Comments on: A knight to remember

By: Wolfram

Wolfram — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:49:29 +0000

Yes Jan, it’s Frank Ribery. Unfortunately Munich is not playing the next Champions League . But nevertheless, perhaps you will see him one day playing with the French national team.

Cheers
Wolfram

By: Payal

Payal — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:44:51 +0000

Would that be Frank Ribery? We don’t get much German footy, which is sad because I think the football on the continent is far more skilled than the race-around-madly English game. Only get to see those German clubs that make it to the Champions League.

By: Wolfram

Wolfram — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:08:03 +0000

Hey Jan, just read your article about Zidane. For me he was and always will be one of the greatest football players the world have ever seen – a magician! He is in one row with Pele, Beckenbauer, Platini, Maradonna and many other great players.

Now there’s a young guy playing with Bayern Munich – Ribery! Keep an eye on him, very talented and perhaps the successor of Zizou.

By: Nimish

Nimish — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 14:04:45 +0000

‘Thank you for the music’ is so apt. For, to paraphrase a Scotland manager, “If we play football, he plays something else.” What is also striking is the manner in which Zidane has handled matters – he apologised to the spectators and his team (but not to Matarazzi). Contrast this with Maradona who went about proudly admitting that he had handled the ball while scoring against England in 1986 and to stop a Russian header going into the Argentinian goal four years later. Had he butted Matarazzi, I am sure he would have called it “Head of God”!!

Zidane’s action has also drawn attention to the dangers of verbal abuse on the pitch. There is currently a “it happens, one has to live with it” attitude about it – some people even consider it good and ‘competitive’. But the fact is that it is often this verbal ‘aggression’ on the field that results in some extremely unsavoury incidents. What’s more, most youngsters tend to copy this behaviour – if their idols can spout abuse, why shouldn’t they? And all this, of course, spills into abusive and racist chants in stadia. Verbal abuse is a criminal offense in most countries, but seemingly not on the football pitch.

And perhaps it is this greater awareness about the need to curb abuse on the pitch that is Zidane’s final contribution to the game. Would there have been so much of a furore over what Materazzi said had any other player been involved – say Vieira or Henry? That tells you something about the man and what he meant for the game.

Ride peacefully into the sun, Zizou. And if death ever dares darken your door, elude it with a step over!

By: Alpana

Alpana — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:36:22 +0000

WHy did you name the bad guy after him? I saw that match and I could not believe that he head-butted Materazzi. I still think that that was inexcusable–the occasion was bigger than him and he just had to hold on for 10 more minutes. Sad too actually. Even Gods have feet of clay.

By: Kat

Kat — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 02:18:22 +0000

It’s hard not to appreciate the skills! Hopefully people won’t be petty enough to hold what happened against him. They would deserve a severe finger wagging if they did! *gets ready to wag her finger*

By: Payal

Payal — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 21:01:18 +0000

Thanks! I always had a soft spot for Zidane, what skill he had! If you notice, I named a major character in my book after him!

By: Kat

Kat — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 10:54:10 +0000

So sad. What a nice entry!