Why is it that we must often see our greatest heroes fall? The most divine talent is so often accompanied by a tragedic ending... and so someone like Sir Don Bradman, who just needs 4 runs in the last match of his life to have an aggregate of 100, scores a duck and walks home... his dignity and pride intact, not a feather taken away from his cap, but yet... there is that elusive feeling of pain... of why things couldn't be as they ought to have been...
In a slightly different context, we felt the same pain when Klusner brought South Africa this close to the cricket world cup final in 98-99 but threw it away for just one run. Or in the famous Chennai test with Pakistan, when Sachin got us within 15 runs of the target, only to watch the match being lost in despair...
And today we feel the same pain again. Of the unexpectedly abrupt departure of Zinedine Zidane...With the only difference being that unlike the others, Zidane could have avoided what happened. What happened to you, Zizou? Till then I was marvelling at the guts of this man, the way he had played... The way he scored that penalty in the 7th minute was unbelievable... who takes such a risk in the World Cup finals, with a billion people watching, and in what will be remembered as his last game forever? The way he went for the gentle scoop in that penalty just shows the kind of confidence he has in his own abilities...
So then, what happened? Zizou gets angry over something and one moment of lapse leads to, arguably, a change in the fortunes of two nations. I am not saying that Italy would not have won otherwise, but Zidane just made it easier for them. And I am sure the whole of France wants to ask him one burning question... why, Zizou, why?
In a slightly different context, we felt the same pain when Klusner brought South Africa this close to the cricket world cup final in 98-99 but threw it away for just one run. Or in the famous Chennai test with Pakistan, when Sachin got us within 15 runs of the target, only to watch the match being lost in despair...
And today we feel the same pain again. Of the unexpectedly abrupt departure of Zinedine Zidane...With the only difference being that unlike the others, Zidane could have avoided what happened. What happened to you, Zizou? Till then I was marvelling at the guts of this man, the way he had played... The way he scored that penalty in the 7th minute was unbelievable... who takes such a risk in the World Cup finals, with a billion people watching, and in what will be remembered as his last game forever? The way he went for the gentle scoop in that penalty just shows the kind of confidence he has in his own abilities...
So then, what happened? Zizou gets angry over something and one moment of lapse leads to, arguably, a change in the fortunes of two nations. I am not saying that Italy would not have won otherwise, but Zidane just made it easier for them. And I am sure the whole of France wants to ask him one burning question... why, Zizou, why?
