BERLIN - Zinedine Zidane had wanted to end his career on the highest note by leading France to a second World Cup win but a moment of madness in the final against Italy saw him leave the stage in disgrace.
Zidane`s astonishing headbutt at the chest of Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the climax on Sunday weakened French chances of repeating their 1998 victory.
After his dismissal in the second period of extra time, France`s remaining 10 men hung on grimly to draw 1-1 with Italy, but the French sorely missed Zidane`s expertise in the penalty shootout as the Italians triumphed.
The last match of his illustrious career will see Zidane remembered for a vicious act, regardless of what appeared to be constant verbal provocation from Materazzi.
It showed that behind the genius lay a vicious temper -- he had been banned for a similar offence in a European Champions match six years earlier while playing for Italian club Juventus.
But if any proof of Zidane`s enduring popularity were needed, he was voted the best player of the World Cup on Monday by journalists who had covered the tournament, ahead of Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro.
The moment of shame in the Olympic Stadium came after Zidane, 34, had opened the scoring with a seventh-minute penalty.
He almost got a second with a flying header but the world`s final memory of him in a France shirt will be of him disappearing down the stadium steps to the dressing room, head bowed, not even casting a glance at the trophy that sat on a plinth nearby.
It was Zidane`s two bullet headers that lifted France to a 3-0 triumph over Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final in Paris and he had been touted as the man who held the key to Sunday`s showdown after fine showings against Spain, Brazil and Portugal.
Tributes had flowed after his masterful display in the quarter-final against Brazil, when he eclipsed world footballer of the year Ronaldinho in midfield and glided over the 57th minute free-kick for Thierry Henry to score.
Pele, widely regarded as the greatest player in history, said simply: "Zidane was the magician in the game."
For Germany`s two-time World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer, Zidane "is one of the greatest players in history".
Beckenbauer was convinced he had been provoked by Materazzi. "Something must have been said to Zidane. He is actually a reserved and inoffensive person," the German great said.
Another Gallic icon, Michel Platini, said the two goals in the 1998 final in Paris "left an indelible mark on a whole generation".
The Arc de Triomphe was bathed in his image eight years ago, the boulevards of Paris ringing out with the name of the player whose journey to stardom began when a talent scout spotted him as a 14-year-old from the backstreets of Marseille.
Zidane`s success was presented as the embodiment of multi-racial France, an image that last year`s riots showed was still some way from being realised.
In recent days, the father-of-four had rolled back the years.
Having retired from the international scene after France failed to retain their European title at Euro 2004, he returned after claiming he had been told in a nocturnal visitation to help steer his struggling teammates to qualify for Germany.
Of that mysterious incident, he said: "One night about three o`clock in the morning I woke up suddenly and began speaking with someone.
"It was like a revelation, and suddenly I realised I had to go back on my decision to retire."
His unscripted U-turn with three qualifiers to go sparked an immediate upturn in the national team`s performance.
A three-time FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, Zidane made his France debut in a friendly against the Czech Republic on August 17, 1994, scoring the first of his 28 international goals.
His club career took off at Cannes under Luis Fernandez before his 17th birthday.
After a spell at Bordeaux, Zidane moved to Juventus where his stock rose sharply as he won the European Super Cup, two Intercontinental Cups and two Italian championships.
After helping France win Euro 2000 he moved to Real Madrid for what is still a record 75 million euros and two years later scored a superb volley in the Spaniards` win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League final.
But his last act was one that will tarnish the memory.

07/10/2006 13:13 GMT