I´ve got to interrupt the stream of consciousness here for a short reverence to a heroic figure of our time - no: of a time that´s just now about to close.



To make that absolutely clear: It´s Zidane who´s the God. Ronaldinho is spectacular beyond doubt. But he won´t achieve what Zidane achieved: to be a symbol, a superhuman as if transferred from the time of Greek mythology. Zidane wasn´t only great for his own sake. From having seen him play but also from having read the appraisals I know that he made his entire team shine. It´s not only his dribblings and his own goals - it´s how many times his passes made his fellow players score. How his playing changed the course of a game not by a single decisive action of his - but because he made his team overcome any opponent through his power and wit.

This, for me, will always separate him from Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Maradona.