Two headers and a headbutt. What a way to bookend your World Cup journey
The World Cup Final in Paris, 12th July 1998.
A home World Cup for France and a tournament that ignited a passion for football that wasn’t really there for the French masses prior to the tournament. The team had been built around Zizou, the fulcrum of everything creative. He’d been influential up to the final but hadn’t scored. Brazil were reigning champions and with Ronaldo at his peak they were expected to win.
The build-up to the match at the Stade de France was overshadowed by what happened to Ronaldo. He was off the official team sheet, then a few minutes later put back on it. It turned out he’d had a seizure earlier in the day, and we’ll never know for sure but there was talk of pressure from sponsors and the like for him to take part. During the early minutes of the match, he created a couple of chances but was nothing like the Ronaldo we know and love.
France grew into the match and Zidane gave them the lead in the 27th minute, heading home from an in-swinging Petit corner, where he out jumped the Brazilian midfielder Leonardo. A minute into injury time, another corner, this time taken by Djorkaeff, was again headed home by Zidane through the giant legs of Roberto Carlos. The atmosphere changed to one of a carnival, but not to Brazil’s liking. In the depths of injury-time Petit would score a breakaway goal to secure an emphatic 3-0 win and France became World Champions for the first time.
Zizou’s head had made the difference.
Zinedine Zidane. Zizou. The monk-like haircut on the head of the majestic, balletic ballplayer. Football was art when Zidane was on the ball. When you look at the raw stats, you wouldn’t necessarily see that Zidane was one of the best ever, although they are still great stats. We hear a lot about football statistics versus the ‘eye test’, and what Zidane could do with the ball was unimaginable to most. So much so, that there was an art film made that followed only him, close-up on the pitch in a La Liga match for Real Madrid versus Villarreal in 2005, a soundtrack by post-rock legends Mogwai.
The World Cup final in Berlin, 9th July 2006.
Zidane had come out of retirement in 2005, a year after retiring from international duty as France lost in the quarter-finals of the Euros to eventual surprise champions Greece. Four draws in the previous year had left them improbably struggling to qualify for the World Cup at all. During the tournament itself, France had been sluggish until a quarter-final win over Brazil where Zidane rolled back the years and looked like he was from another planet.
The final against Italy was a dogged affair with moments of magic. Zidane stepped up in the 7th minute and struck a delicate Panenka, chipping Buffon, the ball clipping the underside of the crossbar and went in. 1-0 to France. In the 19th minute, Marco Materazzi equalised, a header from a Pirlo corner. The two names would stand out for more than just the goals by full-time.
20 minutes into extra time
The score is 1-1 and Zidane has a header saved by Buffon.
A few minutes later, Marco Materazzi says something to Zidane. He stops, turns around and headbutts Materazzi in the chest, like a choreographed Street Fighter move, the Blanka of the World Cup final. The cameras have moved on with play so the viewing public and the referee don’t see it. The fourth official does though, and alerts the referee to what’s just happened. It’s madness. In a world way before VAR, it felt like the match had been re-refereed, the ref on the pitch told what to do after television replays had caught the moment on camera.
Later on, Materazzi would admit what had happened. After a slack piece of defending gave France a chance, he was tasked with getting closer to Zidane. He got too close maybe. Zidane is said to have turned to Materazzi to say, “if you want my shirt you can have it after the game.” Materazzi replied, “I’d rather have your sister!” That was a red rag to a bull, Zidane seeing red in his mind and from the ref’s hand a few minutes later, his sister had been caring for their sick mother in the run-up to the final and was on Zidane's mind that day.
Zidane was sent off for the 14th time in his career, an insane amount for a player that moved so beautifully through matches.
What a moment to retire on. A headbutt, in front of the world. In a World Cup final. The image of Zidane walking off the pitch, past the trophy he would never get to lift again. Haunting.
French slang for headbutt is ‘Coup de boule’ and after the final the hit pop song of the summer in France was called Coup de Boule, accompanied by a dance craze where the whole dancefloor in clubs and bars across the country would do the headbutt. It’s nice that the public could take it so well, when for some their hero had turned into a villain, preventing France from winning the World Cup for a second time in three attempts.
Zidane was more than that headbutt, and more than just a World Cup player, but what a way to be defined. Two World Cup finals. One victory with the head, one defeat where he lost his head. Has there ever been another player that has showcased the very best and worst moments at the pinnacle of the international game?
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