Zizou to say Adieu after World Cup

According to papers in Spain, Zinedine Zidane will retire from football following the World Cup this summer.

“Zizou, who is under contract with Real Madrid until 2007, is ready to renounce his final year with the club to go out with a bang and give it his all in these last five months,” writes the Spainish sports daily AS in its Tuesday edition.

Zidane helped to lead France to the World Cup in 1998 and will be looking to avenge the French team’s dreadful performance in 2002. The 33-year-old Real Madrid midfielder’s skills have declined in recent years, but if I am France’s first round opponents I would be nervous preparing to face a highly motivated and still highly skilled Zidane who you know will want to steal the show during his final moments on the world’s biggest stage.