Zinedine Zidane is the personification of why football is called the beautiful game.

Yes, he scored three goals in World Cup finals and yes, he became a club legend at Real Madrid, but what is most important to the fans who adored him are the memories that he left them with.

You wouldn't look at Zidane's statistics and say that his career compared to Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, but there's good reason to think that his raw footballing genius came very close.

The genius of Zidane

Besides, even younger generations who didn't grow up watching Zidane on a weekly basis are able to discover within mere seconds just how technically gifted he was through the medium of YouTube.

While, yes, the future Real coach most certainly had his moments of anger and physical football, there was almost a feeling that time stood still whenever the ball was at his feet.

RANKING FOOTBALL GOATS! Ronaldo, Messi, R9, Zidane? (Football Terrace)

We don't mean that to sound like some corny compliment to 'Zizou' either, but rather a way of describing how his speed of thought with the ball was so much faster than his opposition.

All this is to say that we might never enjoy a footballer quite like Zidane ever again and that's why it is such a blessing that YouTube is saturated with footage of his most impressive moments.

Zidane's most ingenious moments

No doubt you already have a favourite Zidane compilation of your own, but we'd wager that few can come close to a montage titled: "Zinedine Zidane: The Most Creative & Smart Plays".

The original release from YouTuber 'mr bundesteam' went live in January 2020 and attracted more than one million views, but appears to have been deleted in the 18 months since.

Nevertheless, the internet being the internet, a re-upload has indeed emerged and we'd recommend anyone with any semblance of love for football to enjoy the video in all its glory down below:

Oh my goodness me. Zidane really was playing a different sport to everyone else.

Footballing poetry in motion

It really says a lot about the sheer brilliance of the Frenchman that no fast editing or intense music  was required to make each and every skill pop off the screen.

And whether the footballing magic came in the form of a Dennis Bergkamp-like turn or performing keepy-ups in front of Rivaldo, it really does ram home just how unique of a talent Zidane really was.

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So, go on, do yourselves a favour and watch the video back one more time because to watch Zidane in full flow tis o come just about as close to footballing perfection as anyone has managed.