Zinedine Zidane's headers killed Brazil in 1998 World Cup finals. However, he will, probably, and unfortunately, be more remembered for the header he produced against Marco Materazzi, which killed France's own World Cup chances in 2006.

For a man who was going to be making his last international appearance in the form of World Cup finals in the soccer field, everybody thought that it provided a perfect platform for a great sporting talent to bid adieu to the world in the best possible way, which other sporting greats can only dream of. All of a sudden, that dream became a nightmare.

It is a pity that Zidane's greatest contributions on the soccer field will forever be superseded by his retributions on and off the field. Now, we all know that there could have been a racial taunt behind such a "human" act. Otherwise, what could have made a champion react that way?

There might have been a combination of factors -- age, eagerness and pressure to perform in his last hurrah for his adopted country, tired legs, the inevitability about leaving his profession forever, a sense of World Cup final, an unyielding opponent... the list could go on and on.

However, it all erupted based on a taunt, and it turned ugly. Frustration turned to anger, anger turned to action, action turned to disappointment, disappointment turned to defeat and, finally, defeat turned to remorse.

But wait a minute. Isn't it something we all go through in our life? Isn't it a part and parcel of every human being at some time or the other?

Then, why do we find fault with our sporting heroes and personalities? Why do we think that they should be perfect? Are we perfect in our profession and our life? The answer is a resounding NO!

People might argue that Zidane did not act like a role model for themselves or for their kids. Did Zidane ask each of us to make him a role model for us? No! Whenever he has been a success, we often like to talk about it with pride as if it is our own achievement. We keep the individual on a pedestal and wish and hope to hear only the good things about the individual.

Suddenly, there comes a moment, like the head-butting, and we all act embarrassed and ashamed as if it is our own personal conduct. We neither need to take any credit for his success nor be ashamed for the latest act.

While we often enjoy our own private time and can afford to hide our faults and mistakes, sportspersons do not have that privilege. Their private life is public property. So often in life, sporting heroes become the butt of criticism for failing to live up to their iconic status.

How often we forget that we ourselves are imperfect in whatever we do. How, on Earth, is it logical to expect some thing from a sports hero, which we ourselves cannot accomplish in our normal day-to-day life?

People will say that it should not have been done in front of a live audience of over an estimated two-billion people. But, it is still a human mind that thinks and acts in that fluid moment. It reacts to the situation without thinking about the implications.

Some times, in life, there are certain things that we hold very dear to us and we will never allow them to be compromised at any cost. It might have been a racial slur, an attack on the family or on the country -- things he might give more priority to than the material things that constitute the world cup trophy.

We all can accuse Zidane of taking the opportunity to glorify himself and the sport as one to sully his image. But, he was as much a victim as a culprit. He was rightly shown the door as the referee had to go by the rules of the game, no matter how great he is.

However, the incident should not take anything away from Zidane's genius and his achievements in the soccer field, which include a World Cup success, World Cup finalist, three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Golden Ball award and being voted the best European footballer in the last 50 years!

He arguably has the greatest skill in controlling the ball and directing it to the right destination, be it the goal net or the teammates. His silken touch in the free kick was the difference between Brazil and France in the quarterfinals. His semifinal penalty kick must rank as probably the shortest steps ever taken in scoring a goal -- just two steps and right in the corner where he wanted.

All these, however, were superseded by arguably the best penalty kick ever taken in a tense situation. He completely flummoxed Gianluigi Buffon by just scooping the ball ever so slowly towards its ultimate destination according to where the master ordered, and all Buffon could do was bite the dust, literally and figuratively. It was a classic case of reaction before the event.

Is he a flawed genius? Like the rest of us, he is flawed because he is human. Unlike the rest of us, he is a genius in his own right and in his own sport, and nobody can take that away from him.

Unfortunately, in reality, the ugly incident will take some of the gloss away from his illustrious career.

Why?

Because, in all fairness, life is unfair!