A decade of sheer magic and a moment of madness - The Zidane mystery

Da Vinci of football’s last piece of art – an assault – puzzled me for a while. “What did Zidane leave to the fans - me and to the football world?” For a master to come back from retirement to command a team with an infamous distinction* mixed with battered legs and raw talent, he took them to near glory. But sport is not generous (why?) – Nothing is done until it is done. Yet in a sheet as white as virgin snow, there were few spots, none more blatant than the (shaven) head butt with Marco Materazzi, in a WC final, in his last battle of his illustrious career. As a shy, calm, modest, thoughtful sports celebrity none imagined Zidane would stain his legacy with such jaw-dropping folly. How big (and how long) will this eclipse the bright sun that radiated in full vigor for the last 10 years? How can there be a hero if he turned ugly in the climax?

Curse the cruelty of sport or damn the painful last moments of Zidane on field, my clarity regained within few minutes. I realized how insane I would be had I allowed that moment to engulf what the master has given me for a decade. What intended to be the great man’s deification, crash landed in a moment. Though he fell from God-like status he is still above mortality. His elegant dribbling, balance, intelligent passing ability, shot accuracy, shrewd shot selection and precise free kicks have made him one of the game's finest artists and a playmaker I respect. Zizou is what I have seen as a football lover. I haven’t seen Pele play and too young to notice Maradonna’s twilight moments. For me Zizou is soccer personified. His journey was colorful enough to be tarnished by any single incident.

Probably in most aspects of football, 9th July game in Berlin is probably the best finals I have witnessed (since 1990). Tactically superior, defensively watertight (who said flair is all about scoring goals?), well marshaled mid-field with attack that will punish lapse in slightest of concentration, both teams played the football I loved. Such is the beauty of the sport that throws the unthinkable into the perfectly depicted picture. The greatest drama was witnessed. Zizou stumbled before the goal but still he is my hero.

A decade of sheer class and a moment to forget – Zizou, no legend is without controversies. Thank you for all you have given to the world of football. You are not just the golden boy of France and Madrid. You are my epitome of modern football.

-Arun

* - In WC 2002, the defending WC and Euro champions entered as hot favorites to retain with a team that consist of top scorers from EPL, Seria A and La Liga. They made an ignominious exit from WC without scoring a single goal.