France will perhaps always remain in the debt of Algeria. If a certain Zinedine Zidane had not migrated with his family to France, the current disorientated state of the national side would have shown its face a few years back. There is not one midfielder in this world who is serious about the game who hasn’t looked at Zidane’s videos with awe and respect. For those who have been blessed to see him grace the football field, it will remain a memory to be treasured forever.
The only metaphor that can perhaps do justice to this footballer is that he is a “complete midfielder”. It is a metaphor that no other footballer in this generation warrants. A midfielder’s task is arguably the most tiring and diverse in a football field. Impeccable control of the ball complemented with 360 degree awareness is a pre requisite for a perfect midfielder. He must at all times be switched on to help out the defense, make an overlapping run for the strikers or orchestrate the play from the centre of the mark. Zidane achieved all of the above to the letter. He went one step further and added a dead ball scoring habit to his arsenal. It comes as no surprise that he has had a career that footballers can only dream of. He played his football for two of the biggest clubs in the world and wowed each set of supporters in full measure.
His retirement has been football’s loss. The fact that his swansong match was marred with a head butt incident is but a dark spot on an otherwise spotless moon.
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