Zidane’s musical coup

Zinedine Zidane’s head-butt against Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final has inspired a song.

The French have forgiven Zidane's gesture

“Coup de Boule”, the French for head-butt, was written after France’s defeat by Italy on Sudnay.

Zidane, widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, was sent off for head-butting Materazzi after an exchange of comments.

The song was written by the three associates of Plage Records, a small label that usually handles advertising music.

The label’s founders, brothers Emmanuel and Sebastien Lipszyc, and composer Franck Lascombes wrote the Caribbean zouk-influenced song and its chorus “Zidane, il a tape” (Zidane, the hit man) as a cure to their post-defeat disappointment.

They initially emailed it to about 50 contacts, but now a French radio station, SkyRock, has put it on its play-list and bigger record labels and ringtone sellers are fighting for its rights.

Lascombes told Reuters: “It just went incredibly fast and by Tuesday it was sheer madness.

“We are talking with four big labels and we could sign a deal tomorrow … Yes, it could become lucrative but if we can make everybody dance to it this summer, it will give us a good laugh.”

A poll published this week showed that 61% of French people have forgiven Zidane for the outburst which earned him a red card. Zidane’s sponsors have pledged to stick with him.

Plage Records: http://www.laplagerecords.com/

Source: Reuters