HANOVER, Germany - French fans had not celebrated with such abandon in a
World Cup stadium since 1998. Then again, Zinedine Zidane had not played a game
like this one in eight years. They're not ready to throw his retirement party
just yet.(More highlights, please click)
France's Zinedine
Zidane (10) kicks the ball as Spain's Xavi (8) looks on in the first half
of the Spain vs France, Round of 16, World Cup 2006, soccer match at World
Cup stadium in Hanover, Germany, on Tuesday, June 27, 2006.[AP]
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The French captain set up the deciding goal on Tuesday night, then scored one
of his own minutes later to lead France to a 3-1 win over hard-luck Spain.
Zidane, who is retiring after this World Cup, scored two goals in the 1998
final to beat Brazil. He will get one more shot at the tournament favorites when
the two teams face off in Saturday's quarterfinal.
Instead of the washed-up team that looked ready for retirement as recently as
last week, France is suddenly two matches away from a return to the World Cup
final.
After the game, Zidane's smile was as genial as ever before, the twinkle in
his eyes as sparkling. Only the ruddy crow's feet around his eyes showed that
eight years had past since France's last title.
"The adventure continues," he said. "We didn't want it to stop."
During the match, it was hard to tell the difference between 1998 and 2006.
Zidane took the free kick in the 83rd minute that curled into the goalmouth
and found an onrushing Patrick Vieira, who headed it off the body of Spain's
Sergio Ramos and into the net to break a 1-1 deadlock. The French captain then
finished off his brilliant night with a solo run into the penalty area, his
golden shoes flashing as he cut inside one defender before wrongfooting goalie
Iker Casillas for a goal of his own.
At 34, and with each World Cup match possibly his last game, that is
something.
"He kept going ¡ª for the whole match," said France coach Raymond Domenech.
Even in the dying moments, when younger players were exhausted, Zidane was
heading out crosses and rushed back with the abandon of a teenager to stop a
Spanish attack.
"You know what Zizou's influence can be, said Domenech. We're happy for him
that he's 34 and in the 90th minute he still had the legs to score and if I
could be any happier, that makes it special for me," said Domenech.
And just as 1998, he remains the undisputed leader.
"We feel as though a common cause has been born in the
team," said Zidane. "We are very happy to be through to the quarterfinal."
