Zidan Game, The

Director: Niels Christian Jung
Producer: Olav Skaaning Andersen
Produced by: DR
Duration: 58 min.
Year of Production: 2006
Original Title: Spillet om Zidan

The world of professional football is usually inaccessible to the general public. But The Zidan Game allows the viewer a rare glimpse into that world. The film follows European football star, Mohammed Zidan, and the struggle his Danish club undergoes as it tries to tame the young player and then sell him.

The Egyptian football acrobat came to Denmark in 1999 to play professional football and was instantly recognized as one of the best players in Danish football. He swept the region’s football community off its feet. In public he was presented as a maladjusted street kid. But behind the façade was a young man in need of security on and off the pitch.

In 2003 he was transferred to another top league club and embarked on a new life. But he could not outrun his criminal past. He was tried for assault, handling stolen goods, and speeding. The criminal charges almost cost him his ultimate dream: a huge contract with the German football champs Werder Bremen.

The programme also highlights the battles fought by football agents and scouts in the international competition to sign the most talented young players.