidane, like Gattuso ," Materazzi said.
"There's no need to charge him up, otherwise he is capable of splitting the world in two."
Gattuso may lack flair but he is arguably the most tenacious and combative player in Marcello Lippi's side.The AC Milan midfielder will not be the only one to have his hands full, with Materazzi himself designated to mark Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, with Alessandro Nesta ruled out for the final game.
Nesta has struggled with a muscular injury throughout the tournament.
"For Alessandro it's a difficult time," admitted Materazzi.
"This is his third World Cup and each time he's had a physical problem.
"For me, he is an idol and a point of reference."
Inter Milan defender Materazzi, who will partner Fabio Cannavaro at the heart of Italy's defence in the Berlin showpiece, is well aware of the task that awaits them in the German capital.
"France is a team that is used to winning," he said.
"We will have to work very hard because our opponents have great players.
"We are confident - we know we are playing the most important game of our lives."Lippi's men enjoyed a great reception as more than 2,000 fans turned up at their Mediderich training ground to watch them on Thursday evening.

Biography

2006-07-07T12:31:00.000Z

Zinédine Zidane : Biography

Zidane, Zinédine - FRA : Biography
FRA
Born 23 June 1972
Birthplace Marseille
Weight 80 kg
Height 1.85 m
Position Midfielder
One of the world's greatest players, Zinedine is a supreme playmaker in the centre of the park.
He made his international debut against Czech Republic in 1994 and has now amassed over 100 caps. He led his country to victory over Brazil in the 1998 World Cup, contributing two goals in the 3-0 win, and also to the European Championship title in 2000.
At club level, he developed with Cannes and Bordeaux before joining Juventus in 1996 where he was a key member of their team that won the Serie A title in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
In July 2001, he became the world's most expensive player when he was sold to Real Madrid for a fee of £47.7 million.
Zinedine was European Footballer of the Year in 1998 and FIFA World Footballer of the Year in both 1998 and 2000.
Zinedine missed the first two games of the 2002 finals after tearing a thigh muscle in a pre-tournament friendly with South Korea.
Having stated he will retire at the end of the tournament, Zinedine captained France at the 2006 finals in Germany and - four days after his 34th birthday - scored their third goal as they beat Spain 3-1 in the Round of 16.
Zizou scored the 33rd minute penalty that gave France a 1-0 win against Portugal in the semi-final. It meant he would play the last game of his career in the World Cup Final.

World Cup Legends

2006-07-07T12:19:00.000Z

ESPN.com Soccernet World Cup Legends - Zinedine Zidane (France)

Friday, December 21, 2001
World Cup Legends - Zinedine Zidane (France)
By John Brewin

In many people's eyes he is the best player in the world. And as the key player for the World and European Champions it's easy to see why. Though a club player of some distinction it's his exploits for France that have truly made that reputation.

World Cup Final 1998, France 3-0 Brazil
Zidane is mobbed by team-mates after heading the first of his brace in the final of the World Cup in 1998
(StuForster/Allsport)
The 1998 tournament is his only appearance in the finals so far as France had failed to qualify for the previous two finals. As a late developer it was Zidane's first really big chance to impress on the international stage and he grasped it.

But things did not get off to a good start. After a good win over South Africa, Zidane was sent-off against Saudi Arabia for stamping on Saudi captain Amin in retaliation. It meant he was banned for the next two games and missed the vital second round game with Paraguay.

The French, already without a recognised striker of any class or experience, struggled until Laurent Blanc bagged the Golden Goal with just seven minutes to play.

Zidane came in for the quarter-final with Italy but was well-shackled by the Azzurri, who defended like dogs but, as always, lost out on penalties. It was in the semi-final where we finally began to see the best of Zizou as France muscled past Croatia with two goals from Lilian Thuram.

At this point there were many who doubted Zidane's reputation as the best play-maker in the world but in the final he took the iniative and scored two rare headed goals as France swept a pallid Brazil side away. It was in the midfield that the game was won as Zidane showed his full repertoire.

With every trick in the book, dead-ball skills and a real eye for goal, there's no doubting that the accolade of best play-maker is deserved. For a big man Zidane has so much skill and invention that defenders are quite often left dumbfounded.

At Euro 2000 he furthered his reputation yet more as France were victorious and it came as no surprise that when Zidane left Italian giants Juventus it was for a world record fee - �46million to Real Madrid.

H'es not the only one still playing but, of all Soccernet's World Cup Legends, Zidane is the one most likely to play a pivotal role in Japan and Korea.

Zidane in running for Golden Ball

2006-07-06T19:33:00.000Z

Zinedine Zidane is among the nominees for Fifa's prestigious Golden Ball award, given to the most valuable player at the 2006 World Cup.

The France playmaker ends his career in Sunday's World Cup final against Italy.

The 10 nominees include four Italians, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo, Gianluca Zambrotta and Gianluigi Buffon.

Zidane's compatriots Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira are on the list as are Germany's Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose and Portugal's Maniche.

AWARD NOMINEES
Michael Ballack
Gianluigi Buffon
Fabio Cannavaro
Thierry Henry
Miroslav Klose
Maniche
Andrea Pirlo
Patrick Vieira
Gianluca Zambrotta
Zinedine Zidane
"It's going to be difficult to pick a winner this time," Franz Beckenbauer, Germany's organising committee president, said.

"The one thing that can be said is this is the first time there are not any new names.

"I'd say one of the older players... will take it - I liked Henry and Zidane and (Portugal's) Luis Figo, even though he isn't on the list."

Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn won the award at the 2002 World Cup, while Brazil's Ronaldo was the winner in 1998.

Fifa will announce its final decision on Monday at around 0900 BST.

Full list of nominations:

Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), Maniche (Portugal), Michael Ballack (Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy), Thierry Henry (France), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Patrick Vieira (France), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Zinedine Zidane (France).

France | Zidane

2006-07-06T18:43:00.000Z

France | Zidane's lasting legacy

Zinedine Zidane is in the process of finalising his legacy.

The French captain will retire from professional football after playing in the World Cup final on Sunday.

Rolling back the years, the winner of the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 has produced some sublime displays to lead Les Bleus into a meeting with Italy, the country in which he spent five glorious years from 1996-2001.

So just how has the 34-year-old found his sparkling best form to turn France from outsiders into contenders for the greatest prize of all?