I know it has been a couple of weeks since the World Cup Final, but I feel I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to speak about the Golden Ball winner. Since that was the last time we will ever see Zinedine Zidane play, I thought I may as well get this off my chest, once and for all. The "head butt heard 'round the world" was a most bizarre and saddening ending for the best soccer player of all time.
That's right, I finally said it out loud, and I am going to stick by it.
Zinedine Zidane is the best player in the history of the game. I can already hear it, "What about Pele? Franz Beckenbauer? Johan Cruyff? Diego Maradona?" These were all fantastic players, and certainly the names most commonly recognized as the best ever. But for me, the difference was that Zidane made the most difficult things look mundane.
"Zizou" was the ultimate simple player who was more than capable of great heights of intricacy when it was warranted. His first touch being the best ever is not something that I think is even worth debating. He always knew where pressure was coming from, and always took the perfect first touch, away from that pressure. He rarely lost the ball, and almost never lost it carelessly.
He was so good that other players of high levels also agreed that he was special. I remember having a conversation with Gilles Grimandi several years ago, and he told me that Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord all worshipped Zidane. Can you imagine players of that caliber actually thinking that a "peer" is that much better than them?
That is the kind of respect he commanded. According to Grimandi, all the French players at Arsenal used to talk about how good Zidane's first touch was, saying that he has hands in place of his feet. No one could actually get the ball to stick to his shoe like he does without that being the case.
Some of the highlights of his career include winning the World Cup in '98 in his home country, going on to win the European Championship two years later and conquering the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid in 2002 (remember that incredible volley?). He won several league and cup titles in France and Italy, and many times he was the recipient of the most prestigious individual award available in the game. Zidane was named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times.
Not only was he successful in terms of championships, but Zidane always seemed to score and play his best in the biggest of games. He scored twice in the World Cup Final in 1998, and his volley in Champions League Final in 2002 has become legendary. His presence was sorely missed in the World Cup of 2002, when he had an injury that kept him out of the first two games. Prior to that, with Zidane healthy, France had only won the previous World Cup and the European Championship; without him, they went crashing out of the World Cup in 2002 in the first round. Even as talented as France was in that tournament, without their leader, they were unable to get results.
While Zidane had amazing years of breathtaking plays and results, questions were being asked of his abilities, as he was getting into this early 30s. Admittedly, over the past couple of years, he seemed to have less and less impact as Madrid repeatedly failed to meet expectations. This is the final piece that makes him the greatest player ever, in my opinion.
As players become older, they don't necessarily become worse, they just become less dynamic. Zidane's first touch was still immaculate, but he just didn't seem to have the same affect on the game as he once did. What happens as you get older is that you get into a zone where you do things that are comfortable, and that comfort zone gets less and less adventurous. As a result, you are still a good player, but you look around and realize that you are not the dynamic player that you once were.
This is something that happens to every player as he starts to get older. The fact that he could go through that stage of his career, get to a World Cup, and essentially turn the clock back is beyond description. When Zidane got to the World Cup this year, he looked fitter than he had looked in a while, and his play as the tournament went on got better and more dynamic with every game. He had made up his mind that he was going to be the Zidane of old and that he would carry France on his back, as he had done so many times before.
You couldn't help but cheer for him as he spun and danced by opponents in the most casual manner. He scored goals when he needed to and made great plays to put France in control of games and ultimately earn results.
Zinedine Zidane the person is somewhat of a mystery, and that is one of the reasons that I admire him so much. He was born of Algerian parents in a poor section of Marseille. He endured a considerable amount of racism, as do so many of the Northern Africans in France. In spite of that and the poverty in which he grew up he was able to hone his skills to the point where soccer got him away from there. Zidane has never forgotten where he came from, as he as gone back and provided soccer fields and many aspects of the infrastructure necessary to give the youth of his area a place to play and possibly realize their dreams.
He has never been the type who has wanted or embraced the fame and adulation, like some others in the sporting world. There are so many players with half his ability who are twice as well renowned, and he is just fine with that. Zizou, as he is affectionately known, played the game because he wanted to and because he could do it like no one else ever has.
We are truly fortunate to have lived in the same time period as the greatest soccer player ever.
Robin Fraser, a five-time MLS Best XI selection and two-time MLS Defender of the Year, ended his 10-year MLS career and 16-year professional career last October, and now begins his first season with RSL as the team's color television analyst. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Fraser amassed 27 caps for the U.S. National Team and was drafted fourth overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the inaugural MLS draft.
Comments? E-mail Robin and the entire RSL broadcast crew at fun@realsaltlake.com, and your e-mail could be featured in the Computech "Fan Feedback" feature on all RSL on KSL and FSN Utah broadcasts, as well as on KALL 700 AM.
