France star Zinedine Zidane has admitted he is "not proud" of the headbutt which saw his career come to a premature end.
The France international, who won the World Cup with his country in 1998, also helped Les Bleus reach the final in Germany eight years later. Going into the game, he knew it would be his last as a pro, and he opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
However, the evening it ended early for Zidane when he was shown a red card by referee Horacio Elizondo. And now, reflecting on the incident which saw him given his marching orders, the 49-year-old has shown some regret.
“I’m not at all proud of what I did but it’s part of it’s part of my past,” the former Real Madrid manager told Telefoot (via Football Italia ). Zidane was speaking to the broadcaster as part of a special show to mark his upcoming 50th birthday, and he also discussed the Panenka penalty which gave France the lead in the final.
“I had a second or two to think about how to take it," he said. "I had in front of me a goalkeeper who knows me really well so I had to think of something.
“In that effort, there was certainly technique, I don’t think there was madness. You can miss a penalty but in that moment it is what I had to do.”
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ZIdane ended his career with 108 France caps, scoring 31 times. As well as his World Cup triumph on home soil in 1998, he won the European Championships with Les Bleus and the 2001-02 Champions League as a player with Real Madrid.
Since moving into management, he won several more European titles with the Spanish giants. After stepping away from Real Madrid for a second time in 2021, he has been linked with the vacant Paris Saint-Germain job, but the Ligue 1 champions now look set to look elsewhere.
According to recent reports, PSG are now looking to bring in Christophe Galtier as a successor to Mauricio Pochettino. The Frenchman was in the Lille dugout when they won Ligue 1 in 2021, and had Nice in the Champions League spots for part of last season before they ultimately fell away and finished fifth.
Zidane is still keen to return to management, but his next destination remains unclear. "I want to continue with that career because I still have the desire – it is my passion. I am 50 years old, fulfilled, I'm happy, that's the most important thing," he admitted.
