Zinedine Zidane
Lessons from an enduring career and thoughts for us all to ponder
Player, coach and now-retired, what is an average fan to take away from this man and his career?
As a player, he brought goals and glory to every team he played with — won the 1998 World Cup, scoring twice in the final, winner of UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d’Or. He was the FIFA Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003. He is the fourth most-capped player in France’s history and joined France’s Legion of Honor in 1998.
His illustrious playing was followed by more success as a coach: Zidane became the first coach to win the Champions League three times consecutively, won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup twice each, as well as a La Liga title and a Supercopa de España.
He also head-butted an opponent in the 2006 World Cup and was sent off the field with a red card.
At the time, I was disgusted.
How could someone with such skill, vision and athletic ability act so irrationally? Why did he receive the Golden Ball for this same tournament? His life provides such a great story for us all — basic everyday people trying to make their way in a challenging world.
Too many athletes disappoint, especially after years of providing nothing but winning glory.
Mike Tyson, Tiger Woods, there are examples in every sport.
It’s hard to forgive, especially when expectations are high.
There is something to be said for it, though and it says a lot for the culture as well.
His fans forgave him.
His club forgave him.
The Soccer World forgave him.
Not only did they forgive him, they offered him a path into coaching as a way back, a path to redemption.
He worked his way up from coaching in 2014 for Real Madrid Castilla. He became the head coach in 2017 and became the first coach to win the Champions League three times in a row, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup twice each, as well as a La Liga title and a Supercopa de España.
He is a lucky man who stepped up to the opportunities.
He re-wrote the ending to what could have been a depressing story.
Instead, he redeemed himself.
Why can’t we offer this same forgiveness to the average criminal?
You might say there is no comparison, Zidane is no criminal. He was a man who acted rashly in the heat of the moment.
Isn’t this similar to many criminals?
He had some beautiful moments throughout his playing that were tarnished only slightly by an act of needless violence in front of millions. The average criminal does not have that level of notoriety.
Does it make it any less real?
I think there are some similarities.
The average man has some moments of beauty. They may not be witnessed by anyone. That does not mean they do not exist. Or that they are not significant.
They may not be delivering one of the greatest goals in history, but maybe they are doing the best they can on a thankless job day in and day out.
That in itself is heroic.
One criminal act should not define a person
Just as this one act does not define Zidane, neither should a criminal act follow one throughout life.
People who have been incarcerated in the U.S. are 50% more likely to return to incarceration within 3 years of release. During release it is difficult to find housing and employment, adding to the likelihood of repeating offenses.
How much of the repeat offender’s history is perpetrated by society’s lack of acceptance?
What might happen if we made opportunities available to the released prisoner?
What if we worked to cultivate a society that forgave our criminals as readily as we forgive our athletes?
Maybe the truth is we have a need to forgive ourselves first to be able to step up and claim redemption, just as Zidane has done.
