Zidane did not speak with reporters afterward, but it's hard to imagine there was anything he could say that would justify what happened.

Almost no one was surprised when boxer Mike Tyson tried to bite off Evander Holyfield's ears in the middle of a heavyweight bout. And earlier in this tournament, when hot-headed England forward Wayne Rooney got sent off for stomping on Portugese defender Roberto Carvalho's groin, it was hardly out of character.

Players lose their cool in games all the time. They get too mad, too desperate or too determined to get revenge on the spot, and wind up doing something stupid.

But Zidane?

He was about control from the moment he left the tough streets of Marseilles to begin his professional career as a teenager. You only had to see his elegant touch with the ball a few times to know that. Zidane pulled the strings on every team he played for, always able to dictate tempo and the flow of play precisely because he was always in control.

And then came that inexplicable moment this warm summer night when he lost it ¡ª and who knows how much else in the bargain.