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Despite the shameful incident in the final match of the World Cup, when the Frenchman Zinedine Zidane lost control of his emotions during extra time and headbutted the Italian Marco Materazzi, being sent off the field, the captain of the French team was voted the best player of the World Cup by journalists and received the Golden Ball award.
For the 34-year-old Frenchman, these were his last matches, as he had previously announced that he would end his career as a footballer after this championship. Zidane accumulated a total of 2012 points in the vote, leaving behind Italian national team players Fabio Cannavaro (1977 points) and Andrea Pirlo (715).
Despite his age, the captain of the French team demonstrated excellent form in this championship and scored a total of 3 goals. One of them he scored in the final match, when in the 7th minute he converted a penalty kick from 11 meters and put his team ahead.
In previous championships, the Golden Ball award was received by German Oliver Kahn in 2002, Brazilians Ronaldo in 1998 and Romario in 1994, Italian Salvatore Schillaci in 1990, and Argentine Diego Maradona.
