Zidane is still one of my favourite players and i followed him closely since his time at Juve but no way was he better than real Ron in his prime.
There is, however, something about that lethargic elegance that makes the difficult seem so simple that makes me like him, Cruyff, Riquelme, Hagi, Ozil and even our very own Wilshere or Leicester's Mahrez. Same reason i liked Le Tissier and even "the magic man" as he was the contrast in that team.
They may not be the most effective players but i simply enjoyed/enjoy watching them.
Any excuse to quote Jorge Valdano on Riquelme:
"If we have to travel from point A to point B, everyone would take the six-lane highway and get there as quickly as possible. Everyone, except Riquelme. He would would choose the winding mountain road, that takes six hours, but that fills your eyes with scenes of beautiful landscapes."