On September 18, 1993, Olympique de Marseille faced Bordeaux. The Phocéens emerged victorious, but what stuck with Marcel Desailly wasn’t the win. In an interview with L’Équipe, the former central defender recalled how Zinedine Zidane (who was playing for Bordeaux at the time) had struck him: “We were young… he punched me on a corner because I had nudged him with my elbow. He got a bit of revenge, but we never talked about it again. In the French team, I was ready to die for him on the field, to protect him and allow him to express himself.”
ZZ’s hips, a well-kept secret Not one to hold back on compliments or grudges, the former center-back also revealed Zidane’s secret (whom he considers the “strongest partner” of his career): “Zizou raised the level of our training sessions. There was a different level of attention to technique. When he was there, we were focused. His ball control, touches on the ground and in the air, and his use of the ball were simply magical. The magic lies in his super flexible hips, his changes of direction. An exceptional artist who you give the ball to and ask him to invent something.”
That excuse somewhat justifies a little punch.
