One is recognized as the legendary “Master of Arts” on the green field, and the other is the “King of the Ball” who has been praised as “the first person in history” by football stars. Coincidentally, these two football superstars belonging to different eras were both born in late June, and the date numbers differ by only one day. Today, one can even expect them to shine together on the same team. They are Zidane and Messi.
Master Luyin and the genius boy
On June 23, 1972, a new member was added to an Algerian immigrant family on the outskirts of Marseille, France, and the boy was named Zinedine Zidane. The name is Arabic, “Zinedine” means beauty, and “Zidane” means “increasing faith”. As the name suggests, Zidane used his beautiful skills to make countless people’s love for football more firm.
As a teenager, Zidane developed extraordinary skills in the street and community amateur football teams. At the age of 14, he was discovered by scouts of the French Cannes football team and joined the club’s youth team.
On June 24, 1987, the second year Zidane joined the Cannes team, Lionel Messi was born in Argentina on the other side of the ocean. The father, who later became his agent, did not expect at that time what kind of dazzling light this child would shine in world football in the future.
Off the court, the teenager Zidane is low-key, humble and respectful of others, but when he runs on the court, he often responds fiercely to provocations and never compromises, which makes him suffer a lot and suffer many suspensions.
Fortunately, the youth training in Cannes has restrained Zidane’s hot temper on the field, and he was able to be promoted to the first team and start his professional career. In July 1992, the 20-year-old Zidane moved to the Ligue 1 Bordeaux team, and his talents had the opportunity to further show. The nickname “Zizou”, which Zidane will be known to fans in the future, was originally called by Bordeaux coach Roland.
In July 1996, Zidane moved to the Serie A Juventus club, where he helped the team win various championship honors.
His first world-renowned achievement came at the 1998 World Cup in France. He scored two consecutive headers in the final to help France beat Brazil 3-0 and was the biggest contributor to France’s first World Cup title. Two years later he helped France win the European Cup. In 1998 and 2000, he won the World Footballer of the Year honors.
In order to realize his Champions League dream, in July 2001, Zidane transferred to the Real Madrid club in La Liga, and his dream was realized in the first season of joining Real Madrid. In 2003, he won the World Footballer of the Year title three times.
Zidane’s footwork is delicate and graceful, and he has a genius ball-handling ability. He has a wide field of vision, a good grasp of the situation, and his passing is skillful and precise; his shooting is equally astonishing. He is recognized by the world as a great midfielder and a master of green shade.
His Real Madrid teammate, Brazilian football superstar Ronaldo, said: “Zidane is the greatest player I have ever worked with, his vision, his handling, his rhythm are unparalleled. Although he is a midfielder, he It also has the ability to kill.”
The year before Zidane joined Real Madrid, Messi, who was 13 years old, came to Spain to join the La Masia football youth training camp of FC Barcelona. Massey was diagnosed with pituitary dwarfism at the age of 10, and growth hormone therapy costs at least $1,000 a month, which his family can’t keep paying. That year, the football genius Messi conquered the scouts of the Barcelona first team. The team kept him in the youth academy, paid him the follow-up cost of treatment for dwarfism, and arranged a local job for his father. .
Messi is not only free from disability, but also on the road to becoming a football superstar.
“Qi Xuanzong” and “Plum Ball King”
With age and declining form, Zidane retired from the French national team in 2004, after which he decided to retire completely after the summer of 2006. In 2005, the French team was in a critical situation in the World Cup qualifiers, and he returned to the national team; not only helped the French team successfully enter the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, but also led the team all the way to the finals, competing with the Italian team for the championship.
In the 7th minute of the final, he scored a fantastic spoon penalty. Dare to choose such a penalty kick, as the so-called “artisans are bold”! You must know that this is the World Cup final and the last game of his playing career! If the score is frozen, he will achieve a very happy career ending.
But reality is so dramatic. Later, the Italian team equalized the score and the two teams entered overtime. In the 110th minute, the Italian defender Materazzi rambled and made rude words beside him, and the demon who never compromised on the court as a child attacked him again. He was furious, and turned Matera on top of it. The referee immediately showed a red card and sent him off after learning about the situation.
In the penalty shootout that followed, the French team lost to the Italian team because the player missed a penalty. If Zidane was still on the field, it probably wouldn’t have ended like this. When he was sent off, the back view of passing the Hercules Cup has become an eternal classic scene in the history of the World Cup.
Zidane’s playing career is over, and Messi is about to shine in football. In February 2004, Messi signed his first professional contract with Barcelona; on May 1, 2005, he scored the first goal of his professional career.
In the following years, Messi played a total of 778 official games for the Barcelona first team, scoring 672 goals and sending 305 assists. He won 4 Champions League titles and 10 La Liga titles with the team. With the Argentine national team, he won the 2008 Beijing Olympic champion and the 2021 Copa America champion. In terms of personal honors, the 7 Ballon d’Or and 6 world footballer’s honors are unprecedented.
The industry superstars have countless praises for Messi, and he is also considered to be the third world champion after Pele and Maradona. Maradona once commented: “Messi will become the first man in history when he retires.”
Zidane has not left football after retiring. In 2013, he returned to Madrid, started as an assistant coach, and became Real Madrid head coach in January 2016. Just over 4 months later, he led the team to win the Champions League, and led the team to defend the title twice in the following two years, creating an unprecedented three-peat of the Champions League. People were amazed at the miracle he created and thought it was too unbelievable, so they called it “metaphysics” and named him “Qi Xuanzong”. In fact, on-the-spot command and control of the locker room are his secrets.
Messi himself and all the fans once thought that he would write the romantic story of “one person, one team, and Barcelona”, but the reality is always skinny. On August 8, 2021, Messi held a farewell press conference at Camp Nou, ending his 21-year Barcelona career.
Where has Messi gone? It is Zidane’s native France. The Paris Saint-Germain team, which has superstars such as Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe, is now rumored to invite Zidane to be the head coach. Real Madrid and Barcelona are the duo of La Liga. Zidane and Messi once dominated Spanish football as opponents. Now, can they meet Paris in a master-apprentice relationship and create a good story?
History This Week People
On June 22, 1527, the Italian historian Machiavelli died. Pearl Buck was born
on June 26, 1892 .
On June 21, 1905, French philosopher, playwright and critic Jean-Paul Sartre was born.
On June 20, 1946, the last empress of the Qing Dynasty in China, Guo Buluo Wanrong, died.
On June 25, 2009, King of Pop Michael Jackson passed away.
