Football Great Zidane Praises France's Friendly Win Over Italy

On Thursday, former France football captain Zinedine Zidane praised his country's friendly success in Italy.

Published

6 months ago

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Sports

People

Zinedine Zidane

Places

France, Italy

Transcript

SHOTLIST MARSEILLE, France, 15 Nov 2012 SOURCE: AFPTV SOUNDBITE 1, Zinedine Zidane, Former France football captain (French, 25 sec): " They won in Italy, which was a hard match after Spain. They've confirmed that they're on the right track. It's a team that's settling into place and it was a great win -- not easy to win in Italy, I know that because I've tried it plenty of times, so it's good we've won." - Shot of Zidane arriving - Shot of fans cheering - GVs Zidane with crowds -------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY Football: Zidane lauds Ibra scissor kick =(PICTURE+VIDEO)= MARSEILLE, Nov 15, 2012 (AFP) - Former France skipper Zinedine Zidane took time out from praising his country's friendly success in Italy to laud Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the Swede's "extraordinary" scissor kick goal against England. The Paris Saint Germain striker destroyed England with a four-goal salvo in a 4-2 success in Stockholm - but it was his instinctive overhead effort from distance which left many observers gasping, Zidane included. Ibrahimovic is "an extraordinary player," said Zidane. "I never managed to score four in a game," added the Frenchman, though he did manage a brace in the 1998 World Cup final success over Brazil. "It was magnificent - especially the overhead kick," enthused Zidane, who scored a goal of similar athletic class in Real Madrid's Champions League final win over Bayern Leverkusen in 2002. Regarding France's 2-1 friendly win in Italy, Zidane said: "They did the job. After (drawing a World Cup qualifier with) Spain they confirmed they are on the right track. "It is not easy to win in Italy - I know that after difficult confrontations with Italy," added the French legend, famously sent off in the 2006 World Cup final against the Azzurri. ebe/lrb/cw/ps