The temperature did not exceed 18°C in Hanover on that fateful June evening in 2006. However, the spectators, who were predominantly Spanish, were heated to a white-hot intensity. Zinedine Zidane had already announced his intention to retire from professional football at the conclusion of the 2006 World Cup. For fans of La Roja, there was absolutely no shadow of a doubt that this Round of 16 clash between Spain and France would be the final match of "Zizou's" illustrious career. History, however, had a completely different script in store.
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Subscribe Sekarang →South of the Pyrenees, there were numerous reasons to believe in an Iberian victory before facing Les Bleus. The Spanish side had cruised through their first three group matches quite comfortably, securing a 4-0 win against Ukraine, a 3-1 victory over Tunisia, and a 1-0 win against Saudi Arabia. In contrast, France's group stage campaign had been incredibly timid. Les Bleus recorded two draws against Switzerland (0-0) and South Korea (1-1) before finally securing a 2-0 victory against Togo in their third match. According to Spanish pundits at the time, facing France was highly preferred over a sharper Swiss side, viewing the Tricolores as an "old and outdated" team.
On the day of the match, Spanish sports newspaper Marca published a patriotic front-page headline that read "Vamos a jubilar a Zidane" ("We are going to retire Zidane"). Reflecting on the incident, Jose Maria Rodriguez, the editor-in-chief of the Spanish daily, later claimed the title had been "misunderstood". He clarified their stance by stating, "The truth is that we would have preferred that Zidane never retired." Just weeks prior, Zidane had bid farewell to Real Madrid following a mediocre club season where he registered 9 goals and 11 assists in 38 matches. Los Blancos had also endured a disappointing campaign, suffering elimination in the Champions League Round of 16 and finishing second in La Liga, far behind Barcelona.
Based on accounts from inside the stadium in Hanover, the atmosphere in the stands was highly tense between both factions of supporters. French fans chanted "Viva España a la casa" ("Long live Spain at home"), while the Spanish crowd loudly jeered Zidane during his warm-up session and heavily booed the French national anthem, La Marseillaise.
Despite Spain opening the scoring through a David Villa penalty in the 28th minute, France fought back before halftime with an equalizer from Franck Ribery in the 40th minute. Upon returning from the dugout for the second half, Zidane completely ignited the pitch. In the 84th minute, the 1998 World Cup champion delivered a precise free-kick that Patrick Vieira met at the back post to take the lead. Then, deep into stoppage time, Zidane finalized the 3-1 victory for Les Bleus with a spectacular solo goal.
From editorial monitoring of post-match reactions, the French squad took great pleasure in silencing their critics. "That third goal is a beautiful symbol. It is not bad for a 72-year-old player," mocked French defender Willy Sagnol in response to the Iberian press. Zidane himself briefly addressed the pre-match Spanish banter, calmly noting, "It was not my testimonial match just yet... the adventure continues."
According to historical football records, France's journey toward the final continued with a masterclass performance by Zidane against Brazil in a 1-0 quarterfinal victory, widely considered one of his finest matches in a national team shirt. Ultimately, a notorious red card following a headbutt to the chest of Marco Materazzi in the final against Italy would signal the true, dramatic end to his professional career as France lost on penalties.