Euro 2004 failure helps Zidane to decide on quitting

Former France midfielder Zinedine Zidane said the team's Euro 2004 quarter-final defeat by Greece had finally made up his mind to end his 10-year international career.

"Something was broken (after Euro 2004)," Zidane told French television channel Canal Plus on Thursday. "With the retirements of Bixente Lizarazu, Marcel Desailly and Lilian Thuram, things have changed," he added.

"I have also been moved by the departures of (back-room staff) Henri Emile and Philippe Boixel, who were also part of the generation who won the 1998 World Cup."

"I had already thought of it," he said. "I would probably have quit even if we had won, but it's easier to leave after a defeat."

The Real Madrid playmaker, under contract with the Spanish club until 2007, said he had considered quitting before flying to Portugal for the European Championship.

Source: Xinhua