Marseille eagerly awaits Zidane homecoming

MARSEILLE, France (AP) -- On a stone wall overlooking Marseille's old seaport, a huge painting of Real Madrid star Zinedine Zidane stands as a poignant reminder of the city's most famous soccer export.

Zidane is adored, revered and respected in Marseille, the city where he was born in June 1972. On Wednesday he returns to his hometown as Real Madrid visits Marseille in a Champions League Group F encounter the French side cannot afford to lose.

Marseille must win to stand any chance of progressing to the next round of the Champions League. Ironically, Zidane -- one of several megastars in the Real team -- could end their hopes.

Zidane's return to the Stade Velodrome stadium where he used to cheer Marseille as a young boy has been a favorite topic in the bars and cafes of the soccer-mad maritime city.

"The whole town has been talking about Zidane for weeks. Our son is coming home," said Samir Bendamache, a member of the C.C.S. (Club Central des Supporters), one of eight official Marseille supporters clubs.

Bendamache dragged on a cigarette inside the Bar Des Allees, the C.C.S. headquarters, just off Marseille's narrow, bustling Canebiere shopping strip. Dozens of framed photos, some dating as far back as 1937, adorn the walls to honor famous players from the club's past -- including legendary goalscorers Jean Pierre-Papin and Josep Skoblar.

"We'd love to have a picture of Zidane, but he never played for us," Bendamache lamented. "I don't think he ever will. The pressure would be unbearable, he wouldn't get any time to himself because he'd be mobbed everywhere."

Zidane, a precociously talented youth, passed undetected through Marseille's vast scouting network and left the city to join the Cannes youth academy in 1986, aged 14, after being spotted by Cannes coach Jean Varraud.

He'd spent his childhood playing on the concrete pitches of Marseille's impoverished La Castellane district. Zidane attributes his remarkable sense of balance and nimble feet to the highly competitive matches played on the concrete dust bowls -- where falling down hurt a lot more than it does on grass.

When making his debut for Cannes in 1989, aged just 16, he was given a bonus of 5,000 francs (U.S.$941 at current exchange rates). Two years later, after scoring his first goal against Nantes, club president Alain Pedretti offered Zidane a red Renault Clio.

A decade later, after spells at Bordeaux and Juventus, Zidane joined Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee of euro76 million ($89.4 million), and he remains one of soccer's highest-paid players.

He has won league titles with both Juventus and Real, the Champions League and inspired the French national team to victory at the 1998 World Cup and the European Championships in 2000. In 1998, Zidane was named Footballer of the Year, joining Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini and Papin as the only Frenchmen to win soccer's ultimate individual award.

Against Marseille, Zidane will play his 89th European match, surpassing the previous record of 88 held by former France captain Didier Deschamps -- now coach at Monaco.

Despite the awards, the titles, the lucrative sponsorship deals and the recognition, Zidane remains a shy, humble man who avoids self-congratulation as elegantly as he does an opponents' tackle.

"He's a great man, with his heart in the right place," said Andre Lemoine, the owner of a shoe shop overlooking Marseille's old port. "He's open to everyone and doesn't shun people. That's also what makes him great."

However, it seems not everyone will love Zidane when he takes to the Velodrome field on Wednesday.

"We don't care about Zidane," said Michel Tonini, vice president of the Yankee Virage Nord supporters club. "So what if he's from Marseille? He's wearing the Real Madrid shirt so we'll boo him just as much as we will (Real Madrid players) David Beckham or Raul. He's the enemy."

"But I must admit it would be nice if Zidane played for Marseille," he added.

Tonini, a middle-aged man, gave instructions as several other members of the Yankee supporters club prepared a giant flag featuring a cavalry officer dressed in the uniform of the Union army during the American civil war.

"We started out calling ourselves the Yankees North Army in 1987," he explained. "Because we stand in the north section of the stadium."

Their flag will be one of many draped among the 60,000 crowd expected for the visit of "Real's galactic stars," as Tonini calls them.

Zidane said recently he would be upset if his goal knocked Marseille out of the Champions League. Bendamache, for one, will forgive him if he does so.

"That's his job. He's a professional," Bendamache said. "We won't hold it against him."