Maradona could have been the ultimate midget.... but Zidane IMO is a step above him. He was a real football god.
For starters, Zidane could dictate the tempo of the game at will. Prime Pirlo looks like an amateur in comparison. This attribute alone, is the trademark of a good player.
He was able to decide in a matter of seconds terrific passes, was able to deestabilize a whole team with a string of dribbles, had a terrific header (which he rarely used as he was always outside the box), had a terrific Free kick shot (on par with Pirlo if not better), on his prime he even had good speed with his long legs.
The dude had SUPERB balance. This was shown time after time after clashing with enemies but somehow keeping his feet and dribbling them. It is more or less what Pogba does now, but much more composed.
And last but not least...He had the best ball control and first touch i have seen on a player, ever, period. You could throw at him the worst passes Molinaro could ever do, and Zidane would intercept them and make the ball stick to his body like glue.
In summary, he mastered every possible offensive task. The only thing he was not outstanding is in the defensive department, but he was an attacking midfielder so this is no biggie.
On his day.. he looked like toying with opponents.. making it look almost like if he was doing it on purpouse just to be flashy and ridicule people neymar style... but in fact he was doing it and at the same time being super effective. He was not mocking anyone, he just did what he knew and did it so majestically that made rivals look like like stupid. His flashy moves were not for the shids and lols, he did them with a purpouse, as part of his arsenal.
And all this in an era of modern football and very fierce opposition, full of legends like him.