You are currently not logged into ManagerLeague
If you wish to log in, click here.
If you wish to sign up and join us, click here.
Zidane wins the Golden Ball award! (10/07/2006 14:15)
The journalists from around the world have spoken and decided.

Zinedine Zidane wins the Golden Ball award, and is so named the greatest player of this tournament.

I beg to differ!

The greatest player of this tournament does not headbutt other players to the ground intentionally!!!

Serisouly!

There is no doubt Zidane has been a truly great player in his career, he just ended it losing his head (pun intended). He was much better in 1998 than he was in 2006, but even now he has shown remarkable skills. Now we know he can be a good Streetfighter too!

Things you might not know about Zidane
  • The nickname Zizou was given to him by Bordeaux manager Roland Courbis when Zidane played there in the mid nineties.
  • Yaz - for Yazid, his middle name - is another of Zidane's nicknames, mostly used by his close friends and teammates.

  • Zidane is one of the football icons of his generation and is known to be modest, quiet and admittedly shy. However, Zidane has occasionally shown a quick temper on the pitch. One such display occurred in a 2000/2001 Champions League match between Juventus Turin and Hamburger SV, in which Zidane headbutted Jochen Kientz; he received a red card for this action. He also received a red card in the 1998 World Cup for stamping on a Saudi player. In extra time of the 2006 World Cup final, he head-butted Italy's Marco Materazzi.

  • When Zidane came back from international retirement, in August 2005, he was reinstated as captain of the French national team, where he wears squad number 10. At Real Madrid he wore squad number 5.
  • In an interview Zidane declared that when he was a teenager, he admired Olympique de Marseille's Uruguayan playmaker Enzo Francescoli (after whom he named his eldest son). He once was a ballboy at a match with Francescoli and thus saw him up close.
  • He was an Athens 2004 Torchbearer.
  • In 2004, Zinedine Zidane was appointed as "Chevalier" (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur by French President Jacques Chirac.
  • The first penalty kick Zidane ever missed with the French National team was during his last match in a French stadium, while playing a friendly game against China in Saint-Étienne, June 7, 2006, the last preparation game for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, where he accidentally slid and placed the ball above the goal.
  • Zidane's 34th birthday coincided with the day France faced Togo, the very last day of the 2006 FIFA World Cup First Round. However, he missed this match due to suspension.
  • Zidane scored the third goal in a Round 2 clash over favourites Spain at the 2006 FIFA World Cup which sent France through to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1998.
  • Zidane's first hat trick was against Espanyol in La Liga 2006 with Real Madrid.
  • The assist for Thierry Henry's goal against Brazil in the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-final was Zidane's first in 53 games for his teammate. The game ended 1-0 and France is now 3-1-1 against Brazil.
  • Zidane scored the only goal of the game, a penalty, in France's semi-final win over Portugal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It was the team's eighth consecutive successful spot-kick. Zidane also scored a penalty kick against Portugal in the semi-final of Euro 2000.
  • First and only player to be sent off in two separate non-consecutive world cup finals. (1998 Vs Saudi Arabia, 2006 Vs Italy)
Share on Facebook
This blogger owns the team The Spinners. (TEAM:475)
Zz00024989 wrote:
21:45 10/07 2006
pictureWhen it got decided that zidane would get get the award, it was half-time and the headbutting hadn't happened, i wouldn't have given it to him anyway. It had to be Cannavaro
Zz00003327 wrote:
06:24 11/07 2006
picture

Zidane is my fav. player in my living period:P great football skills!! Btw. I'm glad to see that the karate lessons I gace him came in good use
Zz00018005 wrote:
17:13 11/07 2006
picture

zidnane is one of the greatest footballers of all time and he proved it in the world cup 2006 he deserved the golden ball award and u cant take that away from him he didnt even hurt anyone
Zz00001103 wrote:
18:38 11/07 2006
pictureZidane didn't deserve this price one bit.
how can someone that only plays one good match in a tournament be named best player of the tournament, all the others must have sucked really bad ....
but the others didn't suck.
i think Messi deserved it more (even though he didn't play much when he played he was way better then zizou), or Ricardo (great penalty killer) but most i think cannavaro.
Zz00003327 wrote:
19:06 11/07 2006
pictureRicardo didn't deserve it at all.. he did good on the penalties and that was it... Messi was just a sub, he came in when the other were tired and therefor he could rule that much(dont missunderstand, he was great) my favourites was Buffon or  cannavaro, Cech also did good the little time Czech was in the WC.
Greenday wrote:
21:07 11/07 2006
pictureAlastair, you have to be kidding me! He didn't hurt anyone? Have you ever been headbutted? It freaking hurts. Just cause the other guy isn't dead doesn't mean nobody got hurt.
Zz00018005 wrote:
18:19 12/07 2006
pictureI mean he might of felt it a bit ofcoarse it isnt atall serious materazzi managed to keep playind 100% by the way i have been headbutted before only that time in the face
Bonnar wrote:
09:28 01/05 2009
picturelol
Post a comment
You must be logged in to post comments.
© 2003-2007 Fifth Season AS, Oslo, Norway. Privacy Policy. Rules and Code of Conduct. Sitemap.
Responsible Editor for ManagerLeague is Christian Lassem.