⏳ World Cup flashback: Zidane almost missed the greatest match of his life | OneFootball

Every four years, the hierarchy of world football is shaken up. Fallen favorites, inspired underdogs, moments of brilliance, flashes of temper: the World Cup always has its share of surprises. This series looks back at the scenarios that defied every prediction.

Today, just minutes before the friendly between Brazil and France, we revisit the little-known story behind Zinédine Zidane’s masterclass in 2006.

What would Zinedine Zidane’s career be without those mythical clashes between France and Brazil?

Besides his brace in the 1998 World Cup final, Les Bleus’ number 10 left a lasting impression in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final against the Auriverde.

Dominant in the air, inspired, untouchable, Zidane probably produced his best performance for France on that occasion.

And yet, we now learn that ZZ could have been forced to pull out of that match.

Indeed, in the book Zidane written by Fred Hermel, the former Real Madrid manager makes a surprising revelation: “I almost didn’t play that match. I had a big lump on one knee in the days beforehand.”

Fortunately, the lump went down in time, and the rest became 90 minutes of pure pleasure for football fans.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 PASCAL PAVANI - 2006 AFP