Saturday,
July 15, 2006 5:47 PM
Zidane Saga: Fall & Ressurection of a
Flawed Hero: Captivates and Appalls
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
golden image of Zinedine Zidane
vanished in an instant of visceral rage at the World Cup final. But what
followed has proven strangely more compelling.
His
now-legendary head-butt fascinated viewers around the world, competed with war
zones for global headlines and obsessed philosophers and sports fans alike. In
the process, the fallen "Zizou" has been
resurrected into a more unlikely kind of hero - flawed yet unrepentant, with an
old-fashioned macho morality that has both captivated and appalled.
In
Iconic French
philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy wrote in the press of the "suicide" of
a "demi-god," calling Zidane
a "super-Achilles" who was humanized by a head-butt instead of a
vulnerable heel.
Many
intellectuals found a certain grandeur in Zidane's act, seeing it as a gesture of tragic or
existential revolt against the huge weight of expectation the world had thrust
upon his shoulders.
Others questioned
how a "mere" player such as Materazzi could
dare interfere with the workings of a genius. Who dares speak to Debussy as he
composes, to Victor Hugo as he writes, to Edith Piaf as she sings, to Monet as
he paints?"
Commentators have
been loath to overlook the transgression, seeing in Zidane's
act the morality of the vendetta, an outdated sense of honor, sexist machismo,
and an act of thuggery.
Apologists for Zinedine Zidane have wasted the
week trying to read some higher meaning into his assault, claiming it as a
righteous blow (against) racism, colonialism and Islamophobia,"
Zidane was unwisely counseled.
And instead of trying to excuse or justify his "mistake", and
simply apologize, we could again have embraced him. The opportunity may have
passed.
Zidane may forever be
"measured" by "The HeadButt",
much like England's Wayne Rooney, who like Zidane
has a fiery temperament, will be forever measured by his "Testicle
Stomping" on Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho in the
Quarter Finals, costing highly rated England advancement.
Fox
Sports News
Associated
Press
July
15, 2006
PARIS
(AP) - The golden image of Zinedine Zidane vanished in an instant of visceral rage at the World
Cup final. But what followed has proven strangely more compelling.
His
now-legendary head-butt fascinated viewers around the world, competed with war
zones for global headlines and obsessed philosophers and sports fans alike. In
the process, the fallen "Zizou" has been
resurrected into a more unlikely kind of hero - flawed yet unrepentant, with an
old-fashioned macho morality that has both captivated and appalled.
"Above all,
I'm human," he said on French television Wednesday night, breaking three
long days of silence following the brutal move that marked the end of his
stellar, 18-year soccer career.
Zidane's surreal week started
Sunday night in the 110th minute of a riveting World Cup final, with
Italian defender
Marco Materazzi grabbed Zidane's
jersey as a French goal attack passed by. The two exchanged words. Seconds
later, Zidane spun, lowered his head and rammed Materazzi's chest, knocking him to the ground.
The head-butt
overshadowed the result of the Cup -
In
Iconic French
philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy wrote in the press of the "suicide" of
a "demi-god," calling Zidane
a "super-Achilles" who was humanized by a head-butt instead of a
vulnerable heel.
Many
intellectuals found a certain grandeur in Zidane's act, seeing it as a gesture of tragic or
existential revolt against the huge weight of expectation the world had thrust
upon his shoulders.
Others questioned
how a player such as Materazzi - widely known as a
ruffian on the field - could dare interfere with the workings of a genius.
In commentary in
the
More broadly, the
incident immediately became fodder for pop culture mania, generating Internet
jokes, an online game where users mow down a field of Materazzis,
and jingles about head-butting.
And when the
fallen star spoke out at last, giving interviews on French television, an
olive-green military-style jacket draped over his shoulders, many seemed to be
looking for any excuse to forgive.
"I
apologize, to all the children" who watched the match, he said. But he
didn't repent, saying Materazzi had insulted his
mother and sister so deeply he had no choice but to respond.
On Thursday,
prompted by Zidane's TV testimony, soccer's governing
body, FIFA, summoned Materazzi for questioning.
Yet some
commentators have been loath to overlook the transgression, seeing in Zidane's act the morality of the vendetta, an outdated
sense of honor and sexist machismo.
Mick Hume of the
Times of London bridled at the suggestion that the head-butt was anything but an act thuggery.
"It is a
sign of the strange times how many big moral debates now seem to be about the
antics of footballers. Apologists for Zinedine Zidane have wasted the week trying to read some higher
meaning into his assault, claiming it as a righteous blow (against) racism,
colonialism and Islamophobia," he wrote.
Soccer coaches in
American suburbs - far from the rough immigrant neighborhood in
But for many
French people, Zidane - his skills, his character, his life story - have a significance that transcends
athletics.
A son of Algerian
immigrants, Zidane came to symbolize the bright side
of a multicultural
The story of how Zidane and other aging veterans of the 1998 French squad
defied all expectations and made it to the final was one of the great sagas of
the tournament. For many, they were "Musketeers" banding together for
one last campaign.
In the end,
Even President
Jacques Chirac called him a "virtuoso," and seemed unconcerned that
the incident would in any way reflect poorly on
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