Before the headers at the World Cup final, the volley at Glasgow, there was Milan in ’96, when Zinedine Zidane first gave the world a peek into his genius.
Mystics teach union with the Divine cannot take place without purgation. The ecstatic is only possible after desolation. Zinedine Zidane and Girondins de Bordeaux were in the middle of just such an emptying in the spring of 1996.
AC Milan were 1-0 up and cruising at home against them in the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals. A long ball was launched up to Zidane, the French side’s talisman. The Milanese backline, however, was not about to let him receive the ball, and Alessandro Costacurta blasted it into stands. The ball did not come back. It was party time at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, and some ragazzo was playing the fool, hiding the ball. Play finally resumed, and the visitors tried to get their best man on the ball again from the throw in. This time it was Paolo Maldini smashing it clear along with bits and pieces of the French playmaker who stayed down following the challenge, rubbing his leg. It was at this precise moment – lying on the cold, wet San Siro pitch, hearing the laughs and jeers of the milanisti, down a goal to one of the greatest teams of the era – his confidence left him.
Bordeaux had actually started well. Zidane’s first touch of the match was a beautiful turn in midfield to create space for a magnificent inch-perfect pass between Maldini and Franco Baresi for his teammate to fire in the first shot of the tie. At 24, Zizou’s bald patch was already pronounced, more so because of the wet conditions in Milan. Not even the famous Milanese fog could obscure it. He was also instantly recognizable by his distinctive gait; his upright running style resembled a sprinter who has already passed the finish line, trying to regain his balance by leaning backwards.