Yus,
This from Eurofinals365 Newsletter.
Sorry for the ugly formatting..not enough time to fixt it.
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THE MIDFIELD MAGICIANS
27 June 2000 - London
by Iain Spragg
LUIS FIGO or Zinedine Zidane? Arguably
the two best midfielders in the world at the
moment will go head-to-head in Brussels
on Wednesday in the first Euro 2000
semi-final. But who will emerge as the king
of the playmakers?
WEDNESDAY night's semi-final clash
between Portugal and France promises to
be a thriller. There will be more talent on
show than any recent England manager
could dream of and judging by the
performances of the two sides en route to
the last four, there will be no shortage of
drama and excitement.
But as much as the showdown in Brussels
is a clash of two great footballing sides, it
will also be a meeting of two great
footballers - Portugal's Luis Figo and
France's Zinedine Zidane.
And the question on everybody's lips is
who will win the battle of Euro 2000's star
midfielders? Both players have been in
scintillating form in their appearances so
far but, as always, one of them will have
to walk away from Wednesday's game as
loser. But who will it be?
Check out the Football365 guide to the
midfield maestros to see how we rate this
summer's two star attractions…
Passing:
A clear advantage here for the
Algerian-born French midfielder. Zidane to
date has completed a massive 83 per cent
of his attempted passes in Roger Lemerre
side's trouble-free progress to the
semi-finals. In contrast, Figo has found his
man with only 78 per cent.
365 Verdict: The stats say Zidane is the
better passer and it's difficult to argue
that Figo has been better than the
Frenchman in this department. Zidane also
has the longer range.
Threat In Front Of Goal:
So far both men have found the back of
the net once in Euro 2000 - and both
efforts were automatic contenders for goal
of the tournament. Figo broke English
hearts with a spectacular long range effort
in Eindhoven that left David Seaman
motionless, sparking Portugal's stunning
recovery, while Zidane opened his account
with a superb free-kick in the quarter-final
against Spain in Bruges.
365 Verdict: Little to choose between the
two although Figo probably edges it
because he's a bigger danger than Zidane
from open play.
Assists:
If you can score 'em yourself, why not let
somebody else have a go? To date, Zidane
has set-up just one of France's nine goals
for a team-mate while Figo has created
three of Portugal's nine.
365 Verdict: Figo a clear winner.
Commitment:
Neither player is renowned for the physical
side of their games but, equally, neither is
a soft touch when it comes to the rough
stuff. Both men are strong enough to look
after themselves although Figo is
marginally the better tackler and tracker
back.
365 Verdict: Not the most significant
head-to-head between the two talismanic
figures but, if there has to be a winner,
Figo just shades it.
Dribbling:
One of the strengths of both men's game
and, considering the semi-final is sure to
be a fiercely contested and at times
frenetic affair, the ability to beat players
one-on-one could be the difference
between reaching the final or the next
plane. The stats show Zidane enjoys a
clear advantage here - successfully
completing 82 per cent of his 22 attempted
dribbles, Figo managing to hold onto the
ball 56 per cent of the time from 25
attempts.
365 Verdict: Although Figo has attempted
more dribbles, Zidane is clearly the
master.
Temperament
Surprisingly good considering flair players
traditionally have a reputation for short
fuses. Zidane does occasionally get shirty
if one is trademark bursts is nipped in the
bud by underhand tactics but has never
totally lost his composure. Similarly, it's not
easy to upset Figo who just seems to pick
himself up and get on with things if he's
been fouled.
365 Verdict: Hopefully temperament will
not play a big part in what promises to be
a feast of football (we all want to see 22
players on the pitch at the end, don't we?)
and little to choose between the two.
Crossing:
A difficult one to call. The stats make
interesting reading and it depends on
whether you count quantity or quality as
the most important aspect of getting the
ball into the opposition box. Zidane has
attempted just 12 crosses during the
tournament, half of which have found a
French team-mate. Figo has unleashed a
staggering 36 deliveries into the danger
area, but only 31 per cent of those have
found their intended target.
365 Verdict: It's the strikers' job to get
onto the crosses, so the more you can
get into the box, the better. Figo may not
boast Zidane's accuracy to date (although
a 50 per cent completion rate isn't exactly
world beating) but you can't complain at
the frequency of his delivery.
And The Winner Is...
Zidane is the player with the bigger
reputation - you don't win World Cups and
European Footballer of the Year titles for
nothing - but, on current form Figo is the
winner by the narrowest of margins.
_______________________________________________________
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