Zidane is Last of The Creatives Says Platini
MILAN, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Former France and Juventus midfielder Michel Platini has paid tribute to his compatriot and current Juve star Zinedine Zidane, describing him is one of the last genuine playmakers in modern football.
Zidane's excellent club form in recent weeks culminated in an exquisite goal in his side's 2-0 win away to Reggina on Sunday when he danced past three defenders before blasting a shot into the roof of the net.
After injury problems last season, the 1998 European and World Player of the Year finally looks back to the kind of form that earned him those honours and helped France to win the World
Cup.
"Zidane is a player out of his time, something from the old days," Platini told the daily Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published on Tuesday. "He is a fine number 10 and there are no more of those because most of the modern coaches prefer collective organisation to using a classic playmaker. They have destroyed this role and lots of players who used to take inspiration from
this role. The result is they get a poorer spectacle."
Platini believes Zidane could be the man to revive the dying species of the playmaker. "People who love football have to be happy about the success of Zidane because his example gives credibility to the position of the number 10 and gives new life to a breed of players who
are becoming extinct."
