Zinedine Zidane headbutts Italy's Marco Materazzi

The defeat of France by Italy in the final of the World Cup has brought to an end the career of one of its finest players. But the head butt of Zinedine Zidane on his Italian opponent which led to his sending off has tarnished his illustrious image. This report from Harry Peart:

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Many uncommitted fans supported France because of his presence. The thirty-four year old has had a major influence on the world game. His close control skills have delighted a generation. Eight years ago he was the driving force behind France winning the World Cup, quickly followed by the European Championship.

Known as Zizou, his artistic canvas was the centre of mid-field, where he described elegant and intricate passes and displayed his phenomenal close ball control to inspire the players around him.

He was born in a tough suburb of Marseille of Algerian immigrant parents. He soon showed his talent and finally joined Real Madrid to become, at sixty-six-million dollars, the world's most expensive player. Three times he's been named as the world player of the year.

A shy and retiring man, he is proud of his Algerian ancestry and has never sought the limelight. But his footballing genius has given him what he said he craved - respect for what he and his family had achieved. But a few seconds of violent madness on football's biggest stage has diminished that respect.

Harry Peart, BBC

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trudging off the field
walking slowly, showing that he didn't want to leave the football pitch

glancing
quickly looking at something and then looking away again

close to lifting
nearly winning (the World Cup trophy)

uncommitted fans
people who didn’t really care which football team won the World Cup

the driving force
the main reason why something happens

artistic canvas
here, the space that Zinedine Zidane used to show his very good footballing skills

phenomenal close ball control
very good skills at keeping the football near his feet

A shy and retiring man
A person who does not want a lot of attention from other people or newspapers, radio stations etc

the limelight
attention or interest from the public

diminished that respect
reduced the very good opinion that people had of Zinedine Zidane, made people start to think negatively about him

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