PARIS — The infamous headbutt that French football legend
Zinedine Zidane landed on an Italian during a World Cup final has
been transformed into a giant statue and displayed in front of the
Pompidou Centre in Paris.
The bronze work of art, simply titled "Headbutt", was Wednesday
attracting crowds of tourists and locals who jostled to have their
photos taken in front of the five-metre (16-foot) statue.
The sculpture is by Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed, subject of
a retrospective exhibition in the Pompidou from October 3 until
next January.
"This statue goes against the tradition of making statues in
honour of certain victories. It is an ode to defeat," said
exhibition organiser Alain Michaud.
A much smaller version of the statue -- which shows the two
football players in the seconds after the headbutt, with the
Italian player reeling after the attack -- was previously exhibited
by a New York art gallery.
Zidane, who holds legendary status in France as a member of the
national teams that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, was sent
off in the 2006 World Cup final for headbutting Marco Materazzi in
the chest.
That was the then France captain's last ever professional match
as a player and he later claimed he had reacted to slurs the
Italian directed against his sister and mother.
The statue will stay in its spot in front of the Pompidou till
the end of the Abdessemed exhibition in January.
