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Posted Sunday, April 20, 2003; 14.23 BST
French soccer star Zinedine Zidane attained glory by capturing 1998 World and 2000 European crowns for France, scoring the winning goal in Real Madrid's 2002 Champions' League triumph, and earning the widely-held reputation as the world's best current player with his peerless, often impossible-looking displays of technique and control. But as his footballing fame and attendant fortune have grown, the French-born son of Kabyle immigrants has insisted on reminding fans of the qualities that propelled him to the top in the first place: determination, hard work, disarming modesty, and unflinching dedication to the family and friends who assisted his transformation from scrawny little "Yazid" of north Marseille into the millionaire and world-famous star "Zizou."
"I owe everything to my parents, family and friends, who taught me right from wrong, and insisted I show discipline in the tough neighborhood of my childhood," says Zidane, today a father of three sons himself. "I know how lucky I am, and will never forget the efforts and sacrifices people made for me. And I also know that it's my responsibility to serve as an example — to show young people a road they can follow that doesn't lead in one of many bad directions."
That willingness to credit his success to the efforts of others — and act as a positive icon for fans to emulate — has made Zidane a beloved hero in France. A painfully private man uncomfortable in crowds and protective of his solitude and family, Zidane has continually tolerated media exposure of his background and ascent for the greater good. In Zidane, a racially diverse, nervous country has found reassurance that integration of immigrant populations does work, and has enriched the wider society with talent, achievement, and affirmation of essential values.
Zidane has also used his fame in other than symbolic fashion. Since 2001, Zidane has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N. Development Programme, and he also represents the European Leukodystrophy Association in its efforts to battle deadly genetic diseases of the nervous system. "There are things in this world that are more important than football," Zidane, 30, says of his charity work. "This involvement is the kind of thing my family, my upbringing and people I love have always encouraged. It's something that is part of you or isn't — but it's not something you embark upon or give up for any amount of fame or success."
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