"Zidane has won that award because of what he has done on the pitch - he was the best … I have always admired Zidane … In fact I have one of his shirts in my closet - we exchanged our shirts after a Juventus v Perugia game."

“If Zizou kept his temper, he would not be the genius that he is”

“I really enjoy watching Zinedine Zidane. His elegance of movement on the pitch and his skills are uncanny. Apart from being an impressive player, he is also very humble and very likeable as a person. A great man.”

“I think it was really a difficult situation for him. His career was ending in 10 minutes and I think trying to come to terms with that and at the same time win a World Cup was . . . it would be just so difficult emotionally and he was probably on the edge without being provoked and then to be provoked probably was just too much for him. I can completely understand how difficult that would be. I think he probably faced some shame, embarrassment, disappointment; but I also think he feels like the guy made some awful remarks and his action was warranted. I don't think he wants the kids to see that, but I also don't think he regrets it. It's tough -- he's one of the top three players to play the game. He's already won the European Cup, the World Cup and I think everyone, his teammates included, idolize him in his country, so I think he'll be quickly forgiven.”

“Zidane was from another planet. When Zidane stepped onto the pitch, the 10 other guys just got suddenly better. It is that simple.”

“What he could do with a football is a dream for most of us.”

“Zidane is probably the best player there has been in the past 20 years … France have recovered the best Zidane and they have progressively grown throughout this tournament.”