Our listeners have been asking for Zinédine Zidane for years. The ZEIT football podcast, He can kickfinally fair. “He’s my favorite,” says Fabian Scheler, one of the two hosts. “He’s the GOAT.” The greatest of all time. Zidane has something that only very few people have, adds Oliver Fritsch, the second host. “And that’s Aura.”
What made his class on the pitch, what exactly could he do with the ball? Zidane was the first two-footed dribbler. This enabled him to hold onto the ball and dribble through opponents. He became a professional in the 1990s, at a time when spaces on the pitch were becoming increasingly dense thanks to a tactical revolution from Italy. “Zidane has torn through this net,” says Fritsch. “He gave football freedom back.”
With Zidane, something added to his exceptional talent: he was there when he needed to be and scored goals in important finals. However, he was also a hothead, so he was shown the red card in two World Cup tournaments. This even increased the admiration of some of his fans.
How do you see it: Zidane or Pelé? Zidane or Beckenbauer? Zidane or Maradona? In the Power Card, which the hosts use to evaluate the players, they reach a new record.
“He can kick” is the ZEIT football podcast. It appears every two weeks and is dedicated to the best footballers of our time. We talk less about tactics and more about what really matters in football: the individuality of the players. You can find all episodes here. Write to us! We accept criticism of the show and suggestions for Mister X [email protected] in contrast to. You can find our Bluesky account here.
Scenes and texts we talked about:
Related reading
