Zidane's second coming silences the laughter

Zinédine Zidane was the first French player to leave the pitch but the majesty of his performance will remain seared on the memories of those present. The scoreline may suggest a squeeze but Les Bleus humiliated the defending champions en route to the semi-finals, with their inspiration illuminating Zidane's farewell tournament to remind the watching world what will soon be gone. The hollered strains of "Zi-zou" still echoed across the mock Manhattan skyline here yesterday. Munich and Berlin should brace themselves in the days to come.
It says much that as many bellowing the 34-year-old's name were clad in yellow as blue shirts. Where Brazil were only ever jaundiced, Zidane orchestrated one of the finest France displays since they triumphed in Euro 2000 - and he was at the peak of his staggering powers - to propel a team that had laboured so pitifully on arrival in Germany into Wednesday's semi-final with Portugal. "A side everyone was laughing at doesn't suddenly become favourites," insisted Thierry Henry in the aftermath. Reality suggests otherwise.
The transformation of this team is personified in Zidane's own return to form. A player who laboured off the pace in the pre-tournament friendlies is now revelling as he drifts with menace behind opponents' lines. Gilberto Silva and Ze Roberto never smothered his threat on Saturday, the France captain's range of passing switching from simple to staggering and hypnotising panicked markers. His flick over the floundering Ronaldo, first with a snap of the ankle and then a nod of his pate, was as glorious to behold as it was agonising for the Brazilian to endure. By the end the World Cup's record goalscorer had been reduced to diving pathetically in an attempt to glean a penalty, a reflection of his team's inadequacy.
Zidane had conjured the decisive goal by then, his free-kick veering wonderfully over the clutter in the six-yard box to Henry, utterly ignored at the far post, with the striker's shot flying high beyond the exposed Dida. It was the first time Zidane had ever created a goal directly for the Arsenal forward in France colours, stretching back some 61 matches. When he prompts as he did here, that statistic seems even more remarkable.
"I think he's playing like this precisely because he is retiring," said Raymond Domenech, whose contract with the French Football Federation will surely now be renewed when barely two weeks ago he appeared to be a dead man walking. "He can play with freedom and expression because he knows every game could be his last."
"We are improving with every game, just like we did in 1998, and that performance shows what we are capable of," said Vieira, whose gallop through the centre on to Zidane's pass might have earned France the first-half lead they merited had Juan not clattered the midfielder on the edge of the area. "There aren't many players who have won two World Cups but we are capable of it. We have the potential to go much further and this result was born of the hard work we've put in."
"Things seem to be coming together at the right time," added Henry, with five goals in his last seven internationals suggesting France are starting to witness his Arsenal form. "We were criticised at first, and rightly so because we weren't playing well. People thought we'd be home after the South Korea game, but we let them talk and just concentrated on getting through the group stage. After that, this competition is another story.
"We've shown we're not scared of playing. People point to Zizou coming into the game more but that's because the team's playing better as a whole. The three other teams left in the competition will be difficult, all great sides, and we haven't won anything yet. But people will sit up and notice that we've beaten Brazil.