Monday, July 10, 2006
Zinadine Zidane
The greatest soccer player of the last twenty years, Zinadine Zidane, the heir to the throne after Maradona, called it quits after his last game yesterday in the World Cup Final. It’s the end of an era and I’m pro
ud to say that I watched him in his prime. Yet for all the skill and grace that he brought to the game, you could see a sea of emptiness in his eyes.
He came from a poor immigrant family and his father worked as a night watchman. Originally from Algeria, he grew up in the ghettos of Marseilles, honing his skills while playing a dangerous game of survival. Just like a black kid in inner city LA has only one ticket of getting out – basketball – the same dream, switched with soccer visits every child in the neglected slums of La Castellane, a poor neighborhood of Algerian, Moroccan, and African immigrants.
He proudly calls himself ‘a Kabyle from La Castellane, then an Algerian from Marseille, and then a Frenchman.’ Call it irony or fate but for a country that has a high discrimination rate against minorities, a man of Algerian and Muslim descent is the most admired person in all of France.
Perhaps this is why it was so hard to see him trudge off the field in Berlin, the en
tire stadium and the world in shock with what had transpired. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt and instead of assuming that the head-butt into the Italian defender's chest was done in a fit of rage, I offer the following possible explanations:
1. Maybe he was trying to bow down in sujood (prostration) and the Italian player just happened to be in the way.
2. Maybe there was a fly sitting on the Italian player’s jersey and Zidane, being the helpful guy that he is, tried to kill it with a powerful head blow.
3. Maybe he was just lowering his head to show the bald spots and ask Mazzarati for a few tips to take better care of his dying hair follicles.
4. Maybe Zidane was trying the Japanese way of greeting their enemy by bowing his head out of respect for the Italian.
5. Maybe he was trying to imitate the annual event of running with the bulls in Spain except that bad communication led to Mazzarati thinking that the objective is to stand in the way of it (French and Italian aren’t exactly the easiest of languages to understand).
ud to say that I watched him in his prime. Yet for all the skill and grace that he brought to the game, you could see a sea of emptiness in his eyes.He came from a poor immigrant family and his father worked as a night watchman. Originally from Algeria, he grew up in the ghettos of Marseilles, honing his skills while playing a dangerous game of survival. Just like a black kid in inner city LA has only one ticket of getting out – basketball – the same dream, switched with soccer visits every child in the neglected slums of La Castellane, a poor neighborhood of Algerian, Moroccan, and African immigrants.
He proudly calls himself ‘a Kabyle from La Castellane, then an Algerian from Marseille, and then a Frenchman.’ Call it irony or fate but for a country that has a high discrimination rate against minorities, a man of Algerian and Muslim descent is the most admired person in all of France.
Perhaps this is why it was so hard to see him trudge off the field in Berlin, the en
tire stadium and the world in shock with what had transpired. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt and instead of assuming that the head-butt into the Italian defender's chest was done in a fit of rage, I offer the following possible explanations:1. Maybe he was trying to bow down in sujood (prostration) and the Italian player just happened to be in the way.
2. Maybe there was a fly sitting on the Italian player’s jersey and Zidane, being the helpful guy that he is, tried to kill it with a powerful head blow.
3. Maybe he was just lowering his head to show the bald spots and ask Mazzarati for a few tips to take better care of his dying hair follicles.
4. Maybe Zidane was trying the Japanese way of greeting their enemy by bowing his head out of respect for the Italian.
5. Maybe he was trying to imitate the annual event of running with the bulls in Spain except that bad communication led to Mazzarati thinking that the objective is to stand in the way of it (French and Italian aren’t exactly the easiest of languages to understand).
Faraz Ahmed 11:40 a.m.
6 Comments:
lol, that is hillarious....but you know what that reminded me - the 70 excuses rule
We are so quick in judging and labelling others, when we have no clue of what is in their hearts.
We are so quick in judging and labelling others, when we have no clue of what is in their hearts.
Lol! This post is great!
We always knew zidane would go out with a bang. He just chose a different bang =)
We always knew zidane would go out with a bang. He just chose a different bang =)
I wonder if given the choice again, would he do it?
Perhaps this will bring the ugly scar of widespread racism in soccer to the forefront, attention it would not have received if not for such a high profile case.
Perhaps this will bring the ugly scar of widespread racism in soccer to the forefront, attention it would not have received if not for such a high profile case.
Zidane mentioned something about how he has accepted what happened and although the headbutt is inexcusable, so was the provocation, and for him to back down would mean that he's signaling that the provocation was ok. Basically, from what I read, he signalled that if given the chance, he'd do it again :).
Also, he came out today and said it was insults about his mom and sister.
Also, he came out today and said it was insults about his mom and sister.
the part that got to me was that the insult wasn't directed at him just once. from what zidane said he attacked after he heard the same thing for the third time.
After finding out that it wasn't a racist insult, I think it would have been better for Zidane to rub it in by winning the World Cup.
But then again, it didn't happen to me so it's easy for me to talk.
But then again, it didn't happen to me so it's easy for me to talk.