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Zidane quits French team
France's inspirational playmaker and captain Zinedine Zidane yesterday announced his retirement from the national team after an illustrious career in which he won 93 caps and a World Cup winner's medal. "I think that at a given moment you must say 'stop'," Zidane said in a statement on his website www.zidane.fr. "I have thought long and hard over this decision," he said. "It's the end of my international career with the French team. "It's the time, it's my time. It's the end of a cycle: there have been some great players who retired in 2000 and 2002, other players are doing it and now I'm doing it. It's like that. You have to stop one day," said the Real Madrid player. Zidane said the decision was not taken in light of France's disappointing display in the Euro 2004. "I thought about it before Euro (2004). Independent of the result, I had anticipated quitting the French team. It is of course much easier to do that when you're losing than when you're winning," he said. The highlight of the former Juventus and Bordeaux player's career was his starring role in the 3-0 victory over Brazil in the final of the 1998 World Cup tournament which France hosted. Experienced French players Lilian Thuram, Bixente Lizarazu and Marcel Desailly have already recently announced their retirement. Zidane made his debut for France as a replacement in the 2-2 friendly with the Czech Republic in 1994, and went on to score 26 goals during his 93 appearances, including two during the 1998 World Cup final. He captained the team 11 times. Zidane stands sixth in the list of France's most capped players behind Desailly, Didier Deschamps, Thuram, Laurent Blanc and Lizarazu. |
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