END OF AN ERA, AND NOT JUST `ZIZOU'.

Byline: Scott French SOCCER

LOS ANGELES -- Zinedine Zidane is getting most of the attention, and for good reason. Anyone who has seen Zizou at the height of his powers -- witnessed his genius, his artistry, his ability to transcend sport -- will never forget him.

An era is ending this spring and summer, and not just because Zidane is hanging up his boots. Joining him in retirement is a ``Who's Who'' of great players from the past decade or so: Dennis Bergkamp, Alan Shearer, Marcel Desailly.

Zidane's former teammate Bixente Lizarazu is leaving, and maybe Fabien Barthez, too. Roy Keane, the fiery Irishman lauded by Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson as the ``best player I've worked with'' and ``the best midfield player of his generation,'' might call ita day.

It's the way of sport. The spotlight shines only so long, and once that magic can no longer be summoned, it's off to the golf course.

The previous generation of superstars moved into coaching: Ruud Gullit and Hugo Sanchez, Juergen Klinsmann and Marco van Basten, Rudy Voeller and his 1990 World Cup nemesis, Frank Rijkaard, who guided Barcelona to the UEFA Champions League title last week.

Were seeing it happen here, too. Fernando Clavijo, the left back in '94, is in charge of the Colorado Rapids. Mike Lapper, the UCLA and U.S. defender, on Sigi Schmid's Columbus Crew staff. Paul Caligiuri, the first American to make it in Europe, at Cal Poly Pomona. Curt Onalfo, an assistant to U.S. coach Bruce Arena. John Harkes, John Doyle, Bruce Murray, Eric Wynalda -- all working with young players.

Soccer is going to miss, especially, Bergkamp. The Dutch striker had such exquisite touch, was as capable of setting up teammates as he was scoring sensational goals. His strike against Argentina, from Ronald de Boer's long ball, was the best of the 1998 World Cup.

Shearer, the definitive English striker, was adored for his unparalleled scoring knack, for his squeaky-clean image, for his humility. And he was beloved, especially in northern England, for turning down Manchester United's millions to play the bulk of his career at Newcastle United, the team he so loved as a boy.

Desailly, the Ghanaian-born French defender, was something else: big, athletic, an impenetrable force, classy on the backline or in midfield. He won 116 caps, a French record, and the successes in '98 and 2000 are unthinkable without him.

Then there's Zidane. He was remains another level. Architect of France's 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship triumphs, three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, rival to Pele and Maradona and Best and Cruyff as the greatest ever to play the game.

The French might not agree, but Michel Platini always has occupied a greater position among his countrymen, something seemingly to do with race. Platini's ancestry was Italian, Zidane's Algerian, and that meant something eight years ago.

The importance of France's 1998 World Cup triumph -- at the time vitriolic, racist Jean Marie Le Pen was cultivating power -- had more to do with the role of immigrants in French society than anything else. Zidane, Henry, Djorkaeff, Desailly, Thuram, Karembeu: The French team was a mirror of France's immigrant communities, and it provided a voice to those on the the nation's fringes. And Zidane, his touch so mesmerizing, his movement so balletic, his ideas so advanced -- he defined all of it.

He shall be missed.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) Zinedine Zidane last week played his final match for Real Madrid. The French playmaker will be done after the World Cup.

Christina Quicler/AFP/Getty Images

(2) The Red Bulls' Amado Guevara (20) has worn out his welcome in New York.

Box:

(1) L.A.'s Guevara interest: Lukewarm

(2) Etc.