On the Road ... Tour de France

I feel like the guy who discovered "The Chappelle Show" during the final season.

In a way, I feel almost cheated to barely be discovering the genius of Zinedine Zidane, France's playmaking midfielder.

It seems almost ridiculous that I really didn't know much about this guy prior to this World Cup, being that he was one of the best players in the game and had already led his team to a World Cup title in 1998.

But it's true, and worse, I really didn't fall in love until France's Round of 16 match with Spain. That was the first time that I watched him play an entire game and was absolutely smitten with his skill. The fact that he seems to move so effortlessly, always seems to put just the right amount of touch on every pass and places each shot so perfectly is absolutely awe-inspiring.

I really do feel cheated that I am watching his last games -- as he plans to retire not just from national games, but from club games after Sunday's championship game.

On the Spanish-language broadcast, they were only half-jokingly saying that he had considered coming back. Somehow, I doubt that.

Although he's just 34, his body is probably much older than that. As is the case with many top players in his situation, the game can sometimes go almost two years without a protracted break. He goes from club soccer with Real Madrid straight into Champions League play, then might join the national team for Euro Cup or some qualifying tournament and then goes back to the club and then into World Cup qualifying. It's a seemingly never-ending cycle that surely takes its toll.

So I'm not saying that he should put off retirement, only kicking myself for not paying better attention up till now.

posted by FreeSanJose at 11:48 AM

On the Road ... Tour de France

Missing out

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