Interesting article on Zidane from 2004, in the Observer.
'One of the theories about Zidane as a player is that he is driven by an inner rage. His football is elegant and masterful, charged with technique and vision. But he can still erupt into shocking violence that is as sudden as it is inexplicable.'
Many people are speculating that he was responding to a racial taunt. Zidane is not an Arab, but a Berber, a minority persecuted even within Algeria.
Zidane's occasional violence may well be a product of this internal conflict: the French-Algerian who is for ever suspended between cultures. But it is equally likely that, although in public he presents a serene and smiling face, he is underneath it all every bit the same hard nut he had to be to survive the mean streets of La Castellane.
In other news, the Italian players' handsome-lessons continue to pay off.
