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Zinedine Zidane - The influence of a football legend on an entire generation.
Antoine Griezmann: "In France, football is Zidane."
Eden Hazard: "Playing under Zidane is a dream come true. He's my idol, I've looked up to him since I was a kid. He made me fall in love with football".
Miralem Pjanic: "Zidane made me want to become a footballer. I loved the way he played. He was, for me, the best player I have ever seen. He was so elegant in his game, I always tried to imitate him."
Raphaël Varane: "Zidane makes the impossible possible".
Florentino Perez: "Zidane is blessed by the football Gods".
Toni Kroos: "Zidane is the best coach a player could ever hope for".
Fabien Barthez: "For me, he’s the greatest player of the century. The best player of all time”.
Marcel Desailly: "“A true artist. What he could do with the ball was incredible. Only Maradona was on his level".
Alfredo Di Stefano: "“He dominates the ball, he is a walking spectacle and he plays as if he had silk gloves on each foot. He makes it worthwhile going to the stadium, he’s one of the best I have ever seen”.
Paul Scholes: "“To see Zidane in action was to witness poetry in motion. The skills, the vision, the goals . . . he was a sublime performer".
Thierry Henry: "“In France, everybody realized that God exists, and that he is back in the French national team. His name is Zinedine Zidane”.
Pele: "“There's no one like Zidane. No one”.
Marcello Lippi: "“The greatest player of the past 20 years? It has to be Zidane. He had everything. You never needed to tell him anything as he did it all by himself and knew what was expected”.
Luka Modric: "“Every piece of advice he gives you is like gold dust and it helps you improve on the pitch”.
Franco Baresi: "“He was as elegant as a dancer – he even used the soles of his boots efficiently. Everything was easy for him; he made such movements that if I tried to copy them I would break my legs”.
David Beckham: "“To train with Zidane for three years was a dream. For me, he is the greatest player of all time”.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: "“When Zidane stepped onto the pitch, the 10 other guys just got suddenly better. It is that simple. It was magic. He was a unique player. He was more than good, he came from another planet. His team-mates became like him when he was on the pitch.”
Roberto Carlos: "He is the best player I’ve seen. Zizou had something apart. Playing alongside him was a crazy thing! Supporters arrived earlier at the Bernabeu just to see him warm-up!”
Xabi Alonso: "My idol in sports? Zinedine Zidane. What he could do with a football is a dream for the rest of us.”
Frank Lampard: "I think he’s the player that really has been my favourite. Playing against him you realise the man is a real genius as a footballer".
Mesut Özil: "My Idol was Zinedine Zidane. He was the most perfect player. His technique, shooting and headers, his ability to read games and boss them was fantastic".
Wayne Rooney: "I was lucky enough to play against him at Euro 2004 and I remember when we were lining up in the tunnel looking over at him and thinking ‘wow.’ It was mad."
Cristiano Ronaldo: "I respected him already, but I admired him even more after working with him. He really made me feel special as a player, he has always been honest with me as well, which is why I'll always love Zidane".
Lionel Messi: "I'm not the type of guy to ask another player for his shirt after the game, the only exception was Zidane. He was one of my idols growing up".
Paul Pogba: "You always see him doing something special, the way he’s playing, it’s beautiful to see. I was always watching him. The ball was in one place but I was always looking for Zidane.”
Edgar Davids: "There isn't a single footballer that I admire more than Zidane."
Houssem Aouar: "It's Zidane who made me fall in love with football."
