/ 7 July 2006

Get ready for the golden oldies’ final

This World Cup, which was expected to provide a festival of youth, has turned into a celebration of experience. While Kaka faded, Lionel Messi was deprived of his rightful chance and Wayne Rooney simply self-destructed, the old men grabbed the stage for a final parade of their talents.

On Tuesday night the crowning goal of a wonderful match in Dortmund was scored, with the most characteristic of touches, by Alessandro del Piero, who had previously wandered through the tournament like the ghost of his former self. And before Wednesday’s semifinal the teams were led out by two more of the great figures of the modern European game, preparing to do battle for the right to one final night of imperishable glory.

Both Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane have what you might call presence. They also have faces that draw the eye. Figo’s is that of a priest who has heard one confession too many. Zidane’s entire head seems to have been carved out of a chunk of pink granite. And as both captains probed away during the opening exchanges, their subtle touches carried the promise of imminent danger.

Figo did a fine job of unsettling Eric Abidal, France’s left-back, in the early minutes, but it was the 34-year-old Zidane, the elder of the two captains by five months, who struck the first blow. Two strides, a solid contact with his right instep, and his penalty kick was skimming past the right hand of Ricardo, the man who had foiled attempts by Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher to beat him from 12 yards five nights earlier.

If the past month has proved anything, it is that the most prolific and reliable goal-scorers are worth the worship they attract and the premium prices they fetch.

But it is the men like Zidane and Figo, the artists and inventors, the men who see space and time and angles where we see only confusion, who have the firmest grip on our imaginations and affections. On Wednesday both of them stayed on the pitch for the full 90 minutes, sustaining their involvement until the very end.

The two men embraced warmly and exchanged shirts before leaving the pitch, only one of them walking towards a last appointment with destiny.

France’s coach Raymond Domenech paid tribute to his star, who will take his final bow on the greatest stage of all on Sunday.

”Zidane is a world champion, it is as simple as that,” said Domenech. ”He has got his photograph on walls across France and he is a hero to the French public. He has brought something permanent and wonderful to French football and to his team.

”Of course it will be the last game for him, but for us it is not Zinedine Zidane’s last game, it’s a World Cup final, and Zizou is thinking about it in the same way. This is not a victory tour for him and Lilian [Thuram] and Claude [Makelele]. It is a World Cup, and we want to win it.” — Â