ZIdane: I was Greatly Inspired by Brasil

ZIdane: I was Greatly Inspired by Brasil

With the 2014 World Cup drawing close,France legend and former world footballer of the year Zinedine Zidane has revealed that he has always been inspired by Brazil.

Brazil will host the World Cup next summer,as 32 countries vie for the honours of who rules the world for the next four years.

Recounting his experiences and how he has always fared when coming up against Brazil,Zidane said that he seems to always raise his game whenever he comes up against the Selecao.

"It's odd. When I talk about Brazil with some former players, they see them as a top footballing nation, but that's about it. But in my case, they always inspired me. Against them I always managed to raise my game and so did my team-mates. Every time we faced A Seleçao, we felt like we were capable of anything. We were always the underdog, but that's often when you produce your best efforts. That's the way it worked out for us," Zidane told FIFA.com

Zidane scored two goals in the finals of the France 98 world Cup,helping his side defeat Brazil 3-0 on homesoil to win the prestigious tournament.


He was equally outstanding when both sides met at the World Cup in 2006,setting up Thierry Henry with a free-kick to score the solitary goal of the match.

But he refuted looking towards humiliating Brazil whenever he came up against them.

"I think "humiliate" is going a bit far. We won and that's all there is to it. [Smiles] But it's true, I don't get the sense they harbour any grudges. Every time I've come here, the people have given me the impression they admired what I did against them, when you might have expected them to greet me with stones! [Laughs] Incidentally, the other day I bumped into Mario Zagallo, who was the Brazil coach back in 1998, and I was very touched by something he said. He told me that if he could have picked one non-Brazilian to play in his team, he would have chosen me. Coming from Zagallo, The Professor, that's quite a compliment."

"Absolutely. When I was a kid and I used to play with my friends from the neighbourhood, we would stage mock World Cups. Who do you think everyone wanted to play as? Brazil. So it's a country that's always been part of my life... And then the dream came true: I played in the World Cup for real and I had the chance to face Brazil. So I said to myself: "This is it! Go out there and enjoy it. What's the worst that can happen? Even if you lose, no one will be mad at you. Do your best and have fun. And if you can beat Brazil, it will be quite something to look back on at the end of your career."