In the 2006 World Cup final, Zidane headbutted Italy defender Marco Materazzi. A magnificent career ended with a red card on the biggest of all stages. But for many years before that incident, the attacking midfielder was one of the best footballers in the world. So, how good was Zinedine Zidane actually?
Follow us on Instagram
• Instagram: /
Imagery supplied by Getty Images
The kids of today will never fully understand how good he was. Zidane was GENIUS! Best midfielder I’ve ever seen.
Yes, in his role he was the greatest player who ever lived. No doubt about it. Nobody else could completely control a game like he did. It's difficult to compare players of different eras, and impossible to compare players in different positions, but Zizou is the greatest central midfield player of all time for me (excluding the type of players who have now become known as CDMs like Kante, Makelele etc).
Absolutely right
Maradona, Zico, Platini , Pirlo, Xavi, Iniesta, Modric - all are far better than Zidane.
@@michaeltrumph121 Better at what? If you ask me, Oliver Khan was better than Maradona. What now? lol. Most of the player syou list are completely different types of player. Modric is maybe a fair comparison, and Zizou was head and shoulders above him.
@@higgins007 Better midfielders, that is what I meant.
After Messi won the World Cup, I started to then realize how great Zidane is! Like scoring in 2 World Cup finals and only time Brazil lost in WC between 1994 to 2006 was just twice- both agains Zidane’s france! Guy was taking down legacy and system single handedly!
Ronaldinho Pele Messi Maradona Zidane makalele Evra maldini Stam thuram Francessico toldo. Best 11 of all times , except for ronaldinho vs cristiano Or evra vs Ashely Cole, vs Roberto Carlos ?
@@uromi-owuopukeme6081 if we are talking prime Dinho, if we are talking career Cr7, and definitely Roberto Carlos
@@juliosamaniego6585 yes your right if we're talking about players in their prime , ronaldinho, if we're about players entire careers , cristiano Ronaldo , rayan giggs and robben , Roberto Carlos had those 2 goals zidane scored in the 1998 world cup final , he had that unnecessary over head clearance he attempted against Denmark in the France 98 world cup that allowed Denmark to take the lead, there was that hands on his knees /catching his breath moment in the 2006 world cup quater finals that allowed Henry to score and allowed France knock them out , that's why I went with Patrice evra, 4 ucl finals , 1 euro 2016 final , won only 1 of the above but hey he was world class attacking and defending and no high profile mistakes or unnecessary attempts to grab highlights, other names like Marcelo or lezarazu could just as well , walk into the team , but with ronaldinho, maradona,Messi and zidane , I see Carlos as unnecessary.
Zidane got me interested in football. He played vs all the best players in his era and he made them all look like average players. Also every player respected him and those who didn't got headbutted, just ask Materazzi. Some people say Pele, Maradona or Messi but for me Zidane is the GOAT👍👍👍
I entirely agree with David Beckham. Though I like and appreciate the terrible monster who was Ronaldo the brazilian, for me Zidane is the greatest player of all times.
Can't compare players of different positions, and difficult to compare players of different eras. Zizou is the greatest non-CDM central midfielder to ever play the game, with that much I'll agree!
Totally agree, I don't think you should look at stats when it comes to him, he was and is, for me the best playmaker in history!
@@higgins007 But that's the only correct way to do it. Choose a position, then choose some of the best players from each era that have played on exactly that position, and then you compare all of them among themselves.
@@Xidentals Too difficult to compare players of different eras. Take any player from the 70's and drop him in today's game. He wouldn't last 5 minutes. The game changes so much it's just impossible to compare players across era's in any meaningful way other than "he was my favourite."
@@higgins007 Then you look at who in his respective era generally stood out the most in terms of play and with his skills in relation to all other players in the same era, position-independent and purely following the basic principles of the sport, just who can/could play the best football. It's always possible to compare methodically, and this is actually the basis to prove that Messi remains the best player of all time, possibly until the collapse of our solar system.
