Le Coup De Tête

Watching the World Cup Final on Sunday, I, along with the other billion people that were tuned in, was stunned when Zinedine Zidane turned around and firmly planted his head into the chest of Marco Materazzi, who then dropped like a sack of hammers. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Had Zidane actually done what I had just seen him do in that slow motion replay? In the World Cup Final? In the final game of his career? Not surprisingly he was red carded and Italy went on to win the final on penalties. Talk of whether or not his sending off influenced the outcome of the game is largely irrelevant as no one can ever know. Which then leaves the question, why did he do it? What put Zidane over the edge? My initial reaction was that Materazzi, no stranger to controversy, had made some sort of racist slur, and there has been much speculation along these and other lines, but despite the various attempts of lip-readers to determine what was said we may never know.
Immediately following Zidane's long walk past the trophy and down the tunnel, there was talk of how Zidane had disgraced himself, shamed himself, destroyed his legacy and so on. I don't condone the violent act, but I'm not sure why people were so surprised by this behaviour coming from a man who was sent off 14 times in his career. Perhaps the setting and occasion did call for a little more decorum which made it that much more dramatic, but for all the footballing mastery and creativity that Zidane has, that darker side has always been a part of his game. He is one of only two players to have been red-carded in two World Cups. Hell, this wasn't even his first headbutt. Which brings us to the talk of destroying his legacy. Except perhaps for a sanctimonious few, this will only add to it. Zidane, one of the greatest footballers to ever play the game, is and will remain a symbol of possibility to millions of people around the world. For a poor kid growing up playing football in the streets of a rough area of Marseille to rise to this level of stardom and adoration, then bow out like this...it's the ultimate "fuck you" from one of the greats. It adds to the mystique of Zidane. People like their heroes to be flawed. To the question of Zidane being a role-model, I would argue that we want our sporting heroes to be competitive and aggressive, yet are then surprised when they act like that outside of a narrowly defined acceptable avenue.
I don't mean to suggest that Zidane planned it like this; I'm pretty sure he would rather his game not have ended in a sending off, but it did. And to me, who absolutely did not want Italy to win the World Cup, this is where it becomes a master stroke...Here it is three days after the Italians won their 4th World Cup, yet outside of the Italian fans and press, almost nobody is talking about them winning. They are talking about Zidane. Legacy assured.