Zidane - National Hero or Mike Tyson-esque Thug?

[paparush]

Man...what a dumbass play. What a loss of control? Imagine Michael Jordan doing that? Or Tiger Woods? Or Joe Montanna? Or Curt Shilling? (ok..Clemmens whizzed a bat at Mike Piazza..I'll give you that one..)

Sure there was trash talking. But for the love of Christ man, you are 10 minutes away from penalty kicks in F#CKING WORLD CUP TITLE MATCH!! Jeezzus!

My 11 year old says, "Dad..that was SO stupid".

[manic expression]

1. This won't tarnish his legend

Maradonna got thrown out of soccer because of drugs, and he is remembered for the great things he did. Ronaldinho stomped on player's ankle in the last World Cup, and that is but a distant memory now. Beckham got a red in the last World Cup as well, but do people really remember that now (not that he's as good)? I mean, Cantona was infamous for drop-kicking people, and now it is brought up for a laugh once in awhile while he does his "Joga Bonita" ads and remembered as one of the greats.

Even more interesting is the fact that Zidane stomped on a player's ankle (IIRC) in the 1998 World Cup, and that is only remembered because of this. He headbutted someone during a Champions' League match (the competition between all the best clubs of Europe) and got thrown out. He's done this sort of thing before.

This isn't going to count for all that much in the big picture.

[T_i_B]

2. Well the trouble here...

...is that he did it in injury time, in the world cup final, which also happened to be his last match. You can't choose a worse time to pull a stunt like that really. And that may be the one thing above all else that people remember about this world cup.

He's still a legend, but I do think that he will always be remembered for that headbutt. Shame really.

[manic expression]

3. I don't think so

Maradona also comitted a blatant handball to score against England in a World Cup. England's only World Cup victory came off of a blown call and only the Germans are still mildly pissed about that.

When you say Zidane 10 years (even 4 years) from now, people will remember all the great things he did. Maybe the headbutt will come up as a side comment, but it will not be a significant memory.

[T_i_B]

4. No, we English still hate Maradona

even that second goal can't disguise the fact that he was, and remains a dirty, coke-addled cheating bastard.

Ah well, we've always got Christiano Ronaldo to bash next season!

http://www.ronaldo-is.com/

[manic expression]

5. True,

but who besides the English brings that up when people talk of Maradona? Not really anyone. The Italians will bring this up about Zidane more but everyone else will say he was the greatest of his generation and up there with the all time best (arguably).

Plus, when we look back on the 2006 World Cup, who will we see as the winner of the Golden Ball? That's right, Zidane.

And yes, we've always got C. Ronaldo to bash. :toast:

[T_i_B]

6. Since the Italians won

I would actually think that they might not be quite so obsessed with the headbutt! I mean goodness, when Ronaldinhio got sent off against us in the last world cup we still lost, and these days we are more likely to remember him ripping into Chelsea in the Champions league. We couldn't blame him for us losing that time you see! And I'm sure the Italians would like to think that they would have won with Zidane on the pitch. ;-)

[northzax]

7. C. Ronaldo is going to Real Madrid

sorry! I know the Man City boys wanted a crack at him. (no way Sir Alex would allow any of the United boys to whack him in practice)

[manic expression]

10. Right, and we can bash him just as much

Now that he's going to become the newest part of Atletico Franco, I can sustain my level of dislike for him and his antics.

[northzax]

11. I just assumed you meant

actually bashing him, not verbally bashing him.

[T_i_B]

19. All we know at the moment is that he wants out

He hasn't gone anywhere just yet. Here's the story.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/5120332.stm

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo says he will join Real Madrid or Barcelona after making it clear he wants to leave Old Trafford.
The 21-year-old has been criticised in England for his role in the sending off of United team-mate Wayne Rooney when Portugal beat England in the World Cup.

"I should get out of Manchester as the circumstances are not right," he said.

"Nobody stood up for me and my desire is to play in Spain. Will it be Real or Barcelona? It will be one of them."

Note to Ronaldo. Nobody stood up for you because you got your own clubmate sent off before winking at the English bench in celebration. The English supporters will make that abundantly clear if and when you next play on English soil you diving twat!

[brentspeak]

13. That's wishful thinking

I don't think there's any question that Zidane will always be remembered as the great player who brutally head-butted his way out of the World Cup final during overtime.

[manic expression]

16. That's simply misled

Look how Maradona's career ended, and he is seen as a legend. There's no way this incident will overshadow anything else Zidane has done over his career, it didn't even overshadow this tournament because he still got the Golden Ball.

[northzax]

23. well, sure, but Zizou was no Diego

best player of the last 15 years maybe 20? no doubt (sorry Ronaldinho) but Maradona is up in the stratosphere sitting at the feet of Pele, Zidane is a small step below that.

[Hav]

8. .

Well, many might be really disappointed with him now, but he will always be a legend. 98 alone made him a legend. Besides that, he will always be remembered as an outstanding player that made football even more beautiful.
Further, if it's true that Materazzi called him a terrorist and his sister a prostitute, then I have to say that Materazzi got what he deserved. Still it's tragic that France lost under these circumstances after being the clearly better after half-time.

