News
World awaits Zidane wizardry
25 May 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com
France endured a somewhat bumpy ride to the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ - that is until a certain Zinedine Zidane came back into the fold. 'Zizou' is bound to be a firm favourite in the McDonald's®/FIFA World Cup™ Fantasy charts and he will have extra impetus to shine when he brings his career to a close in Germany.
France made hard work of qualifying for Germany 2006 and although they booked their ticket without suffering a defeat, scoring against their rivals became a major issue for Raymond Domenech's side. Their campaign began with a tentative 0-0 draw against Israel in Paris. At the time, the result was considered nothing more than teething trouble but when Les Bleus drew their next two home games, failing to find the net on both occasions, alarm bells started ringing.
By March 2005, the situation had become critical. When the team could only muster another draw against Israel, this time in Tel Aviv, France suddenly found themselves teetering on the brink of elimination. For all their efforts, the French had gained just ten points from their opening six qualifiers – from these matches, eight potential points had been lost, six of them at home.
Action was called for and it came when Zidane and Claude Makelele, who had formally called time on their international careers after UEFA EURO 2004, announced their return to the national team. Centre-back Lilian Thuram, another member of the illustrious France team that conquered the world at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, followed suit less than a month later.
With the trio of veterans back on board, France improved in their remaining four qualifiers. They snatched a point from their visit to Switzerland and attained maximum points against the Faroe Islands, Republic of Ireland and Cyprus. It was just enough to knock the Swiss off the top of the group and secure automatic qualification, albeit having recorded four goals less than Kobi Kuhn's side and one less than third-placed Israel. France's goals came from a variety of sources: in total, seven players found the target with Djibril Cisse finishing as the top scorer with four goals.
Thankfully, everything was in order in the French defence. In their ten qualifiers, just two goals were conceded – giving them one of the safest rearguards, on paper at least, of the 32 teams at the finals this June. Domenech trusts that his side will be equally as prudent against their first-round opponents in Germany: Togo, Korea Republic and ironically, the Swiss.
Zidane's curtain call
The 2006 FIFA World Cup will have a special significance for Zidane, who recently declared that he would be hanging up his boots for good after the finals. It certainly has not been an easy year for the 33-year-old, on whom the pressure of performing at the top level for Real Madrid, with their busy schedule of league, Cup and European engagements, seems to have taken its toll.
A spate of niggling groin injuries did not help but once he had made public his decision to quit, it was as though a weight had been lifted. The Bernabeu faithful were treated to glimpses of 'vintage Zidane' – who as a fitting parting shot, found the net in the team's last two games of the season.
Read Zinedine Zidane's profile
While 'Zizou' looks to end his career on a high, striker Thierry Henry will be trying to reproduce the scintillating form he showed with Arsenal last term. Henry has been in a class all of his own for the past few months, making a vital contribution to Arsenal's cause in terms of both goals and teamwork.
In October he edged ahead of Highbury idol Ian Wright as the club's top scorer in history and subsequently helped take the Gunners to their first ever UEFA Champions League final. Moreover, he finished as top scorer in the English Premiership for the third season running, collecting 27 league goals and creating countless others.
Team-mate Cisse's league total for Liverpool was a third of Henry's. Perhaps this was partly a symptom of the Reds' own struggle to find the net earlier this year but he did score in the FA Cup final triumph over West Ham United and has looked more confident with the national side. Sylvain Wiltord remains another trusty figure in France's attack and hit 14 goals in Lyon's title-winning campaign. David Trezeguet, meanwhile, continued his fine domestic form, firing 23 goals to help Juventus retain the Serie A title.
Moving back, Makelele and Patrick Viera command the centre of the park and are experts at recovering possession for their side. Their presence adds an extra wall of security for the French rearguard which features the formidable pairing of William Gallas and Thuram in the centre-back slots. At right-back, Willy Sagnol might prove a canny choice for McDonalds®/FIFA World Cup™ Fantasy users as could the talented Eric Abidal on the left.
Fabien Barthez has been contesting the goalkeeper's jersey with Gregory Coupet. In domestic competition, Lyon keeper Coupet has been the more consistent, playing 37 league games and conceding just 27 goals, but Domenech will begin with the more experienced Barthez as his first choice in Germany.
The Swiss will be the first team side to square up to Les Bleus when Group G kicks off on 13 June. It will not be an easy start to the tournament for the French but a decent result will stand them in good stead for their following matches against Korea Republic and Togo. For Official Fantasy users, Domenech's side remain a good bet defensively but their strikers will have to start reproducing their domestic ability in the international arena if the French are to go far.
Go to the France team page
Kapitan reprezentacji Francji, pomocnik Zinedine Zidane został nagrodzony Złotą Piłką - nagrodą przyznawaną dla najlepszego gracza piłkarskich Mistrzostw Świata.

Zidane otrzymał 2012 punktów. Drugie miejsce (Srebrna Piłka) zajął Włoch Fabio Cannavaro z 1977 punktami, a trzecie (Brązowa Piłka) Andra Pirlo - 715 punktów. Głosowanie przeprowadzono przed meczem finałowym, wśród akredytowanych dziennikarzy.

Nominację do nagrody wcześniej otrzymało również siedmiu innych zawodników: Gianluigi Buffon, Gianluca Zambrotta (obaj Włochy), Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira (obaj Francja), Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose (obaj Niemcy) i Maniche (Portugalia).

Zidane zdobył w turnieju trzy bramki i zaliczył jedną asystę. Został wybrany przez specjalistów FIFA graczem ćwierćfinałowego meczu Brazylia - Francja. W finale, w 110. minucie otrzymał czerwoną kartkę za uderzenie głową w klatke piersiową Włocha Marco Materazziego.

34 letni zawodnik Francji zapowiedział zakończenie swojej kariery po finałach MŚ.

Oprócz Złotej Piłki rozdano inne nagrody Mistrzostw Świata. Złotego Buta - nagrodę dla zawodnika ("króla strzelców"), który strzelił najwięcej bramek w turnieju - zdobył Niemiec Miroslav Klose z pięcioma golami. Najlepszym graczem młodego pokolenia został Niemiec Lukas Podolski, a najlepszą drużyną wybraną w głosowaniu fanów - Portugalia. Nagrodę imienia Lwa Jaszyna (dla najlepszego bramkarza) dostał Włoch Gianluigi Buffon.