Soul of French Team Finds Rare Air

SAINT-DENIS, France — Zinedine Zidane had called France's World Cup matchup with Brazil on Sunday "the final of an entire people," and it was exactly that.

But it was a final not only of all the people, but for all the people.

It was for those who waited decades for France to claim supremacy as well as for those Jean- and Jeanne-come latelies who waited for their team to win before they became football converts.

It was for the historians, who will note France's 3-0 victory made it only the seventh nation to claim the World Cup trophy, after Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England and Argentina. They also will note France inflicted the worst loss Brazil has absorbed in World Cup or qualifying play.

It was one for the crowd of 80,000 at the Stade de France, which drowned out the Brazilian samba with spontaneous and affecting choruses of the French anthem, "La Marseillaise."

Most of all, it was for every kid like Zidane, the Algerian night-watchman's son who began playing soccer in the streets near his home in Castellane, a rough area north of Marseille. Zidane grew up to live his dream--and by scoring two goals with his head off corner kicks Sunday, he fulfilled the hopes of a joyfully united nation.

"I wanted to score a goal in this World Cup, and I got two. It's amazing," said Zidane, who missed France's final first-round match and its round-of-16 game against Paraguay because of a two-game suspension for a rough tackle. "In the final, too, and with my head, of all things."

Zidane, the elegant midfielder who is the soul of the French team and might be the world's top player at his position, isn't known for using his head to score. He's more likely to use it to make clever passes that enable teammates to score. But with the French forwards unable to score since the second game of the first round, someone had to provide some offense.

"My teammates asked me to score goals. It's not my specialty, but I did it," he said. "I badly wanted to score at least one goal in this World Cup, and I only had the final left to do it. It's incredible. There are no words."

As the crowd chanted his nickname, "Zizou," he led a team that four years ago didn't qualify for the finals to its first triumph in the final. His strength of will helped propel France past a Brazilian team that was more experienced and might have had more individual talent.