"This Ballon d'Or, I dreamed of it..."

Original article from France Football, published in 1998.

"Zinedine Zidane, you are therefore the forty-third winner of the France Football Ballon d’Or...

(His eyes light up.) What a strange impression! To tell oneself that one is the best player in the world... It warms my heart; you cannot imagine. Words fail me... I am closing a dream year in 1998 with the most beautiful of rewards.

An individual reward.

Individual, yes, but one that would not be awarded to me if Juventus Turin and the French national team had not allowed me to express myself within a collective framework. I play in two very high-quality groups; I don't forget that.

Has winning the Ballon d’Or been a recent objective for you?

Since my arrival in Italy, I’ve had it in the back of my mind. By signing for Juventus, I had one desire: to build a trophy cabinet. It was a real preoccupation because people always remember those who won.

In a way, you are carrying on a tradition, since after Omar Sivori, Paolo Rossi, Michel Platini, and Roberto Baggio, you are the fifth Juventus player consecrated by our honors list.

(He continues his analysis.) "I knew that by leaving Bordeaux for Turin, I would benefit from an extraordinary springboard. In fact, I told myself: 'You need an important transfer to an important club.'"

"Number 1 is Ronaldo"

That’s a well-thought-out career plan!

I felt that the Italian Championship would allow me to progress, with that obligation to fight every week, until the last minute, to win matches. In the background, I was thinking about the World Cup. It was the best way to prepare for it. I didn't want to repeat the same mistakes that left me very bitter after Euro 96.

Let’s go back to the Ballon d’Or.

(Enthusiastic.) What I look at first is the list of fifty nominees you publish in November. When I discovered my name in 1996 for the first time, I was blown away. I must have finished in 28th or 30th place. That wasn't so bad. (Editor’s note: Zinedine was indeed tied for 28th with Ronald de Boer, Luis Figo, Brian Laudrup, and Sergi, with one point.) The following year, I was surprised by my third-place finish. It delighted me, but it surprised me. I looked at all the votes to see who had placed me in the top three.

And?

Nothing special, just to see. In any case, there was no room for discussion: Ronaldo deserved his Ballon d’Or.

And this year?

I’m not dreaming: Number 1 is him! Right now, he is going through a difficult period; his knee is causing him trouble. But without those worries, he is the best.

What was your state of mind at the start of 1998? Were you saying: 'Ronaldo, I’m going to go get him'?

No, no, I didn't have that in mind.

Even during the World Cup?

There, it’s different. But I didn't focus on Ronaldo. I wanted to 'take on' all of Brazil, the whole team, but always within a collective framework. My own personal success, if it was ever to exist, had to come through the success of the French team.

When did you know, or understand, that you would be the Ballon d’Or?

(Directly.) When you told me!

Not before?

People kept telling me: 'You are world champion, you scored two goals in the final, you’re going to get it.' That’s all well and good as reasoning, but when I saw the competition, there was nothing obvious about it.

Especially since it was indeed Ronaldo who was elected best player of the World Cup by a panel of journalists.

He remains, for me, the most decisive player of the moment, capable of winning a match on his own. Even if his final wasn't very good, he remains an exceptional player. But well, I took advantage of the situation in a way...

Imagine the opposite.

I’m not obsessed. If I hadn't had the Ballon d’Or this year, I would have thought about next year's. I am patient.

You just spoke of Ronaldo in glowing terms. Was there another player you particularly feared for the first-place spot?

(Without hesitation.) Batistuta. For me, no doubt, Batistuta. On the sole criterion of individual performance, he deserved it. After that, the trophy list comes into play...

Which carries significant weight in the choice of the winner.

In Italy, believe me, he impresses everyone with his goals, his consistency. In Florence, when there was talk of him leaving the club, there was a riot in the city. That tells you everything.

"Without Thuram, I am not the Ballon d'Or"

Ronaldo, Batistuta... Who else?

Suker, little Owen (He thinks).

Denilson?

Denilson? He’s a very good one, but we have to wait. I notice, nonetheless, that it is vital to play for a big club that is used to winning to hope to feature in the Ballon d’Or rankings. In choosing Juventus, I didn't say to myself: 'Maybe you’ll succeed there.' No: I was looking for difficulty to raise the level of my performances.

You haven't mentioned any French players. If you had to put forward two or three, who would they be?

(Embarrassed.) We all had a great World Cup; it’s hard to pick out one or another.

Come on: no one will hold it against you...

Fine, let’s go with four players.

In order?

No, no. (He starts.) Deschamps! He is the most decorated among us; he’s been at Juventus for five years; he... (He stops.) Didier is the whole package. There is what he does on the pitch and what he does off it. He is the most important player in the France group. Okay, Deschamps! I’m also thinking of Thuram. In Italy, he is considered a monster... I’m well-placed to appreciate the consistency of his performances in the Calcio. As for his World Cup, how can one not remember his two goals in the semi-final against Croatia, at a time when the French team was in difficulty? I know that without him, I don't score my two goals in the final; without him, I am not the Ballon d’Or. The third is Laurent Blanc. What fascinates me about him is his technical ease. He never seems troubled, even when he finds himself in a seemingly embarrassing situation. (At this moment, Zinedine recounts with delight the goal Laurent Blanc scored in the French League on Auxerre's pitch recently, a goal he saw on live TV since he never misses an Olympique de Marseille match on Kiosque.) The other day, I believe it was against Monaco in European Cup, he even did a nutmeg on an attacker in his own penalty area. No one does that, no one can, except him.

