Zinedine Zidane. A living legend. But also a polarizing one. France's eternal superstar and one of the greatest players to ever put on the boots proved to be the hero for his country in one instance and its antihero in another. Zidane's great World Cup career took place over the course of two tournaments.

The 1998 will always be remembered for what Zidane did when it mattered most. He had a solid tournament leading up to the final, but had not really factored in the scoring up to that point. But with France up against Brazil at home in the biggest game of his career to date, Zidane shone like few have before. He scored on two headers to give France a magical 3-0 win while being a decided underdog. Zidane was able to outduel Ronaldo, who would go on to win the Golden Ball in the tournament. While Zidane may not have had as much impact prior to the final, his penchant for scoring the big goals would prove important in the tournament where he did in fact dominate.

In 2002, injury set Zidane back. He missed the first two games for France and, despite returning for the third match, he was unable to stop France's demise.

But things changed in 2006. Despite retiring from the national side after the 2004 Euro Championship, he decided to return to help the nation qualify for the 2006 World Cup and then made a name for himself in the big tournament. The tournament was his final one and he played knowing full well that he would never play again.

France struggled in the group stage and Zidane was suspended for the third game. He had some dazzling displays throughout the group stage that would foreshadow what was to come. But in the round of 16, Zidane scored a goal and an assist as France upset Spain. France was seen as the underdog, but Zidane turned things around rather quickly in this match. His goal was gorgeous. He cut in from the left wing, faked out Carles Puyol and then fired past Iker Casillas, who dove in the wrong direction.

His best game came in the quarterfinals against Brazil. Zidane dominated possession throughout that game and seemed unwilling to give up on a play despite being surrounded incessantly. He utilized his full arsenal of tricks throughout this game and on a few instances he utilized his height to poke an aerial ball back into the air and out of a compressed area. He made a number of terrific dribbling plays down the middle of the park and was virtually untouchable. The ball seemed completely glued to his foot. His most important play of course came on a free kick where he found Thierry Henry on the far post; the striker slotted the shot into the net for the game-winning goal.

In the semifinals, Zidane grew in stature and completely dominated Portugal in the middle of the park. At one point he turned a defender inside out by cutting across him two or three times. At another moment late in the game he continued to maintain possession of the ball and eventually pass it off, despite being almost completely on the ground. He bested former teammate Luis Figo in every possible way with more displays of trickery and a penalty goal that would win the game for France in the waning minutes of the game.

And then came the final. The tale of two Zidanes. The hero and the scapegoat. Prior to the game, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball for being the best player in the tournament. And he continued to dominate early in the game and scored on a penalty for France. He nearly won the game later on with a majestic header that was stopped by Gianluigi Buffon. But all of those wonderful moments were eclipsed by one. An ill-advised one at that. With the game knotted at 1-1, Zidane decided to rage about a comment that Marco Materazzi made about his sister. In return, Zidane head-butted the Italy player and was sent off. There is a famous image of the Frenchman walking by the World Cup trophy with his back to the cameras; he would never get a chance to lift it again.

And so would end the career of one of the greatest plays to ever play the sport. Zidane's tournament included a number of major goals and assists, but most highlights will showcase a player at his peak with a relentless drive to take control of the game. And that he did. He was fearless and peerless with possession and, even when he was outnumbered, he seemingly found a way to get the ball to a teammate or to simply make more space for himself. The only way to stop him was to foul him. Or insult his family.