The World Cup is leaving traces across the United States. One of them can be found at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, one of the country’s most important cultural institutions, which has decided to become part of the tournament. In the most conventional way, by showing some matches in one of the bars inside the building. And then in the way only the Guggenheim could: through an artwork.
The installation is dedicated to Zinédine Zidane. More precisely, to Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, the film created in 2006 by video artists Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno.
The idea behind it is simple and extraordinary at the same time: a full match of Zizou, filmed entirely around him. Seventeen cameras follow only Zidane, capturing every movement, every expression, every touch of the ball, every small exchange between him, the game and everything happening around him.
The match is Real Madrid–Villarreal, played on 23 April 2005 and won 2–1 by the team in white.
Below is the Guggenheim’s post presenting the installation dedicated to Zizou:
17 cameras. One man. 90 minutes of soccer. ⚽
Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno’s “Zidane, a 21st century portrait” makes its first appearance at the Guggenheim New York—a fitting moment, twenty years on from the April match at the Bernabéu where it was filmed.
On view now… pic.twitter.com/gA5FF2Yx0I
— Guggenheim New York (@Guggenheim) June 19, 2026
It is difficult to think of another footballer of the last thirty years who could have received a tribute like this. Not only because of Zidane’s status, but because of the place where this tribute now exists: the Guggenheim.
There have been Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, of course. There still are. But neither of them has ever quite expressed that same sense of pure grace, absolute elegance, that luminous aesthetic quality which followed Zinédine Zidane every time he stepped onto a football pitch.
So, if you are in New York, go to the Guggenheim – a recommendation we would make anyway – and spend some time with Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. Or perhaps watch the whole thing. The full hour and a half. Why not?