By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist
An exceptional midfielder, Patrick Vieira obviously faced Zinédine Zidane at club level, but he also and above all worked alongside him for almost 10 years within the France team. A period of time largely sufficient for the ex-Arsenal player to have a clear and clear opinion on “Zizou”, even revealing a surprising habit of number 10 during Blues gatherings…
Despite his legendary record, Zinédine Zidane has always cultivated an element of mystery around him. Naturally taciturn, like the rugby player Antoine Dupont in whom he sees himself, the kid from Castellane has always preferred to let others speak for him rather than put himself at the front of the stage. And in this matter, he can trust Patrick Vieira.
Patrick Vieira fully praises Zinédine Zidane
Zidane's teammate in the French team between 1997 and 2006, the native of Dakar won a World Cup and a Euro alongside him, even coming close to a second global coronation during the famous final against Italy, punctuated by the header on Marco Materazzi. This decade had a profound impact on Vieira who, in an interview with “ITV Sport”, paid a vibrant tribute to his former partner:
France had a golden generation in 1998, but Zidane was a special blessing. Like all players, I wanted to work hard for him. It's a winner. But it was the fact that he was so humble, so simple, so kind to everyone around him that made others want to sacrifice themselves for him.
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Then, very interestingly, the former pillar of the French midfield revealed Zidane's ritual in the group life of the Blues:
At our base camp in Clairefontaine he had a certain habit. After dinner he always stayed behind and sat at the bar with a coffee, available to talk with any player. He's not a talkative guy but he always talked with everyone, small talk, shows of respect.
Skilled in human relations despite his shyness, the legendary number 10 of the Blues was as respected by his peers for what he did on the field as off it. Vieira thus ended his tribute with words as strong as they were touching, which will not fail to warm the heart of the main person concerned:
If you give to people, people give it back to you. He understood that well and, to be honest, we could have died for him… Humility is the reason why Zidane is so great. I've found that in general, truly great players don't have a problem with their egos. It's always the small players who have big egos.
If he didn't just have friends within the French team, and we think in particular of Emmanuel Petit who never hid it, Zinédine Zidane was unanimously respected both for his talent and for his ability to blend skillfully into a group. This improbable humility honors “ZZ”, who received the strong and well-deserved tribute from Patrick Vieira.
