Ahhh. Lovely time of the year. Summer transfer window. All the big clubs are spending and wasting money, and all the poor Arsenal fans are still wondering when Wenger will make his first signing. [lol, just a joke ;) ].

We haven't had posts like these in a while, so I thought I'd make one to take people's minds off the transfer window in this forum. Try and answer all the questions if you can. :)

1. Who was your childhood footballing hero?

2. What about him did you like best? What of his attributes on the pitch appealed to you the most?

3. What do you think was the highlight of his career? And what do you think was the stigma of his career?

4. Do you think he was better for club or country?

5. Was/Is he better as a player or as a person?

6. If he is retired right now, which club would you like to see him manage?

Have fun guys. It's always nice when everyone shares something. :)

1. Zinedine Yazid Zidane

2. I loved the way he made football look like an art..... I have never seen any player dominate every area of the pitch the way he did. It was just a miracle that I got to witness this man play. As for his attributes on the pitch, I love the way he does everything for his team the most.

3. The highlight of his career was undoubtedly winning the World Cup with France in 1998. There were also other highlights as well, such as winning EURO 2000, winning the CL in 2002, and captaining France to 2006 WC final at the age of 34. I have never seen someone do that in my entire life...... drag your team to the WC final at such an age is an outstanding achievement.

Of course, the stigma of his career will forever be the red card he got against Italy after headbutting Materazzi. I feel bad that such a glorious career had to end this way, but the good thing is that his achievements outshine his mistakes BY FAR.

1. Better for country, no doubt.

2. Zizou was an introvert, more or less, so I don't know much about him as a person. I like him better as a player. But I did hear that he said a certain quote once. I don't know if this quote is true or not, but it went something like this,

"When I was little, I was begging my mother to buy me new football shoes. She said no, and I went out depressed to play football without shoes. Then I saw a man without any legs on the street begging for money. That's when I realized how lucky I really am"

1. Of course, I would LOVE to see him manage Real Madrid again. :)

Thierry Henry (I'm 14), too lazy to answer the other questions.

YOU

^ Aw, thanks man!

1. Gianfranco Zola of course!

2. He was CHELSEA. The man was everything for us. He was loyalty, he was elegance, he was skill, he was balance, he was unselfish, he was the playmaker, he was the striker, he was just everything! Watching him destroy amazing defenses (mostly online with all honesty) from United, Arsenal, Leeds and Liverpool was an honor.

Just the first minutes of the video sums him up well.

1. There are too many to not say! I'll list some:
   -Our FA Cup win against Middlesbrough.
   -Our 5-0 win against ManUtd
   -Our Super Cup
   -Our Cup Winner's Cup
   -Our '99/'00 CL run
   -His final season (He was the reason we made it to the CL (which is rumored to be the reason Roman bought Chelsea!))

2. The club of course :)

3. It's both, Zola was by far one of the greatest Premier League players and the best Chelsea player ever (in my opinion). But he was also a gentle, kind, well respected person. Everyone in the EPL loved the little Italian and I mean EVERYONE. Liverpool fans, Spurs fans, Arsenal fans, ManUtd fans... They all loved the man. Some of those fans gave him a standing ovation. That's how well respected he was as a person and a player.

4. NOT CHELSEA!!! I don't think I could stand watching Chelsea anymore if we hire him and then sack him like we did with RDM :(

+1 For the nice thread :)
1- Diego Maradona.
2- The duo Romário & Bebeto.

And many more. Those were my favorite footballers as a child. I think everyone know them and know their story. as a child I just loved their skills and style and they are one of the reasons I became a football player and a big fan of football. :)

1. Ruud Van Nistlerooooooooooy!
2. Deadly finisher.
3. Playing for United!
4. Didn't really watch him for country, I was like 7ish at the time!
5. Player, i guess? not really sure what the question mean :/
6. Any club really, apart from Chelsea, City, Liverpool... Any of our rivals, basically :D

I remember as a kid, When i saw him score or heard about him scoring, i would go mental around the house shouting "WUUUUD VAN NISTLEWOOOOOY!!" sliding around and shit, aha

@devilz

For #5, what I meant was that do you like what he does off the pitch more, or on the pitch? Like for players like Didier Drogba, his contribution to society is liked by many much more than his success on the pitch. For me, I like Drogba better as a person than as a player. :)

Ohhh, I see. I didn't really know what he was like off the pitch, So i guess ill say player :p Although i can't really imagine him being some sort idiot off the pitch :)

1 Like for all the french children from my generation it's zizou, zidane.

2 In France after 98 it was impossible to find someone who didn't like zidane, he was worshipped and he was the most popular french figure until he retired. I was only 6 when we won the world cup so I don't really have very clear memories but from 2006 the thing I remember the most fondly is his goal against spain (that game remains my favorite football game ever with arsenal 2 1 barcelona a close second). I don't know how to explain it, but when France played, everything, everyone, was revolving around him. When he played for France he was France. And we had players like Viera, Henry, Trezeguet, Makelele, Thuram, Desailly. He was just head and shoulders above everyone else. He was majestic. I don't even remember his playstyle that well. I know how he plays because of all the videos of him I watch on youtube but from the time I watched him play, most of all I remember his aura and how special he was, and how proud I felt. I was proud because thanks to zidane I could say that the best player in the world was French. He was whom and what French people were the most proud about. Zidane was special for the pride he gave us. I know everyone loves him, but for us french people it's different.

3 The highlight of his career is winning the world cup for france, scoring two goals against brazil. But the 2006 run was just as glorious.

4 He was best for his country. And that's what in my opinion makes him special compared to messi. Messi is the best player of all time, but Zizou could just make everyone in France forget about their troubles, forget their differences, just by playing football.

5 Better as a player, he is a very quiet person, and when he started doing punditry for french tv it was a little embarrassing to see him being a bad pundit.

6 He'll probably manage Real Madrid someday, he loves this club, but honestly I couldn't care less about that. He was special to me because of the national team. I don't care about madrid.

It seems I got carried away. Nice thread dynastian

Im gonna name my football hero and my non football hero:

Football Hero: Zinedine Zidane
Non Football Hero: Ash Ketchum... Lol

Mine were Gianfranco Zola (reason why I started supporting Chelsea) and Zinedine Zidane, but these were already mentioned, so.. :(

1. Gabriel "Batigol" Batistuta
2. His lethal striking abilities
3. After spending 9 years with Fiorentina and becoming a club legend, he never got to win the Serie A. But after moving to Roma, he managed to win it in 2001. That and becoming Argentina's all-time leading scorer for the national team with 56 goals (Messi only has 35 so far, to put it in perspective). Never playing for any of the G-14 teams in Europe would be the stigma of his career.
4. Country.
5. Player.
6. Fiorentina.