Zidane France's favorite celebrity: Poll

Paris:

Despite that famous World Cup head-butt or perhaps because of it, retired soccer star Zinedine Zidane is France's favorite celebrity, a poll said. Zidane, who ended his 18-year career with an attack on Italian player Marco Materazzi, came out number one in an Ifop poll published in the weekend newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. Tennis player and singer Yannick Noah dropped one place to second. Fabien Barthez and Franck Ribery, who played alongside Zidane in the World Cup final, were number 14 and 15 on the list. The poll appeared to solidify Zidane's status as a national hero with some people saying his reaction to Materazzi's taunting made him seem more human. Zidane was sent off in the final minutes of France's World Cup final last month against Italy. France lost the match 5-3 in a penalty shootout. The poll of 987 people was conducted in face-to-face interviews between July 10 and 18 by the Ifop agency. No margin of error was given. (AP)