BANGLADESH: SOCCER/FOOTBALLER - French footballing icon Zinedine Zidane receives a rousing welcome as he meets young football fans in a dusty Bangladeshi village

Zinedine Zidane received a rousing welcome when he met young football fans in a dusty Bangladeshi village on Tuesday (November 7). "Zidane, Zidane, long live Zidane," chanted the villagers who had been waiting since dawn to see the former France and Real Madrid playmaker. Children sang songs and girls danced to greet him. "Never I thought to be able to see him face to face, though I saw his photographs in newspapers," said Fatema Begum, a ninth-grade schoolgirl. Zidane, who retired from soccer after being sent off in July's World Cup final for head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi, travelled to Kamarbasulia village, 50 km north of Dhaka, to see a credit distribution scheme that is helping local women to beat poverty. He was invited to Bangladesh by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus to open a $1-million food plant, a 50:50 joint venture by Yunus's microfinancing institution Grameen Bank and French food giant Danone. On Monday night, hundreds of fans crowded Dhaka airport to greet Zidane.

ITN Source | November 8, 2006

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