By Milo

When he saw that France had trouble qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he dusted off his spikes, and came out international retirement. His return inspired other retired French teammates, Claude Makélélé and Lilian Thuram to come back as well. France qualified when the trio returned to the Les Bleus, and now, they are in the finals once more.

With a story worthy of a “Comeback Player of the Year” award, as well as what he has accomplished this year in the World Cup, Zinedine Zidane should be awarded the much coveted “Golden Ball”, the award given for the best player in the tournament.

Lovingly called Zizou by all his fans, Zidane led the aging Les Bleus to the finals once again. Though France sputtered at the start of the tournament, he managed to shake off the “field rust”, age, and remnants of his injuries in time.

In the round of sixteen, his vital assist and goal crushed Spain’s hopes with a score of 3-1. Coupled with his trademark spin named the “Roulette”, a swift assist to his teammate Thierry Henry led to the goal that brought the favored-to-win-it-all Brazil down to their knees, 1-0, in the next round. Zidane was also named the Man of the Match in that game. Not stopping there, Zidane scored the penalty kick against Portugal in the semi-finals to win a trip to the finals against Italy. With these tremendous performances in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he looked like the young athlete that led France to the championship back eight years ago rather than an a shell of a superstar seen in returning aged athletes (like Michael Jordan when he played for the Washington Wizards, or Mike Tyson and his numerous losses when he returned to the ring).

Even if he was slower and less athletic compared to his prime, his skills were still well-respected this time around that he gave the much needed confidence to the Les Bleus. His reputation drew in “double-teams” much like Lebron James and Dirk Nowitzki in the National Basketball Association. In the round of eight, Brazil seemed to watch in awe as he performed his fancy footwork, and before they knew it, Zidane found an open Henry for the game-winning goal.

He also has managed to play it clean, and temper his temper in the tournament. Known to show bursts of anger back then like the time stomped on a Saudi player without reason, Zidane only collected one yellow card this year when he ran into a player late.

Many football players have done wonders for their teams this year, but none as much as Zidane for France. Pass Zizou the Golden Ball, more so if the Les Bleus win this year’s 2006 FIFA World Cup. This award will be a fitting end to his final game on July 10, and the perfect present for the athlete widely regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation.