Zidane's World Cup: Use Your Head

by Bryan Joiner

It’s pretty hard to understand the magnitude of Zinedine Zidane’s unbelievable head-butt in the 110th minute of the World Cup Final against Italy, a singular play in sports history that soccer fans will talk about until the day Zidane dies, and then probably long after. Is Zidane, who led France to the World Cup title in 1998, still a hero in his homeland? Or is he the number one villain, the man who kept Les Bleus from their second title in eight years?

He’s neither.

Here in the States, where righteous indignation is a specialty, he’s a villain. A vicious villain. ABC’s announcers must have called the head-butt “vicious” about 30 times, backtracking from their game-long lionizing of the French captain. Good thing Desperate Housewives had taken the air by the time he received the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament.

It’s a mixed bag for French fans. The 1998 title will soften the blow, but that was then, this is now and they probably still feel Zidane’s error like Marco Materazzi felt it in his sternum. Imagine Ernest Byner fumbling the ball through Bill Buckner’s legs while Chris Webber, sensing the tragedy unfolding before him, desperately tried to call for a time out he didn’t have, and you’ve got the Provence-ial reaction right now.

I’m not sure there are enough adjectives out there to describe what we saw Sunday: amazing, tragic, hilarious, idiotic, stupefying, sad, fantastic – they all apply, especially when you look at the context of what happened.

• Zidane is the three-time FIFA Player of the Year, most recently winning the award in 2003.
• He led Les Bleus to the World Cup title in 1998, scoring twice in the finals against Brazil (Brazil!), and was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.
• He announced before the World Cup that this would be his last appearance on the French national team, and played sluggish in the first two games before returning to the dominant form of 1998.
• He scored the first goal in the game in the seventh minute and had barely missed a header for what would have been the game-clinching goal only two minutes before he was ejected.

Of course, it’s all gravy if you were rooting for Italy, akin to watching Tiger Woods get booted out of a sudden-death golf match for taking a five-iron to Phil Mickelson’s knee. The great ones are allowed to falter, but they are not expected to sabotage their own chances. When they do, we don’t know how to react.

This is our fault. Every time we lionize or demonize a player, as Zidane was sanctified all tournament, we’re standing on shaky ground. Kirby Puckett was baseball’s sweetheart throughout his whole career, a pudgy, likeable star, but he was later tarnished by domestic abuse and sexual assault charges (he died of a stroke earlier this year). On the flip side, Allen Iverson has overcome his early-career legal problems, but remains a lightning rod for the suburban media, who can’t see the Hall of Fame career past his cornrows.

Zidane is now a fascinating case because he doesn’t fit into either of the American sports archetypes. He’s not Tom Brady The Golden Boy, and he’s not Barry Bonds The Jerk. He’s someone who has made amazing plays and now, one amazing blunder.

There’s a word for this type of person. It’s “human.”

People make mistakes. Just ask the Italians who have been cited in the match-fixing scandal, the sanctions from which await many members of the Cup-winning Azzurri when they return home. There are no heroes or villains here, just winners and losers on the field. One man’s mistake is another man’s fortune – so let’s uncork the Chianti and get this party started. There’s no more to it than that, and anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t using their head.

Addendum: More Zidane Fun! Play: http://tonaz.altervista.org/zidane.html

(Photo from flickr.)

Comments

[Guy Behind The Guy]

I like big butts.

[chris]

Supposedly Materazzi said something about Zidane's mom being a terrorist whore. I am not justifying his actions, but the World Cup is more than just a game.

[bigones]

as I've heard (according to lipreaders fluent in italian who watched the footage), Materazzi said Zidane was a "dirty terrorist" although I also heard that he invoked Zidane's mom, who is apparently in really poor health right now. Hence, the ensuing FIFA investigation into the act. As we see, the World Cup is a reflection of modern politics and allegiances. For instance, why would Isreal, geographically located in the Middle East, not play in the Asian Football Confederation, along with its neighbors like Jordan, Lebanon, Syria as well as East Asian countries like China, Korea, etc. but instead play in the European Federation?

[Carl Popper]

I was in Berlin for the WC. What amazes me is not the violence. Terrible but Zidane was not new to this kind of reaction - in WC98 he had a similar act (and luckily for him he missed only 2 games for disqualification not 5 as it should have been) and also in champions League he hit violently with his head a German player. It is the support that civilized society (politicians etc.) give to him. Are we to become savages? Is it to be believed that people have the right to kill whoever speaks words which are not acceptable? I think it is all an excuse. Words were probably a "F Off" (normal in the field) and it is clear that talk was started by ZZ when he said to the other "do you want my shirt...I will give it to you later". Shame on ZZ and whoever justifies him. Let just pardon him if he apologises.

[futbol lover]

Italy should be ashamed of it's little mafia team. How can you compare Zidane, a player who brushes off tackles and gets back into the game with serious injuries, with azzurri, a squad that probably trains on how to take a overly dramatic fall every time someone brushes their jersies. Please, Zidane will be remembered as one of the great futbolist of all times, wheras azzurri will be remembered as a side of thugs that need to resort to insults against the othersides mothers to ensure their victories.

[Namesake]

Zidane is the best player of his generation. Italy's world cup trophy is TAINTED. They won with penalty kicks. Penalty kicks are not football at all. Just a bit of luck and nerve, how to control your nerves. Zidane is only human. It doesn't matter if FIFA takes his golden ball away. It won't mean anything. Say if they give it to the runner-up, the Italian guy. Does that REALLY mean that Italian is the "best player". NO. Zidane is the best player, whether or not he gets the golden ball. He knows it and everybody else knows it. We have all seen the way he played against Spain and Brazil.

[Namesake]

Zidane is the best player of his generation. Italy's world cup trophy is TAINTED. They won with penalty kicks. Penalty kicks are not football at all. Just a bit of luck and nerve, how to control your nerves. Zidane is only human. It doesn't matter if FIFA takes his golden ball away. It won't mean anything. Say if they give it to the runner-up, the Italian guy. Does that REALLY mean that Italian is the "best player". NO. Zidane is the best player, whether or not he gets the golden ball. He knows it and everybody else knows it. We have all seen the way he played against Spain and Brazil.

[Art Martin]

This is an example of escalation. A tug on the shirt leads to a snide remark which leads to an insult which leads to a head-butt which leads to a red card which leads to a scandal. Someone very wise suggested 2000 years ago how to avoid escalation, easier said than done.

[Adam Konieczny, Italian fan]

I think that Zidane had no right to head the Italian player. Even if the Italian player insulted Zidane it dosn't mean you can just punch him. This was an foul that could have been controled, but was not. If Zidane wasn't tired from the game he might not have done it. I can give Zidane credit that he is human and no one can control their temper. I do think that it was wrong for the Italian player to insult Zidane, but it was not the right way to end it all.