First I'm going to taper this by saying I don't rate Zidane that highly. Most people on the old Real Football section will know this. He was an outstanding player and fantastic on the eye but he was a big game bottler.
You couldn't be further from the truth. Forty-two years after Puskas had produced possibly Madrid's greatest - and, in truth, football's history - individual performance in Hampden Park, Zidane rose to meet that level, and it's viable to suggest he surpassed it, in the very same stadium. His volley was of the highest possible quality and on the greatest possible stage. It was a perfect example of transcendental ability, which was accustomed to his success.
The curiosity you pose of Zidane’s career is bizarre in that his quality still seemed to lack that kind of confirmation. He has somewhat universally been branded as the greatest footballer of all time - particularly on the international stage. Sure, he never quite consumed the mentality that saw other great players dominate on a consistent basis. In truth, he had a temper we all saw in the 2006 World Cup final and a series of other red cards. But the fact that they were isolated instances is also representative of his career positively on a large scale. However, it was in the biggest of games, if you will, that he brought out his cool, controlling presence aside from that moment of madness against Italy. Astutely, Rob Smyth described him as a "cerebral genius" and a "avant-garde footballer". And, along the same lines, Alex Ferguson once said that Zidane "didn't hurt teams" - which I believe relates to your interpretation that he's thought of too highly. While those views would appear to be criticisms at first, it was more so a reference to the fact that Zidane would tend to withdraw and dictate teams rather than decide them. As Thierry Henry said, “he is the guy we can always count on, the one who really takes control." That particular trait of his was explosive in the greatest games of his career. Zidane saved the most decisive moments for the most demanding occasions: the 1998 World Cup final where he lead France to the title; single-handedly ripping apart the second-best Selecao side ever, the entirety of Euro 2000 (where, once again, he was voted as the best player), the last couple minutes of France's Euro 2004 group game with England and the knock-out rounds of the 2006 World Cup.
Looking at the game and the stats it's a classic case of a small club going to title challengers and setting up for a draw. It happens fairly frequently to all title contenders/winners.
Some say Hector Bellarin still has his legs tied into a knot
He was trying to imitate Coutinho but wasn't quite for to it
Rated E For Everyone.
Comments
Many gems in here
ok, i apologise.
Someone get this post in the hall of fame
Was meant to be ❤️❤️❤️❤️ sake, I apologise.
Ah #SamuelGate
The day @Samuel got well and truly rumbled
Found it.
@Wardhiigley 's post
Also, kiss kiss Barkley kiss kiss is missed.
There has to be some happy medium between that and the standard today.