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Zidane anxious to return to pitch
French star missed last two matches because of red card
Posted: Tuesday June 30, 1998 01:31 PM
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Zidane will return to his spot in the center of the French midfield (AP) |
CLAIREFONTAINE, France (AP) --
It's payback time for Zinedine Zidane. After kicking an opponent to
earn a two-match suspension, the star playmaker said he was confident his
teammates would make sure he would be able to play more World Cup games.
They have, and for Friday's quarterfinal against Italy, Zidane has
the pressure of a whole nation on to finally start producing the goods that
will earn the World Cup. "Now it's all up to me," said Zidane.
Without "Zizou," as he is known, France struggled long and hard to crack
the Paraguayan
defense in a golden-goal, 1-0 win in Sunday's second round. He was the most
nervous player on the bench and the happiest of all afterwards. Now,
coach Aime Jacquet can go back to his original tactical plan centered on
Zidane. He always said Zidane was the genius France could not do without if
Les Bleus wanted to lift the World Cup. He can deliver the decisive
pass with such apparent ease, and when necessary, he has come through with
the decisive goal too. "His influence is so important. We expect a
lot from him and he can make the difference," said Didier Deschamps, the
French captain who had given Zidane more than an earful after his expulsion
against Saudi
Arabia in the second game. He was suspended by FIFA for two
games for deliberately planting his studs in the side of an opponent. At
that time France was already 2-0 up on the way to a 4-0 win. Youri
Djorkaeff has tried to take over as the offensive mastermind and even thugh
he has not failed, he hardly replaced Zidane. Too often the center of
midfield left an empty hole. Italy knows the danger that is coming.
"He's one of the strongest world players. We must try to limit his
imagination," said Italy's veteran defender Alessandro Costacurta.
And Zidane will be more than eager and more than rested. "On the bench,
it was impossible to hold him down," said Jacquet.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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