Zinedine Zidane is clearly the greatest footballer the Arab World has ever produced, but the next chapter of his life seems a little different
In March this year, in an office overlooking a new construction site, Madrid real estate developer Florentino Perez meets Zinedine Zidane. The pair look out over what was Real Madrid’s former training ground, where the self-styled Galacticos once prepared for league titles and Champions Leagues. Now, though, four towers emerge from the earth. Their names: Ronaldo, Figo, Beckham and, naturally, Zidane. It’s still two months before Perez’s election as president of Real, but he is laying solid foundations for a second stint in charge. He says to Zidane, the man whose sumptuous volley brought home the 2002 European Cup during his first incumbency: “You come back to Real to do whatever you want, it is you who chooses the role...” A shake of the hand confirms that the man who cost Real $70 million when he was lured from Juventus in 2001 would be, election permitting, back at the Bernabeu.
Perez, of course, won the election. Zidane took up his role as “president’s counsellor”, whatever that means, and summarily disappeared from view. He failed to make any official appearances, not for the unveiling of fellow French-Algerian Karim Benzema, nor for the Champions League draw in Monaco at the tail-end of August. He stayed away even as the season started, arousing doubts about whether his role at the club was genuine. “In 2006, Zidane left Real as a deity,” said Tomas Roncero, editor of the Real Madrid column in the daily AS paper. “His return among us was quite a shock to everyone. But we couldn’t see it or feel it somehow, it was very mysterious. We just thought it was another electoral promise from Perez.”
“Zidane, a personal counsellor?” asks Elias Israel, former boss of Marca newspaper, somewhat rhetorically. “But Perez doesn’t listen to anyone! For me it’s like a marriage of interests. Perez wants to have the image of Real at the top by surrounding it with the best players. But I doubt Zidane will have any real influence… we haven’t seen him in summer because he has to honour all the contracts with his sponsors. Do you think he’ll abandon all of that for the sake of being with Real? I don’t think so.”
Rumours have, though, surrounded his involvement in the recruitment of Benzema, and the proposed arrival of Franck Ribery either in January or next summer. Roncero is convinced his main role is to ensure the Munich player’s recruitment once he proves his fitness. “Zidane’s opinion is important to Perez,” he says. “He stays calm and neutral, with an expert eye on the game.” Of course, if he is involved in counselling Perez on his transfer policy, it’s paid some dividends already. The new president spent $225 million this summer on Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, Kaka from AC Milan, Xabi Alonso from Liverpool and the aforementioned Benzema from Lyon.
“It’s true sometimes,” he confesses, “that I seem to have this cool look, a bit distant. I promise it’s more due to timidity or my slight reserve. But at the same time, I feel being like this protects me sometimes, but it is never about being pretentious or arrogant. After all, the adulation or attention from the people is not something that is easy to live with if you are not really attracted to the spotlight. It has never come easily to me.”
The emotions stay hidden to such an extent that it’s impossible to tell whether he mourns the end of his career, or whether he accepts his fate with the same alacrity as he seemed to accept winning World Player of the Year twice or scoring twice to defeat Brazil in the final of the 1998 World Cup. He admits he values freedom above everything, that he places considerably more importance on his work with the disabled charity the European Leukodystrophies Association than sponsors appearances. And that he still likes to get up early. “Everyday is a new beginning,” he says. “There is no end.”
“I am aware of what I was,” summarises Zidane, climbing out of his chair, and offering a glimpse of how he might inspire a new generation of Madrid legends. “But I am always looking for more. If you are hired in an enterprise and no one gives you a hand, or encourages you by saying ‘I see in you all the qualities and values of this enterprise’, you won’t develop. And I see my career as a success, for sure, and it was mainly down to that encouragement. When I look from where I began, each day is a joyful one.”
For a full version of this article, see NOX40.