Ronaldo R9 was a bulldozer. Cr7 is a german precision machine. Messi is the great firework in the sky. But ZIZOU was flowing wine, a beautiful orchestra playing, a gentle river flowing, magic manifesting on the field. ZIDANEISM
He's the best midfielder ever, so good most people assume he's a striker with how much he's talked about
Football became poetry when Zizou stepped on the pitch. To me he is the greatest ever.
Greatest ever? Did Pele, Maradona and Messi not exist?
Greats
@@atlanta1290 pretty sure he said ‘TO ME’ fucking hell get your head out of messis arse
@@atlanta1290 Zizou is far better than them U have to see it with ur own eyes to believe it There was something magical about him that compares to no one
@@harysonsharma6420 really?
I think Zidane englobes everything that makes a sportsman great. Talent, results and elegance. He is like Roger Federer in that sense. He might not be the top scorer or whatever, but he flows about the pitch in a way that's just beautiful to watch and it isn't just show, he also got some spectacular results along the way. Truly one of the Top 5 GOATs in my humble opinion.
Zizou was absolute. When he had the ball, he had the ball. When he was on the field, all his team was becoming magic, while the other one was becoming clumsy. Against absolutely any of the greatest stars with no exceptions. And not a single one of them ever tried to hide it.
One of the most majestic and elegant players to ever play the game for sure!
Zidane is a player who cannot be quantified like Cristiano, for example mean stats are also a certain indication of how good a player is, but Zidane is more than that. Not the machine, not measurable by rationality, but by the magic that surrounded him when he was on the ball. Zizou had this aura Something subtle that touches the soul of football. A Ronaldo doesn't do that, l just think he's awesome J no question, but Zidane touched my heart when he played. It's hard to put into words and that's what sets him apart. ❤️♾️
Beautiful comment. I agree completely. Zizou was a true beauty and soul of football in motion. No stats and figures can capture that. He made many of us fall in love with this beautiful game. When he retired, new football era came. Football was less about love for the game and the beauty of it, and more about money, mere result in numbers, making result making machines out of players etc. I rarely watch it since then. Anyway, to me Zizou is the best of all time. If aliens came to Earth and we want to pick one player to show them to express football in its full meaning and beauty, we would pick Zidane. Greatest football artist of all time. Thank you Zizou!
same with bergkamp. every time they get the ball something spectaculair can happen
Tim Sherwood was clear
I agree with the sentiment, but have to take hats off to Ronaldo for that season where he banged in that overhead kick in the semis against Juve. That year his presence in the team was like that of Zidane. It's not a coincidence that it was during the time he was coached by the man himself.
When the usual suspects are discussed about who is the GOAT of football there is only one player who is two footed and can score off both feet outside the box. That's Zidane. Messi, CR7 and Maradona could never score outside the box and hit the top of the net with their weaker foot.
Zidane was the greatest football player of all time. I stopped watching football after he retired because he was that good. Everyone was watching every touch of the ball because he was an artist, and they wanted to emulate his turns, his flicks, and his vision. He beat the best teams during the golden era of football.
Bad decision to stop watching football when you completely missed the guardiola and messi era.
@@MM-dm4xj yup
To respond to this...Casemiro once said ,when Real Madrid had training matches and were short in one man,Zidane used to play and he still was the best on the pitch!
And this was when Christiano Ronaldo was on the team lol
@@CW-rx2js Yes on ability Zizou was way better than Ronaldo, Ronaldo is a goal machine and yes Zidane is probably under him in terms of longevity, but Zizou is definitely better with the ball!
"the fact that Zlatan was praising someone other than himself just shows how special zizu was" ..
Zidane is not even top all time.
even Messi had asked for zidane to swap shirts.
The question is not how many goals he scored but when he scored them: semi finals, finals… He scored when it mattered. He scored 2 goals in Word cup final 1998, and one in World cup final 2006, as an example. And he was not a natural striker, he prefered to help strikers do the job. A truly altruistic attacking midfielder who could influence the game and other players!
