He was inspirational in the semifinal and also scored an equaliser in the final against Italy but his last act of the game was not the manoeuvres of his magical feet, rather his once celebrated head (ask Brazil) that turned villainous.

The 34-year-old of Algerian origin, who learned the tricks of the trade in the roads of Marseilles, came close to settle the fate of the final with a powerful header but for an equally brilliant save by Gianluigi Buffon. Eight years ago, two-headed goals by the same man had broken the hearts of the Brazilians in Paris but the enigmatic Frenchman, in the end, made headlines for all the wrong reasons when he head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi and took a sad exit from Berlin and the game itself.

The arguments went on and the incident was also the talk of the football crazy Bangladeshis for months. Only a handful took Zidane as a villain but for the majority, he remained graceful even in defeat.

And his arrival in Dhaka for a brief visit has created enough enthusiasm, and the idea that he will really kick the ball, much expectation, although late, among the people of all ages.

"For the first few days, I could not believe Zidane is really coming. Now as I realise that he will be here, the thought of seeing him with my own eyes is giving me goose bumps," said Shahriar, a student of Dhaka University. "I am a fan of his skills and I want to watch them with my own eyes."

To see Zidane, people made call after calls to the football federation yesterday to know where they would find tickets. The federation is expecting a big crowd to welcome one of the greats in the line of Pele and Maradona.

A football fan wanted to give Tk 1,00,000 to the federation to have a photograph with Zidane and have it signed by the legend. A businessman had offered Tk 20,00,000 to have Zidane wear a 'lungi' (local dress) of his business-house.

National captain Habibul Bashar for the first time sounded unhappy for being a cricketer.

"It is a pity that I have to play cricket tomorrow while people will watch Zidane. I would have been happy if the match (Corporate Cricket League final) was deferred," he said echoing the sentiment of fellow cricketers.

"I wish he was here with Real Madrid's full 'galactico' squad but still, it is the biggest thing to hit Bangladesh since Muhammad Ali's arrival in 1981," said Rabeed Imam, Editor of tigercricket.com.

Rasheduzzaman, a student of NSU, said: "I'm very excited. A world renowned hero like Zidane is a great inspiration to our country at this time."

His NSU mate Saaolat hoped the arrival of Zidane would boost the country's game. "It's great but I think he's coming due to a commercial reason only. But I really hope that this visit will give our dwindling football hope in some way."

"I just hope that his visit gives us a sudden boost of some sort. But as he's a red passport holder (UN goodwill ambassador), I hope he uses it to good effect to Bangladesh in the future," said Tasnib Ahmed, a student.

Tanvir, service holder, said, "It would have been great if he came just to play football."

"Zidane's visit must be lauded as he's here to promote a product that is for children's health. Nonetheless, he's a great footballer and surely this is a proud moment for Bangladesh," BUET student Parvez Mahmood commented.