ZZ's top

Real life got in the way of blogging over the last couple of weeks of the World Cup, and I didn't get to talk about half the things I wanted to discuss--the rehabilitation of Klinsmann, appaling Portugal, that Grosso goal, etc. But I would be remiss if I didn't take a few minutes to discuss l'affaire Zidane, the incident that will be the defining moment of this World Cup in the public memory.

So many things about the moment were extraordinary. Its perpetrator, of course. Its sheer violence. The unexpectedness of it all--few viewers, I suspect, noticed anything untowards between Materazzi and Zidane prior to this incident. The fact that it happened in overtime in the World Cup final, for heaven's sake.

But what made this so unbelieveable to the entire world, I think, is the way it was such a U-turn in the narrative we all built up around this World Cup. For the predominant story that emerged in this tournament was the one-last-time, mock-the-clock efforts of the French national team. Zidane epitomized it--the former hero playing in his last games ever. That he was so bad prior to the Cup only intensified the story by making his performances against Spain and Brazil all the more compelling. And now clearly this story was going to end in a glorious conclusion. ZZ scored the first goal with an impudent chipped penalty. Italy equalized but in the second half, the French were carrying all the play. On some unconscious level, we all expected that Zidane would score or make the winning goal. It was going to happen.

And it so nearly did. Think of how different everything would have been if Zidane had placed that injury time header to either corner instead of right above Buffon. It would have been one of the great moments of sports in the 21st century so far. The script was written, but a fine Buffon save denied it.

And then the narrative was turned on its head. In a flash, he went from being the universally beloved hero to the indefensible villain. Can you think of a movie where the hero takes such a remarkable an abrupt moral U-turn? Today in Slate, Robert Weintraub likened the moment to a completely un-Hollywood ending, and he's exactly right. That's why hours later, myself and so many other fans were slack-jawed in disbelief. Did we just see that?

Of course, there's another tantalizing aspect of this story: the question of motive. What precisely did Materazzi say to cause Zizou to melt down? Rumours--and they're all we have for the moment-- are divided between something sexual (the "your sister is a prostitute" story) and something political. It's the latter that's the most intriguing: did Materazzi call him a terrorist? Or did he, as suggested on the New Republic's blog, call Zidane's father a harki, the term for Algerians who fought on the side of the French in the Algerian war for independence?

If it's a political thing, my suspicion is that history is going to judge Zizou kindly. Unlike the fabulous Cannavaro, Materazzi is an anonymous oafish defender, and proof of a racist comment will cast him as the villain--indeed, a montage of his previous hackjobs is currently one of the most watched videos on YouTube. The precise premeditation of Zizou's assault will seem justified, a blow for honor and justice against provocation. I'm not saying this is right, but I think it will be seen that way if the racism explanation is believed.

The rehabilitation of Zidane has already started with his comical naming as the tournament's best player. The moral victor of that award was of course Fabio Cannavaro, who has had a stunning tournament, and is certainly the best player in the world at his position at the moment.

I don't want to take this point too far, but there's distinctly a figurative quality to all this. The triumphant French team in 1998 was seen as a synecdoche for modern France--multicultural and unified. Zidane's story in 2006 is a symbolic mirror to the French political situation in 2006. Surface unity and an uncomfortable sense of Frenchness give way to sudden violence after (racial?) provocation.

In terms of sports, it was a pretty good game, better than the last Cup final for sure. But in terms of drama, it was almost Shakespearean.


Anyway, this is it from the Conspiracy for the time being. Thank you for reading my coverage. I might resurrect it in 2007 as the international game heats up... we'll see. Take care.