France's golden age of soccer is over, perhaps not for good but certainly for now.
David Beckham plans to frame the shirt worn by Zinedine Zidane when he scored his two goals to sink England 2-1 at Euro 2004.
England's midfielder expressed disappointment over the back pass which led to France's match-winning penalty.
'Fabien made the difference and allowed us to stay 1-0 down and gave us the possibility to keep believing in our chances,' said France's captain.
The World Player of the Year rallied France to a 2-1 victory in their opening Group B match.
The thrice world footballer of the year says he's atthe peak of his career.
Real also have an outstanding defence, conceding only 25 times last year, and are well covered in every position.
Newly-crowned European club football champions Real Madrid took their Champions League celebrations on to the streets of Madrid.
Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos made to the team in a poll carried out by UEFA's official web site.\n\n
Zinedine Zidane has said his side are in a delicate situation as they prepare to host arch-rivals Barcelona in a La Liga title showdown on Sunday
World Cup failure aside, 2002 was still an exceptional year for the world's most expensive player
Real Madrid scrambled through to the final of the King's Cup with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Sevilla.
The French midfielder and FIFA's World Player of the Year is also thinking when to quit the national side.
With 264 points, the Frenchman was voted ahead of Thierry Henry (186) and Ronaldo (176) for the prestigious accolade.
The award, which is based on the votes of 142 coaches of national teams, will be made at the World Player Gala in Basle on December 15.
Real Madrid's faltering title defence continued as they were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Sunday which saw them fall 16 points behind runaway leaders Barcelona, who beat Levante 3-0 to stay nine points clear at the top of La Liga.
Zidane urged fans not to expect more from Beckham than he has already shown at Manchester United.
The result keeps Real Madrid in third spot in the Spanish first division standings, a point behind Valencia and five adrift of leaders Real Sociedad.
He finished ahead of Oliver Kahn and Zinedine Zidane in the voting by national team coaches.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos once again proved to be the man for the big occasion as he converted a fiercely debated penalty to help his side to a 3-1 win over rivals Barcelona at an empty Camp Nou in La Liga on Saturday.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has expressed disappointment over the sacking of Rafael Benitez as a manager, saying that it was really sad to see him go. "I had a very good relationship with Rafa, obviously it was a big disappointment to see him go," Bale was quoted as saying by goal.com. Benitez was replaced by former French great Zinedine Zidane after just seven months in charge due to club's recent slump in form in the La Liga. Zidane's appointment seemed to be in favour of Real as they thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 5-0 in La Liga match.
The local government, meanwhile, is deploying more than 200 national police officers to prevent crowds assembling, with mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida also asking people to stay away.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated his happiness at Tottenham Hotspur in some of his first public comments after he emerged as a leading candidate to replace Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.
Real coach Zinedine Zidane left out Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in a largely second-string side but not even the injection of youth could breathe life into his team until Asensio's late goal ended a run of three games without a win.
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema kept up his impressive run of form by scoring and providing two assists in a 3-1 win away to Eibar on Sunday, taking the champions level on points with La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored thrice to help his side thrash Espanyol 6-0 in a ruthless attacking display in La Liga clash at Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro has defended team mate Gareth Bale after the Welshman was jeered by sections of the Bernabeu crowd during Wednesday's 3-0 win over APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League.
Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp has said his team will be 'on fire' for the Champions League final
Zinedine Zidane got off to a flying start as Real Madrid coach when Gareth Bale hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday after a Lionel Messi treble had fired Barcelona to the top of La Liga.
Madrid's trip to San Sebastian was full of intrigue after Barca failed to beat Sevilla and the Catalan side's defender Gerard Pique said the title was now Madrid's for the taking.
Gareth Bale arrived at Luton Airport near London ahead of completing his imminent return to Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp says his team can compensate for their lack of Champions League final experience by showing greater desire and work-rate than Real Madrid in Saturday's clash in Kiev.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances