On This Day at the World Cup – July 12: Zidane Becomes a National Hero

Zinedine Zidane became a national hero on this day in 1998 after leading France to World Cup triumph on home soil against Brazil.

The Juventus midfielder scored twice in the first half and Emmanuel Petit added a third in injury time as Les Bleus won 3-0 at the Stade de France.

The final was billed as a showdown between two Serie A stars in Zidane and Ronaldo, but the duel never came to pass. The Inter Milan striker was withdrawn from Brazil’s starting XI due to a mysterious illness and only reinstated 45 minutes before kick-off.

Once on the pitch, Ronaldo looked a shadow of the best striker in the world, while Zidane nodded France in front midway through the first half and repeated the feat just before the break.

By the time Zidane won the World Cup he was already a hero in Turin, having joined Juventus two years earlier. He won five major honours in his first two seasons with the Bianconeri and reached consecutive Champions League finals in 1997 and 1998.

Juve celebrations back in the 1990s often took them to Ristorante Da Angelino. It was a favourite of Zidane’s and when he was preparing to follow up France’s World Cup win with their assault on Euro 2000, he took their chef Roberto with him.

The restaurant remains a shrine to Juve legends with shirts on the wall and framed pictures of the players who used to eat and party there, including Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedved and Gianluigi Buffon.