It is sad that nobody seemed to recall Zidane’s fine career run in the World Cup before the final with Italy. He really was an outstanding player, no doubt about that.
Zidane’s performances against Spain and Brazil had thrust France into the World Cup final; his chipped penalty in the first half against Italy briefly raised hopes of the perfect finish. Then Murphy’s Law kicked in. That Zidane, with all his experience, would succumb to sledging seems inconceivable, yet it is supposedly what happened. Some believe, going by Zidane’s chequered on-field history, he couldn’t have reacted in any other way. Exactly what prompted his sullen charge, head-first into Italian defender Marco Materazzi’s chest in the dying minutes of extra-time, remains unclear. Nobody seems to know what was said. But a moment of silliness robbed the French talisman of his finest moment, his team possibly of the Cup.
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