Also if you watch his games, he was never the number 10 to be honest, he was roaming the whole pitch he was everywhere!
Zidane was an artist. As per my assessment he is at least one step ahead of Christiano and Messi. A true visionary with unmatched potential of controlling the game.
Zidane is a lot like Ronaldinho to me in the sense that it wasn’t about stats, goals, assists, etc. when watching them play. You were watching masters of the art form of football who made all the others around them look like children who were just chasing the ball trying to keep up. Don’t get me wrong I love cr7 and Messi but the level of football between 2000-2006 is the most magical football I’ve still seen to this day
The u didn’t watch 2008-12 messi
@@georgejawara2507 I did, furthering my point
@@georgejawara2507 When it comes to discussing who is the GOAT of Football there is only one player who is two footed and can score off both feet outside the box. That's Zidane. Messi, CR7 and Maradona could never score outside the box and hit the top of the net with their weaker foot. Messi as good as he is has a very weak right foot and when it comes to the big stage the World Cup even playing in a strong team in Argentina Messi has failed to deliver so far in all the World Cups he's played.
@@oot007this cup certainly seems to be an exception to that rule
Absolutely
Zidane is my favorite player of all times. He's right up there with the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Maradona... He's pretty successful as a coach as well (3 Champions League in 2.5 seasons!!!)
His control of the ball and his passing are unmatched. An absolute visionary.
He's well beaten in both departments.
Not unmatched, many are better than him
@@thewolverine7516 No one has matched Zidane's elegance so far
@@SOLOTRON_09 laudrup is better anytime
@@SOLOTRON_09 and btw he was talking about ball control and passing, many are there who are better than zizou at these two attributes.
When you asked legendary football players and managers in this world, They will praise Zidane. This show how awesome that he was.
The thing when you was watching Zidane play is that even if we're drawing/loosing. He would make it worth the money, it was just beautiful to watch him play.
I'm not a fan of French football but Zidane could be from Jupiter for all I care. I truly believe he is the greatest footballer to ever walk this earth. Let me quote Sir Alex: " Give me Zidane and 10 pieces of wood and I'll win you the Champions League."
One of the things I admire most about Zidane is how comfortable he was with the ball whilst showing his skills. He dribbles like an excited kid with a ball but with skills which was done effortlessly.
Zidane had this unexplainable grace on the ball. Every touch, every pass and every dribble had intent and was mesmerising. It's as if he was dictating how his team should attack. Absolute baller. Very few players stand out in big , career defining moments and Zidane was one of them.
“The bigger the match the better Zidane is” you said it right and that’s what makes him the greatest midfielder
Excluding penalty shootouts, Zidane only lost 2 competitive match with France in 1994-2006. One vs Denmark in WC 2002, two was vs Greece in Euro 2004. In the match vs Denmark, he was playing injured and named MOTM Insane
Total nonsense France lost some matches in qualifiyng round. Against Russia 3-2 in 2000. Also vs Holland 3-2 at Euro 2000
@@F_U_2024 Zidane didn't play in both matches, bruh. Check before saying.
I support the fact that he stood up for himself by fighting with anyone who did him wrong
If I was In his position I would have done the same but I wouldn't have made it so obvious like bro at least when Beckham got sent of in 1998 it wasn't that obvious
It’s the Algerian slum boy from france in him, them boys don’t fuck around
we don't judge midfielders with how much goal he scores but how much assist he does and how well he create chances. Zidane was a midfielder and his assist record is superb besides he was a talisman and a playmaker. The video creator rightly said, Zidane was on different level. The best Midfielder ever. Cannot be compared with Ronaldo, Messi, Maradona, Pele. All those were shooters.