[H2O Man]

9. Mike Tyson

is a good man. Zidane shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence with him.

[manic expression]

12. How so?

Why do you think Zidane is not "a good man"?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

27. uh

methinks H2O Man might be expressing a touch of sarcasm

[BeyondGeography]

14. Well, in France, the answer is obvious

National hero.

Zidane will speak in a few days about what set him off. His agent said today that Materazzi said something "extremely grave" and that Zidane was contrite about his reaction. Hopefully, we will hear about the nature of the comment; the rumors are everything from "dirty terrorist" to calling his sister a prostitute.

There's no excusing his reaction, but Zidane has a side of the story to tell, and this will be bad news for Materazzi. As for the rest of the Cup, Zidane's renaissance was the most compelling story of any individual player, and this comes on top of all his other achievements. A regrettable loss of temper in the 110th minute of a game which he almost one with a header in overtime will dent his legacy only slightly; in France, it will probably amount to no more than a scratch in the long term, especially as the nature of the incitement becomes more clear.

[erpowers]

15. Wrong But Hero

I do not agree with what he did in the game and do not think he should have been given the golden ball award; however, he is a national hero. He did some great things while playing for France so he is a national hero. Also, this was just one thing. He is not a Mike Tyson type in that he did not do this on a number of occasions.

[Awsi Dooger]

17. He will be remembered as a head butter

That's in the US. No one here cares about the header goals against Brazil in '98. They wouldn't even associate those with Zidane without being reminded.

Sorry, he redefined his career within 5 seconds.

[TahitiNut]

18. I nominate Materazzi for the drama award.

Just sayin' :shrug:

Daddy! He hit my fist with his face! Bwaaah! :eyes:



:evilgrin:

[Hav]

20. .

You know what's bugging me the most besides the way how Italy won the Cup? How everyone is pissing on Zidane now and how everyone believes how funny it is to make joke sites or whatever about it while Materazzi's action is barely getting questioned. Even Materazzi's father said that he could understand that Zidane freaked out.

And of course, Zidane deserved the red, but Materazzi surely made the "best" of the situation by almost dying until the card was given although he was the one who started it.
What prompted Materazzi to insult Zidane? "If you really wanna have my shirt, you can have it after the game." This is what Zidane said after Materazzi's holding...

[T_i_B]

21. Sledging is a part of sport

The aim is...well I think what happend on Sunday showed what the aim is, to get to the person being sledged. Still doesn't justify Zidane giving him a glasgow kiss.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

26. I agree

Zidane shouldn't have done it, but Materazzi looked more than happy to keel over like a felled tree. Football is a physical game and sometimes tempers get the better of the players. Zidane himself was injured earlier in the match and I think the Italians were playing a pretty physical game. France should have had another penalty shot that the refs didn't call. But to me, what Ziadane did was not a big deal at all, except for the fact that it might have determined the outcome if France had not finished with one man down. France completely outplayed the Italians on the field, the latter who were physically spent at the end.

[timber84]

22. I'm sorry I know it was a bonehead play but that dude smacked

the shit out of that guy. I replayed it over and over again, saying geez that guy rocked his world!

[Lost-in-FL]

24. He deserved more...

[HuckleB]

25. He was forgiven the last two times...

and those were actually worse incidents. So he'll be forgiven again.

[mark414]

28. one incident and he's mike tyson?

it was stupid of him, but people need to stop expecting flawless behavior from public figures...he's human too and humans havetempers

i've already forgiven him, it would've taken a lot more than a headbutt to tarnish his career

[HuckleB]

29. Well, he's got two big headbutts and a foot-stomping incident...

... among other items to tarnish his brilliant career.

It wasn't a one time thing.

[mark414]

30. mike tyson raped a girl

and bit a guy's ear off

zidane has a bad temper. tyson has severe psychological problems.

[HuckleB]

31. I wasn't the one comparing him to Tyson.

The point is that this is not a one off deal for Zidane. Too many people seem to not know that.

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

32. Hero!

We have a video-capture blowup of that magnifique headbutt hanging in La Fourmi Rouge. All the football fans I have spoken with agree that, regardless of the outcome of the match, Materazzi had it coming. Geez, have you seen the video clip of his talent for thuggery? Zhizou is nowhere close to being that nasty and ugly.

Besides, very few people in the country even thought that France would get by Brazil, let alone gain the final. It was a pleasant surprise, and not a great loss, considering that, what with the Juventus scandal,Italy really needed a win.

In my book, Zidane is a genuine hero. He could make the ball dance on the tip of his toe while surrounded by opponents, and had vision and creativity to the max.

The head butt ADDS to his legend - it doesn't detract an iota!

[TahitiNut]

33. Some people think a 'real' hero would use his elbow ...

... and open a gash that required stiches. At least that's what I glean from the Zidane-bashers. I actually thought the head-butt deserved a yellow at most. Materazzi could've gotten a drama award. His taunts and (racial) slurs are, imho, "fighting words," not a legitimate part of ANY sport.