PARIS: The infamous headbutt that French football legend Zinedine Zidane landed on an Italian during a World Cup final has been transformed into a giant statue and displayed in front of the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
The bronze work of art, simply titled “Headbutt,” was Wednesday attracting crowds of tourists and locals who jostled to have their photos taken in front of the five-meter statue.
The sculpture is by Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed, subject of a retrospective exhibition in the Pompidou from Oct. 3 until next January. “This statue goes against the tradition of making statues in honor of certain victories. It is an ode to defeat,” said exhibition organizer Alain Michaud.
A much smaller version of the statue — which shows the two football players in the seconds after the headbutt, with the Italian player reeling after the attack — was previously exhibited by a New York art gallery.
Zidane, who holds legendary status in France as a member of the national teams that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, was sent off in the 2006 World Cup final for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest.
That was the then France captain’s last ever professional match as a player and he later claimed he had reacted to slurs the Italian directed against his sister and mother. The statue will stay in its spot in front of the Pompidou till the end of the Abdessemed exhibition in January.
Zinedine Zidane head-butt statue unveiled in Paris
Zinedine Zidane head-butt statue unveiled in Paris
Review: ‘Sorry, Baby’ by Eva Victor
- Victor makes a deliberate narrative choice; we never witness the violence of what happens to her character
There is a bravery in “Sorry, Baby” that comes not from what the film shows, but from what it withholds.
Written, directed by, and starring Eva Victor, it is one of the most talked-about indie films of the year, winning the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance and gathering momentum with nominations, including nods at the Golden Globes and Gotham Awards.
The film is both incisive and tender in its exploration of trauma, friendship, and the long, winding road toward healing. It follows Agnes, a young professor of literature trying to pick up the pieces after a disturbing incident in grad school.
Victor makes a deliberate narrative choice; we never witness the violence of what happens to her character. The story centers on Agnes’ perspective in her own words, even as she struggles to name it at various points in the film.
There is a generosity to Victor’s storytelling and a refusal to reduce the narrative to trauma alone. Instead we witness the breadth of human experience, from heartbreak and loneliness to joy and the sustaining power of friendship. These themes are supported by dialogue and camerawork that incorporates silences and stillness as much as the power of words and movement.
The film captures the messy, beautiful ways people care for one another. Supporting performances — particularly by “Mickey 17” actor Naomi Ackie who plays the best friend Lydia — and encounters with strangers and a kitten, reinforce the story’s celebration of solidarity and community.
“Sorry, Baby” reminds us that human resilience is rarely entirely solitary; it is nurtured through acts of care, intimacy and tenderness.
A pivotal scene between Agnes and her friend’s newborn inspires the film’s title. A single, reassuring line gently speaks a pure and simple truth: “I know you’re scared … but you’re OK.”
It is a reminder that in the end, no matter how dark life gets, it goes on, and so does the human capacity to love.
