If Zinédine Zidane truly entered the history of the France team thanks to his two headed goals in the final of the 1998 World Cup against Brazil (3-0), he also marked (and missed) his exit. But in a much less brilliant way, this time using his head to send a memorable headbutt to Marco Materazzi. Sent off during the 2006 World Cup final against Italy, the new coach of the Blues is regularly questioned about this episode.
So obviously, when France returns to the Nazionale, as is the case this Friday evening at the Stade de France as part of the third day of the League of Nations (8:45 p.m.), journalists do not hesitate to return to the subject. This Thursday at a press conference, Zinédine Zidane was questioned by four different interlocutors, or practically 25% of the questions. For some observers, the coach actually became a victim against the Italians of the time.
Columnist on the L’Équipe channel, Hugo Guillemet in any case had this vision. “I think that even today he has this feeling of injustice about what happened, even if he is obviously not proud of it and it is an obvious red card. » But the journalist above all explained why “Zizou” could actually fuel a certain injustice in the face of his expulsion during this famous final.
Zinédine Zidane not proud but without regret
“At the time, you have to remember that VAR did not exist. (…) It was a referee who went to watch slow motion on the giant screen of the stadium. That should not allow a referee to send off a player (…). So he feels an injustice in relation to destiny. » During the twenty years following the end of his career in black pudding, Zinédine Zidane spoke of the incident several times with Marco Materazzi.
And his version has never changed, as was again the case this Thursday in front of the press. Zinédine Zidane is not proud of his gesture, but in no case regrets it. In any case, this France-Italy of the third day of the League of Nations will surely be an opportunity to witness an interesting match, especially since the Squadra Azzurra, moribund for several years, has just succeeded in a card against Turkey (1-4).