It’s not necessarily recommended, either!

I like people like him: quiet, not a show-off, simple. He involves himself a lot in the life of the group, talks all the time, even on the pitch, always with the right words. He also holds an essential place in the French team. In fact, with him in the back and Didier in the middle, we have our two most important players.

And your fourth Frenchman?

Emmanuel Petit. This year, he exploded. But everything I’ve just said takes absolutely nothing away from the others. Let that be very clear.

How did the young Zidane 'experience' the previous French Ballon d’Or winners?

I have a rather vague memory of Michel Platini’s. You must excuse me: for his first, in 1983, I was barely over eleven years old. I was still in Marseille; I remember a TV show... For his third, in 1985, I was in Cannes and the images are already more present in my mind.

And what about Jean-Pierre Papin’s Ballon d'Or?

That one is very clear in my mind. In 1991, I was about to turn nineteen. It was the era when he was scoring goal after goal for O.M. [Olympique de Marseille]. Jean-Pierre is all about hard work. He would stay an extra hour in front of the goal at the end of every practice just to "smash" balls. I admire that. When you see how far he got, you tell yourself that hard work always pays off in the end.

Who influenced you the most?

My brother, Nordine. He is the one who taught me everything. He was my role model. As a kid, my only desire was to be like him. I would watch him play and try to replicate his moves. It was pure mimicry. I think he was even more gifted than I was, but he didn't have my luck.

In fact, isn't this 1998 Ballon d'Or the reward for your own hard work?

Thirteen years. I’ve been working for thirteen years to get to this point. Since my first day at the youth academy in Cannes. I’ve always had this drive to succeed, to never give up.

The year 1998 began for you with a symbolic event: the inauguration of the Stade de France against Spain...

That was a benchmark match. We won 1-0, I scored the goal... That night, we felt something happening with the crowd. It reassured us for what was to come.

In the year's overall results, winning the Scudetto also carries significant weight.

That one is even more special because it's the second league title in a row. At the time, I said to myself: "This is beautiful!" Plus, we secured it on the penultimate matchday, on our home pitch, following an exceptional match against Bologna. We won 3-2, thanks to three goals from Inzaghi, after quite a few turnarounds.

The atmosphere surrounding your victory is far from serene, however. There is a lot of talk about the refereeing, which supposedly often swings in your favor.

We didn't steal this second title! It was harder to win sportingly, but also harder psychologically, because people were constantly trying to find fault with us.

"When I play for myself, I am not as good"

"And did they find it?"

Listen: we proved we were the best. We scored 67 goals—the best attack in the league.

And how many for your own personal tally?

Six. Six, just like the previous season.

That’s not an extraordinary number.

(A small smirk.) For me, it’s never enough. But my game is always turned toward others. That’s just the way it is...

Is playing for others and scoring incompatible?

I don't want to change my game. When I attempt an action for myself personally, I am not as good. When I am not natural, I am not as strong. That said, I admit I should shoot at the goal more instead of systematically looking for the pass. I sometimes trap myself in somewhat pointless dribbling.

A week after the end of the Italian season, you found yourself in the Champions League final, which represented another important appointment before the World Cup. How did you feel about the event?

Badly, obviously. The great Real against the great Juve: at the start, the match-up was prestigious.

And at the end?

In the end, it was one of my greatest disappointments. Real Madrid deserved their victory; there’s no need to go back over that.

Talking about the World Cup: the quarter-final against Italy was the most important appointment on an emotional level...

Emotion, emotion... Before and during the match, nothing at all. The state of mind wasn't that: the only objective was to win.

At the end of the match, Christian Vieri was crying. I tried to console him. I was embarrassed. But I said to him: 'It doesn't matter, you are still a great one.' But I didn't linger.

When the final arrived, what was your mindset?

(Directly.) The match that was impossible to fail.

You still hadn't scored a single goal...

I remember Laurent Blanc taking me aside to say something like: 'Well there you go, it’s up to you, score at least one goal; it’s now that we are going to see if you are a great player...'

Around you, the discussions always touched on the same theme.

Coming back to my room after the tactical briefing in the afternoon, Aimé Jacquet told me two or three things about that.

Of what kind?

On set pieces, the Brazilians don't mark. At the near post, there is no one. It was as if he had seen the final before it took place. Tell us what you felt during your two goals. On the first, it was a very strong inner joy, never experienced before. It’s quite simple: I had shivers everywhere! On the second, instinctively, I kissed the jersey. It was a natural gesture...

"We cried, Véronique, Enzo and I"

At 2-0 at halftime, thanks to you, did you think the match was over?

Never in a million years. In the locker room, for us, it was 0-0. We all said to each other: 'Stay focused!'

For the first time since the start of the World Cup, your little Enzo was in the stands...

Yes, he followed the first half well. After that, he fell asleep.

Was his presence important to you?

He couldn't not be there on the day of the final. And it’s much more than a lucky charm. We cried, Véronique, Enzo, and I. I don't usually cry. But there, the shock was too strong."