I started watching football because of him.... I couldn't watch laliga matches at that time but watched every real madrid match in champion league because of him, also world cup. And, I never saw a match, where he wasn't the best player on the pitch. NEVER ! He was best even if Real was losing. His control of the game is unreal. Never seen anyone after him to be at least somewhat close... Definitely the best ever...
The same for me bro, he was the reason why I fell in love with football and till this day I love the French national team although I am not French!
Greatest playmaker of the ball, as if he could see through the players. Champion
For me Zidane like Steve Vai in Guitar scene/world . Amazing to watch and so many thing you can learn when he was in pitch
He was a magician, there was no one like him, even now!
One word? God. I've never seen anyone like him.
Clearly a GOAT candidate
Not even top 20 all time
@@michaeltrumph121 It's an insult to football to say that
@@michaeltrumph121 wow thats ridiculous.
@@andremaube5069 Nope, it's just how things are.
@@kenc5966 No, it's just the truth.
Zizou was a big game player You could feel his presence in the big game
One of the few true artists of the sport. Yes, Maradona was more explosive, Messi more productive in goals, Ronaldo flashier. But Zidane genuinely astonishes like a magician who is showing you exactly what he’s doing and yet you can’t figure it out.
Best comment ever
That's exactly it. In slow motion his genius becomes more evident but even more perplexing. He anticipates the trajectories of other players, the ball and has the most creative way of opening up spqce. His movement is not obvious, his thinking is lateral. To wrong foot a single top class player with a deft touch is world class talent. To wrong foot 2 players is genius. To dupe 3 or more opposing players with the most subtle of touches is art.
As Ferguson once said... "Give me Zidane and 10 pieces of wood and I'll win you the champions league."
Is that why he only won it once?
🔥Miss the good old days ✌️Respect to Zidane & the rest OGs
Any time you see a player who does not have to run to beat people, and can dribble 3 or 4 players with pure changes in momentum, at the highest level of Football? you are watching genius at work, Zidane is an example of that
He might not have the stats of the “wonder boy” Messi or “relentless” Ronaldo, but his character and elegance is simply unmatched. He commanded the pitch with both finesse and boldness when he got the ball, and not just when he was retiring at 34 (and what a retirement btw) but in his early twenties. If it wasn’t for his charisma he would never be so successful as a manager. I don’t think Messi and Ronaldo will ever grow up to be great mangers (time will tell though) and that’s perhaps because compared to Zizou they’re just talented kids.
Why do you want sign zidane when we have tim sherwood. Tim Sherwood couldn't even laced the boots of zidane. 🤣🤣
Zidane was and is a team player not selfish like Messi or Ronaldo. Both they dissappoint their teams and nations in needed times and they were part of the victory, but Zidane as Zlatan said makes the team get way better.
Zidane is/was a midfielder. A midfielder who isnt a team player is hard to pass by. Ronaldo and Messi became overly popular thanks to their positions strikers/forwards. Even so old Messi became more of an attack coordinator than a pure striker. old Ronaldo on the other hand is always placed as a finisher type of striker.
You need to understand that the meta has changed. Possession football was the meta during messi and cr7 prime and both of them acted as parts of a fine tuned team. The meta during zidane days was CAM creative focused with players like zidane scholes pirlo controlling the match tempo and made the team tick. Messi got into this role late in his career as the meta has changed yet again with klopp's counterpressing style
Argentina won the worldcup day before yesterday
@@shahabaztly8517 I wrote this comment 5 months ago and I was right.
@@AbdallahBotan you were right until day before yesterday. Not anymore
Zidane prime (1997-2002) had 10 Messi in his left foot.
C’est vrai
and who's in his right?
True
@@halmo68 No it's not, you're delusional. Zidane is not even top 20 all time.
Calm down brothers. Please. Calm down.
Zidane has one of the Highest X Factor of In Game Influence in Football History, Right Up there with Pele, Cruijff, Beckenbauer, Maradona, Baggio, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi. One of The Greatest Playmaker in History.
