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Zidane and Friends prevail in 2007 Match Against Poverty
| Football goals and Millennium Goals share the pitch in an all-star friendly
| Marseille, France, 19 March 2007—Score one for human development.
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United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassadors Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane joined 47 fellow football superstars tonight at the Stade du Vélodrome for the fourth annual Match Against Poverty. Zidane and Friends won the spirited friendly, 6-2, in a contest whose meaning in the world campaign against poverty went far beyond the boundaries of the pitch.
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A crowd of 26,000 packed the Stade, while millions more watched on live television as Zidane’s side pulled away in the second half in a match that raised an estimated $450,000 for UNDP anti-poverty work world-wide. In the first half, Ronaldo and Friends looked the better of the two sides but couldn’t capitalize, as Brazil’s Rivaldo hit the bar twice in the opening 25 minutes. But a late barrage of goals by Zidane’s side sealed the win in the Match, which was supported by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association, with Nike and Adidas contributing equipment for the teams. Pierluigi Collina refereed for the fourth time.
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"Everyone can do something to make the world a better place," Zidane told a news conference before the game. Ronaldo thanked the players, coaches, technical staff, the City of Marseille and the Olympique de Marseille for their cooperation and participation. Both players thanked the fans of Marseille for coming to the Match and contributing to the drive toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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UNDP Associate Administrator Ad Melkert represented the UN organization at the Match, and spoke to the crowd. “Countries of the world set for themselves the Millennium Development Goals to halve poverty by 2015. The Match this year marks the second half of the course towards the MDGs…We can’t afford to let it come down to penalties and extra time,” said Melkert. “We have no time to lose in winning that trophy.”
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Zidane and Friends opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a goal by Sporting defender Ronny. Anthony Sichi, who plays for Ligue 2 side Istres, doubled the tally after collecting a pass from French comic and actor Djamel Debbouze shortly before the hour mark. Debbouze, a special guest of the Match, made it three at 70 minutes from a Zidane pass. Spanish midfielder Gerard narrowed the gap four minutes later but Javier Portillo, with a double, and Sami Al Jaber from Saudi Arabia tallied another for Zidane’s side. Sonny Anderson, who has played for Monaco, Marseille and Lyon, scored his team's second.
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As with previous Matches, all proceeds will go to projects selected by UNDP in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Proceeds from the first three Matches have benefited anti-poverty projects ranging from support to female entrepreneurs to the construction of sports centres for street children and the disadvantaged in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Comoros, Cuba, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Morocco, Namibia, Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Vietnam.
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Zidane and Friends – Ronaldo and Friends 6-2
Zidane and Friends goals :
Ronny (38’, csc), Sichi (58’), Debbouze (70’), Portillo (77’), Al Jaber (79’), Portillo (85’)
Ronaldo and Friends goals
Gerard (69’), Anderson (82’)
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