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“To be recognised by a whole country is incredible. … It's a message to everybody — politicians, the kids I grew up with, ordinary French people — about what can be done.”

Source: Interview with Andrew Hussey, The Observer, 4 April 2004

Context Asked about his standing in France, Zidane reflected on the reaction to France's 1998 World Cup win, in which he scored twice in the final.

Portrait of Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine ZidaneFrance / Algeria · b. 1972
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More words from Zinedine Zidane

“It was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.”
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“I was lucky to come from a difficult area. It teaches you not just about football but also life.”
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“My family are very proud of me, but I am very proud of them and where they come from. I am proud that they come from Kabylie.”
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“I apologise to the millions of children who saw this act, and to the educators who teach what should and should not be done.”
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“I am far from all those ideas, from this Front National. … Extremes are never good.”
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