Magic is sometimes very close to nothing at all.
Zinedine Yazid Zidane learned football on the concrete of La Castellane, a northern Marseille estate, where elegance is a survival skill. The pirouette that carries his name — la roulette — was street protection first and art second.
No great player moved like him. Zidane at full tilt looked unhurried; Zidane surrounded looked alone by choice. France's greatest sporting night, and its strangest, both belong to him.
The moments
1998
Two headers, one nation
In the World Cup final on 12 July, the son of Algerian immigrants scored twice from corners as France beat Brazil 3-0 at the Stade de France. That year's Ballon d'Or followed as a formality.
2002
The volley at Hampden
On 15 May, Roberto Carlos hung a cross into the Glasgow night and Zidane met it with a left-foot volley on the stroke of half-time. Real Madrid beat Leverkusen 2-1; the Champions League had its most beautiful winning goal.
2006
The panenka and the headbutt
His final match, the World Cup final in Berlin on 9 July: a chipped penalty in off the crossbar, then a red card in extra time for the headbutt on Materazzi. Genius and fury shared one stage to the very end.
He never explained much, which is its own kind of style. The film they made of him ends on his own words about magic being close to nothing at all — from anyone else, false modesty; from Zidane, a technical report.