Nothing has been proven against Zidane yet, none of the major sports outlets are covering the story either, which makes me think it's source might not be the most reliable
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There was a whole trial in Italy a few years back investigating the doping in the game. There's a whole chapter about in Paddy Agnew's Forza Italia. It's been a while since I read it but, AFAIR, Zidane was not charged in it. He was just asked to give evidence, along with Del Piero and other Juve/Serie A players. IIRC, the main loser was the Juve team doctor.
You're right in what you say Superfrank. Zidane, along with the Juve team were investigated and cleared of doping around the time, it meant Juve got to keep their Serie A titles and Champions League crown
Maradona was repeatedly injected with cortisone on his injured knee to force him to play big games on the orders of the Comorra. This 'partially' contributed to his dependence on drugs or 'aids' as some call them.
Im no chemist but is ephedrine not just an appetite suppresant to aid weight loss which Maradona took before USA94. AFAIK ephedrine is also found in everyday substances like LemSip.
However Maradonas cocaine abuse began in the night spots of Barcelona.
A note on testing. A rumour I heard about Jaap Stam's expulsion from United is that he tested positive for something that was commonly used in Holland (nandrolone i think). Rumours began when Stam and Davids were both tested in Italy (and Fernando Couto). It wasnt just Italy as Frank de Boer (i think) was tested positive in Barcelona.
The tests are made public in Italy and Spain but kept in-house in England. I was told by someone who worked at the FA that a number of high profile players at United and Liverpool tested positive for recreational drugs and sent to re-hab but declared publicly as injured. Smaller clubs outed their players - Chris Armstrong at Palace being one.
The Pool/Utd players were rumoured to be Fowler, Redknapp, Sharp and Giggs.
It was probably 2/3 years before that happened.
Cocaine is performance enhancing - it's a stimulant. However, it's not normally considered performance enhancing in out of competition tests as it's benefits don't last long enough.
Ephedrine is a stimulant, is banned in the US (where the tournament was held), has many side affects and has caused a few deaths in the sports world through dependence. He should have been sent home for using a banned drug in the country the tournament was on in whether it devalued the competition or not
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedrine
Zidane does look the druggy type....I don't trust him
You're allowed think before you post. :rolleyes:
And doper or not he will always remain a dope. :)