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A sporting hero of our times

Zinedine Zidane — the son of Algerian immigrants who grew up in a rough quarter of suburban Marseille, `Zizou' to millions of his fans round the world, and by common consent the greatest footballer of his generation — has turned conventional wisdom on its head. He has invested sporting irony with layers of personal, philosophical, and social meaning. Red-carded in supposed `ignominy,' for the 14th time in his football career, during the 109th-110th minute of an absorbing but not great World Cup final that he came close to winning for France, he returned home to a hero's welcome from public as well as President. This was in striking contrast to the vilification and even physical threats David Beckham faced from fans in June 1998, after being sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone before England lost to Argentina on penalties in that World Cup tournament. The punishment for the bull-like headbutt into Marco Materazzi's chest, which the referee could not witness, might have been a slightly belated but wholly correct sending off. It resulted, arguably, in a weakening of his team's prospects during the last ten minutes of extended play and subsequently in a nearly flawless penalty shoot-out. But Zizou's moral reward was (in lieu of the precious World Cup) the `Golden Ball' — honouring the best player of the tournament — awarded by FIFA through a vote by an international committee of football journalists. Almost nobody expected France to make it to Berlin's Olympiastadion on Sunday, July 9 but the resurgence of the ageing `Les Bleus' seems to have stolen the glory from the `Azzurris' in the hearts of millions of football lovers. Materazzi, one of the `hard men' of football who headed in a brilliant goal for his country and had the pleasure of scheming Zidane's moment of football `madness,' might be a hero to his countrymen — but stands exposed as contemporary sport's iconic foul-mouthed villain.

Zidane's comeback in the 2006 World Cup is one of the great sporting stories of our time. His vision, ball control, ability to dictate play, and unexpected bursts of energy in his last four games recalled old Zizou magic. The powerful 104th minute header, spectacularly tipped over by goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, made for a near-dream-script ending to the career of the man Beckam has called "the greatest player in the world." But what completes the picture of a true sporting hero of our times is the man's integrity, his decency, his commitment to family and friends, his pride in his social origins, his solidarity with the people he rose from, his genuine dislike of the limelight, his refusal to dissemble or play false. This editorial writer was at hand to witness the extraordinary spontaneous reaction of most people in the Berlin stadium to Zidane's expulsion from the arena. They immediately sensed that something monstrously unjust had happened. Their protest was not against the referee, who acted by the rules; it was against the circumstances that cut short, by minutes and in some underhand way, a heroic career. Now that Zidane has unravelled the moment — with truthfulness, self-control, and great dignity — the sordid foul-mouthed underside of football has come under the spotlight. Zidane might have apologised to the millions of children who saw on the football field what has been described as a "classic `forward headbutt' favoured by street fighters in Europe and the United States" — but he has shown there was no ignominy in his exit from the game he has graced like few before him. FIFA president Sepp Blatter may or may not take away from him the `Golden Ball' but who cares? As even Materazzi has contended: "Zidane has won that award because of what he has done on the pitch — he was the best." 2006 will be remembered as Zizou's World Cup.

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