Very true, I wonder how much a fully fit Zidane would have changed that France team. Just look at how much he improved the 2006 team when he returned.

He still put on a show against Denmark in 2002 although he was not fully recovered from his injury. Although they lost 2-0 he was named man of the match (if my memory is not gaslighting me again!) which is uncommon to be chosen from the team that lost a testimony to how good he played!

Correct. And this was when a group of experts decided these awards, not the fan vote we have since 2010 WC and later. And the thing with Zidane he wasn't just creating chances, he was controlling the tempo of the game and even helping the teams organization. Just his presence, alway having someone to pass to, give the ball in a tough situation, someone who knew when to play one touch, when to slow it down. Can't complain though, one WC and one Euro win is more than most players ever achieve...And had they gone past the group stage they would have played Brazil in the QF or SF. But World Cup 2002 was pretty open on the other side, at least after South Korea knocked out Spain and Italy. Who knows, if France and Germany swapped groups, maybe France would have made it to the final. In that scenario they would have played Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Cameroon, Paraguay, USA and South Korea. The luck of the draw can be very important. I'm going on here, but thinking about different scenarios...what if France got the goal the referee failed to see vs Switzerland in 2006. Then they win the group and play Italy in the quarter-finals...Not that it would have been easier, they would face Germany in the semi-finals and Portugal/Brazil in a possible final. So many little things decide the fate of these tournaments.

I'd still take Zidane 2006 WC level, no the full season just the WC, over pretty much any midfielder. Depending on how much you'd blame him for the card in the final, that was an amazing knock-out stage by Zizou. The Brazil game gets the attention, but the Spain game, and to a slightly lesser extent the Portugal game was brilliant too. Brazil 98, Spain 06 and Brazil 06 are probably my favorite WC performances by a midfielder, in the modern era. Not necessarily the best of all time, but taking into account the quality of the other teams, the fact it was knock-out games, and his unique style just aesthetically those three are my favorites by midfielders in WC. Think the likes of Iniesta and Xavi benefited from playing with each other and so many club teammates, that it's hard to pick out one single performance from 2010 that is Zizou-esque, it's more their consistent quality that impresses, and their best performance for NT came elsewhere, the Euros. I know Pirlo got 3 MOTM awards in 06, including the SF and Final, but I can't say I remember his performance very clearly, maybe he'd be worth a rewatch. In recent years, I know I've said Modric WC is a bit overrated, but his group game vs Argentina is probably the best midfielder performance last few WCs. Wouldn't consider Messi a midfielder, at least not in a direct comparion to the likes Zidane or Xavi, except for maybe 2022, where he was dropping very deep. Still can't say with any confidence that any of Messi's top 300 performances have been at a World Cup, feels like I'm alone in this, but there was an evident gap between his club play and WC play. Mostly because his club play was so ridiculously good, but still. Think the 2022WC win is blown out of proportions, media and hype and all. I'll stick my neck out and say they were the luckiest WC winners in many, many years. Only WC winner to be involved in two penalty shoot-outs, incidentally the same as the last Euro winner Italy, and Australia in the R16 has to be among the weakest knock-out teams this century. Maybe some of James games in 2014 is up there, though he didn't play much against World Class teams. Best alternative might be one of Schweinsteiger performances, I seem to remember him being absolutely everywhere in some of the 2010 games, maybe it was the Argentina game or vs England?

100% true. Top top top top take. People keep talking about 2006 when we think about Zidane but he’s nowhere near the 01-03 era.

I will send you 😊

@@ZidaneVideo310 wait