On top of the world - Zinedine Zidane
World Soccer - October 1998
How do you feel right now?
Terrific. Winning the World Cup has given me a remarkable feeling of self-confidence. But that doesn't mean my approach to the game has changed: I recognise that I have to work for the team as much as ever, not the other way round. We've achieved plenty and we can go on doing so.
Juventus need you at your best this season...
I'm ready. I want to win many more trophies. The World Cup win thrilled me but it also gave me a hunger for more success. It would be great to win a third League title in a row, even though that will be tough.
Juve have not bought many new players, have they?
Why should we have done so? You only change a team that isn't winning. The directors have got it right.
Who are the other favorites?
So many of them! Inter and Parma are at the top of the queue. Inter, with Ronaldo and Baggio, look very strong.
What about Milan?
Everyone has been knocking them because of two disastrous seasons. But don't forget they have won four of the last seven titles - and we won the other three.
What about the Champions League?
I'm still upset about losing in the Final last season in Amsterdam - especially because it made it look as if I am always a loser at that level. A good thing the World Cup came along!
This could be Lippi's last season in charge, couldn't it?
Maybe. We've read the rumours about Lazio. It won't be so easy knowing that 'the Mister' could be going soon. But I don't think that will have a negative influence on the way we play or on our results. Look, the same thing happened with the French national team. We knew Aime Jacquet was going at the end of the World Cup but we still won it.
What will change at Juve after Lippi's gone?
It's too soon to start talking that way. All I know about the future is that I have extended my contract until 2002.
There's been a lot of talk about strange substances being used by Juve players...
That's just people trying to talk down our successes. They're jealous.
Del Piero is one of the players under the spotlight...
Alex is strong enough to cope with it - and without needing to take any medicines. Without him we probably wouldn't have been champions last season.
He didn't have a good World Cup...
I thought he looked tired. Certainly he can play a lot better - though it was good for us French that he didn't! But I don't think the rest of the Italian team helped him as they should have. He seemed isolated. What could he do? Playing like that it would have been a miracle if he'd scored many goals. Anyway, he's young. He has plenty of time to get it right.
Which teams impressed you at the World Cup?
No doubt - Holland. Good to watch, well organised - if they had reached the Final we would have had a much more difficult game than against Brazil.
Which players impressed you?
Owen and Gallardo.
Tell us about your two goals in the World Cup Final...
Two Very Important Goals indeed. I needed to score so much, not just for the team but to make up to my team-mates for having been so stupid as to get sent off against Saudi Arabia the way I did. I apologised to my team-mates but I knew that words weren't enough.
Two goals with headers...
I knew that Brazil have amnesia when the ball is in the air. I thought: why not try getting in there? Good decisions, I think!
Why did France win?
Against South Africa it was like winning our freedom - it seemed as if our World Cup campaign was never going to start. It was wonderful for me to play that match in my home city of Marseille. Then against the Saudis, I got sent off. Don't ask me how I got involved in that. I still can't work it out. I think the referee went a little bit too far in sending me off. It was worth a yellow card, not red. I was so upset!
The team missed you against Paraguay...
It was awful, sitting on the bench, having to watch. It's much easier playing. You feel you can have some influence on things.
Then Italy...
We deserved to win. We spent the full 120 minutes trying to score. I can't say the same for the Italians. They disappointed me. But then, the national team didn't play the same way as the clubs. I can't understand why they wanted to spend so much of the game in their own half of the pitch. All the better for us.
What about the semi-final?
For the first time in my career I was so uptight that I was ill before the game. But it was all right once we got out there against Croatia. I thought our will to win and our stamina was terrific.
And then the Final...
Yes, the Final! We expected more of Brazil, I must say. They were far below their level in the rest of the finals. When we won I was so happy. Not just for me and my family but for Laurent Blanc, who couldn't play through suspension; for my son Luca who was born at the end of May; for Lippi and Giampiero Ventrone, who have helped me so much at Juve; for the country.
And you still want to keep on winning?
Of course. It's not easy to keep pushing yourself at this level but we're used to winning and it's a great feeling. You want it to go on for ever.
ZINEDINE ZIDANE - LIFE AND TIMES
June 23, 1972 - Born in Marseille, France.
May 1989 - Makes his French League debut for Cannes.
Summer 1992 - Moves to Bordeaux.
Summer 1994 - Voted best young player in France.
August 1994 - Scores twice on his international debut, a 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic.
1995 - Plays more games than any other player in France - 57, including League, European and international matches.
October 1995 - Scores for France in a 3-1 win over Romania which secures French qualification for Euro 96.
December 1995 - Scores a 35-metre lob against Real Betis which puts InterToto Cup qualifiers Bordeaux in the UEFA cup quarter-finals.
May 1996 - Appears on the losing side for Bordeaux in the UEFA Cup Final against Bayern Munich.
June 1996 - Signs for European champions Juventus. Escapes without serious injury from a car crash but appears burnt out at Euro 96 after playing 12 months of non-stop football.
May 1997 - Wins the Italian League with Juventus in his firs season in Serie A. Inspires Juve to the European Champions League Final, where they unexpectedly lose to Dortmund.
May 1998 - Is again on the losing side in a Champions League Final as Juventus succumb to Real Madrid.
June-July 1998 - On home soil in the World Cup finals, inspires France to a first-round win over South Africa, but is sent off against Saudi Arabia and misses the 2-1 defeat of Denmark and the second round win over Paraguay.
July 12, 1998 - Scores twice, both headers from corners, as France beat Brazil 3-0 to win the World Cup.