When Zidane was playing, I always felt confident for France.
Stats is not everything. Creating an influence in the pitch matters. Zidane was an ultimate playmaker our world could ever witness. You cannot say a player is good by his stats.
Of course you can, if you see by the stats that a forward has scored 91 goals in one single season, you don't need to watch him play, numbers don't lie, they never did and they never will do so.
@@Xidentals brother Zidane was a midfielder you can't expect a midfielder to score as much goal as a striker, now how will you say a defender is good? He won't be having a good goal scoring stat
@@souvikbakshi8475 You have expressed yourself too generally in terms of the significance of stats pal. You can read how good someone is, that's not possible for absolutely every position, but it's possible.
@@Xidentals If you want to do stats goals and assists aren't a good indicator for how good a player really is by themselves. You'd probably have to go to advanced analytics to provide proper context like for example key passes and chances created per 90 minutes and so on and so fort.
kda players
Best midfielder of all time ⏲
With zidane football is beautiful
Some sportsman play with such an art that it is majestic..like Federer did in tennis Zidane did it in football..my favourite footballer of all time the only player I ever put above him was Maradona ....Zidane had the greatest first touch I have ever seen
Totally agree mann..Zidane is the reason I started watching football 👏
Zizou is the GOAT 🐐!!!
Probably the greatest ever.
Not even top 20 all time.
@@michaeltrumph121 have you ever watched football??
@@cianog Since the 80s. I saw many greats's entire careers. Zidane is incredibly overrated.
@@michaeltrumph121 I've watched since the 80's and he's the most significant player of the last 40 yrs.
@@cianog No he isn't. Van Basten, Laudrup, Romario, Baggio, Ronaldo, Del Piero, Totti, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, CR7, Messi, Neymar, are all better than him.
He‘s name was Zidaneeeee ….. Zinedine Zidane .
There has never been a player like zidane, zidane had it all. best to ever play the game imo
Yes,it was on his time
Underated channel 💯
In recent years, football players have been overly glorified in the media and with social media being everywhere, Messi and CR7 have achieved god-like status. There is so much bias toward these two players and there is also recency bias. So much so that people have begun "revisionist football history" forgetting some of the all time greats. Zidane wasn't a striker, you can't compare him to Messi or CR7. He also didn't have as many quality players supporting him in his league and national teams. Plus he lived in a time when there were so many legends and great players- I can name 15 of them. These days, the competition outside of Messi and CR7 is thin. Plus, he had much shorter career than players today.
He was a God with football, that's how good he was
Zinedine Zidane is my idol after Lionel Messi and besides Marco Van Basten, the reason is because I like his skill and playing style which is very calm and elegant. Respect to Zinedine Zidane, legend of Real Madrid and Juventus.👍🥳🎉
Awesome video, I'd like to request a video about pep guardiola back when he played in the pitch
You also need to watch the type of goals he scored, he was not putting the goal in the net, it was always a banger.
...he dominates the ball he is a walking spectacle and he plays as if he had silk gloves on each foot . This comment by the legend Alfredo De Stefano says a lot. ...when Zidane stepped onto the pitch the ten other guys just suddenly got better. This comment by Zlatan Ibrahimovic also speaks volumes. I wrote a comment the other day that Zidane came into the game late and did not have a professional mentor. My comment fits in superbly because the commentator said Zidane had a 'raw talent'. Now like an engine, the power is there but with further enhancements and 'fine' tuning' you get more. Like in physics if you use the brain, you can get more work done.
Great vid, now I would kindly like to request a video about Manchester United legend Denis Law since I realized on KZhead they were videos on Best and Charlton but very few on law which is a travesty since to this day only Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton have more goals for Man Utd
Finally you made a video you like your other channel
i came to love football bcoz of the magic from zizou's foot, since then i am French Football Fan
What if i said that i never seen full football match before 2006 Fifa world cup .I was 15 year old teenager and Brazil vs France was the first football match i saw on live television and this man made me fall in love with this game.
