While Zinedine Zidane is (strongly) tipped to succeed Didier Deschamps on the bench of the French team, the two men, teammates at Juventus Turin and in the French team, have sometimes maintained relations that are fresh to say the least.
Concluded in apotheosis, the 1998 World Cup could have ended short for Zinedine Zidane. Without the golden goal scored at the end of extra time by Laurent Blanc in the round of 16 against Paraguay, the French playmaker’s tournament could have ended in the second match against Saudi Arabia. The fault of his exclusion after a bad gesture on the captain of Saudi Arabia, Fuad Amin.
“Zinédine, this is unforgivable, Didier Deschamps reacted immediately after the match against the Saudis. We know he’s an impulsive player but hey, he’s going to condemn us in two or three games, I think he’ll take them. Knowing the importance Zidane has in our game, it is an important asset that we are losing. »
Aimé Jacquet, who the very morning of the match had asked his players and in particular his number 10 to control their nerves, was just as upset. “When we commit a regrettable act, we must expect to pay dearly for it”he said.
The anger of Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane had a very bad experience with this lack of support from his coach and his teammates. He did not hesitate to respond to them in the press, as pointed out The World. “It’s worse than disappointment,” he explained regarding the comments of his captain, a teammate at Juventus for two seasons. “He can think whatever he wants,” he also whispered about Aimé Jacquet before putting forward rather shaky explanations.
“I involuntarily fell on the Saudi, so I was not at fault,” he said. Twenty years later, ZZ will give a completely different speech, more in line with reality. “No one is perfect,” smiles the main person concerned about this incomprehensible red. I wasn’t. I’m not proud of what I was able to do from time to time on the pitch. This gesture, when I crush the player, I am not proud. But we can’t change ourselves, it’s part of my life.” he confided in the TF1 documentary, “98, secrets of a victory”.
