Campfire Blog
Nothing like immortalizing an embarrassing national moment
In 2006, with the whole world watching the World Cup Final, French soccer player Zinedine Zidane infamously dropped one of the Italian players with a violent headbutt to the chest.
Six years later, someone thought it was a good idea to build a statue of the event:
“This statue goes against the tradition of making statues in honour of certain victories. It is an ode to defeat,” exhibition organizer Alain Michaud told Agence France Presse after the five meter statue was unveiled in the French capital city of Paris outside the world-renowned Pompidou Museum.
The statue captures the moment when, with the scores level at 1-1 between France and Italy in Berlin in football’s biggest game, Zidane was given a straight red card for his assault on Materazzi deep into extra-time.
France went on to lose the match on penalties, when striker David Trezeguet saw his spot kick crash into the crossbar and Fabio Grosso converted to crown Italy world champions.— CNN
France is having a heck of a week. First they ban “mother” and “father,” then they build monuments in honor of humiliation and defeat.
Since President Obama likes to follow European trends, maybe we should erect a statue commemorating Custer’s last stand right on the White House lawn?