I fell in love with football and Real Madrid because of Zidane.
In Terms of positional player comparison he his definitely in the top 10 of the best players to have played in the attacking midfielder position.
Zidane is one of the top 3 footballers I have ever had the pleasure of seeing play, and I have watched football since 1982. The other two are Maradona and Messi. Let us see what Mbappe does in the coming years, but he is also impressive.
I agree with that ( I started watching Football in about 85/86) I would also include R9 and R10 in the list as well but yeh phenomenal talents all of them
@@jacksmith4460 agree with R9, R10 and CR7 too...the three Ronaldos! ;)
For me , he is the greatest of all time , no disrespect to meradona, Zidane was the architecture of the football.
Zidane played for the forwards and when the forwards didn't score, he did. He is the best ever.
His literally up their with the goats.. man won everything and dominated those big games..
Legend😎
One of the best, underrated even
Zidane is not even top all time.
I was one if the luckiest to have watched zidane play in 2006 world cup😢
The Real GOAT! One True Legend of the Game! Simply unmatched and incomparable!
Real GOAT? Did Pele, Maradona and Messi not exist?
absolutely TOP 20 during 1995 - 2006，if offering more assists in major national tourments , surely being Top 10 in that period . so great ZIDANE
top 20 ? you are surely joking right ? please name the 19 who were better than him
Genius commander in the field
I TOTALLY disagree about the Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo & Messi comment at the end. When needed he was THERE. Never a player had a more dominant performance than against Brazil at 2006. The GOAT debate (which is wrong in general) should be between Pele, Maradona & Zidane.
Zidane is the Best 🎉
He's up there with Ronaldo and Messi, he just a different kind of player. It's not all about scoring goals.
He's nowhere near their level
@@michaeltrumph121 Bollocks, the only reason he doesn't get the same recognition he deserves is because he's a playmaker and not a glory hunting goal scorer.
One of the best the real Goat
Zidane is Federer of football . Pure class ⚽️⚽️⚽️
Spot on they dont have the most trophies but they are both the most beautiful accomplished fluid masters of their arts .
THE ELEGANT. ZIDANE.
Yes,that's right📺👀
Legend
Zidane was the artistic commander on the ground.
Zidane to football is what Wordsworth is to poetry. Period.
Zizou is probably the best ever at the 2 most fundamental skills of football - passing and ball control.
Zidane is not even top 20 all time.
@@michaeltrumph121I said Zizou not Zidane.
@@michaeltrumph121 who's in your top 20?
@@sebastienvincenthenry2805 In no order, all these players rank above Zidane: Ronaldo, Pele, Maradona, Zico, Cruyff, Best, Ronaldinho, Romario, Van Basten, Platini, CR7, Messi, Baggio, Beckenbauer, Di Stefano, Garrincha, M. Laudrup, Xavi, Iniesta, Bergkamp, Del Piero, Totti, Rivaldo, Gullit, Baresi, Maldini.
Thanks Platini
best player of all times
Best ever? Did Pele, Maradona and Messi not exist?
In india brazil and argentina suppoters are predominant...but when it was brazil vs france match.they said brazil can't win this time. I asked why?? They said cause france has zidane. That's absurd.but that proves what kind of player he was.
Zizou is the greatest. Pele, Maradona and Messi all played the same type of football. But if you look at Zidane his style of football is just unique and he controls the whole team.
You mentioned Alfredo de Stefano, and that's who his style of play reminds me of.
He was one of the best
one of the best
I do agree, for me I can count, in my generation, Ronaldo, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Jay Jay, Figo, behkam, reivadlo, and alike
Zidane is in the same league as Pele and Maradona. The best of his generation. CR7 and Messi are both a step above the rest.
The 🐐!
Es el mejor que he visto
Kylian Mbappé & Antoine Griezmannis are Zidane successors
Best midfielder ever
The last magician of football!