THREE weeks after France was defeated in the World Cup, the glory of Zinédine Zidane, the national football hero, blazes on in the form of an unlikely hit song called Head-butt.

From radio, television and mobile phones to bars, campsites and beaches it is impossible to escape the reggae-like refrain that celebrates the violent act in the final in Berlin against Italy that earned Zidane a red card and very brief disgrace. “Zidane a frappé, la Coupe on l’a ratée” (Zidane struck, we blew the cup) it goes.

The overnight success of Coup de Boule (Head-butt) — which is top of the singles chart — came after its release on the internet by hitherto unknown musicians. “We are in the process of making a miracle,” said Thierry Chassagne, the president of Warner Music France, which bought the song from Franck Lascombes and Sébastien and Emmanuel Lipszyc. The Lipszyc brothers, who run a jingle and sound-effects company called La Plage, were mourning the day after the Berlin defeat. The internet was filling up with songs and video gags about the attack by “Zizou” on Marco Materazzi of Italy.

“We were depressed and couldn’t work,” Sébastien Lipszyc, 31, said. “Franck came up with the idea of joining in all this reaction. Our jokes became lyrics and it was finished in half an hour.”

The trio sent their track to fifty friends over the internet that Monday and three hours later they heard it on Skyrock, one of the biggest French radio networks.

The next day they were besieged by mobile telephone companies. By Wednesday, Warner had outbid two recording companies to market it. They shot a video on the Saturday in the Charlety stadium in Paris. It features a referee giving an unseen player a red card.

More than 150,000 copies of the single have been sold since it came out last week and it has been downloaded more than 100,000 times.

Two weeks from its inception, Head-butt is the “tube de l’été”, or summer hit, the catchy tune that monopolises the air in France’s holiday months. The difference with Head-butt is that it is not the product of intensive marketing.

Now record companies are reacting to the internet, as they did in Britain with the Arctic Monkeys and Sandi Thom, whose success online preceded hefty record sales. Head-butt is being sold in 20 countries.

The explosion of Zidane parodies and songs on the internet — including a video montage of him butting President Chirac — testify to the continuing adoration of the Marseilles-born footballer, who retired after the final. His sponsors, who pay him about £5 million a year, did not flinch at the violence that cost him a symbolic three-match suspension and a community service order. Adidas has engaged him until 2017. Danone, the food company, said yesterday that he might even serve on its board.

Marketing experts say that Zidane’s head-butt may even have added to his commercial power because it has conferred on him a rebel image that goes down well with the young.

Sébastien Lipszyc said that he and his brother were dazed by the sudden success that Zidane had brought their company, “but most of all we hope it has made Zidane laugh”.

STRIKING A CHORD WITH THE NATION

Watch out, it's the
head-butt dance!
(Head-butt, head-butt)
Head-butt to the right
(Head-butt, head-butt)
Head-butt to the left
Head-butt, head-butt)
Go Blues! Go,
Zidane, he hit him, Zidane,
he slapped him
(Head-butt!)

The guido, he was hurt
Zidane hit him,
The Italian's not doing well
Zidane slapped him
The ref saw it on the TV
Zidane hit him
But we lost the World Cup
We had a good laugh
anyway

Lyrics from Coup de Boule