Biography of Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane, nicknamed Zizou, was born on June 23, 1972 (July 2, 1972) in France. He is a former French football player and coach. Many experts believe that Zidane is one of the geniuses and one of the best players in the history of football. He played as a midfielder for club teams such as Juventus and Real Madrid and the France national football team. Zidane was born in Marseille to Algerian parents and is the fifth child in the family. His parents were named Ismail and Malika, and their lineage went back to a village in Algeria. He is a non-observant Muslim.
Marriage of Zinedine Zidane
Zidane married Véronique, a Spanish-born dancer and model, in 1993. They have four sons, Enzo (born 24 March 1995), Luca (born 13 May 1998), Theo (born 18 May 2002) and Elias (born 26 December 2005), Enzo currently plays for Real Madrid Castilla.
Zidane has endorsed companies such as Lego, Adidas, Christian Dior, Generali, France Telecom, Orange, Audi and Ford, and is one of the richest athletes in the world.
Ward to the world of football
From the streets of Marseille, he was quickly recruited by US Saint-Henri and, after a period at the Olympic Academy, was selected by Jean Ward to play for Cannes. Due to his extraordinary talent, Zidane stayed at Cannes and played 61 games in the French league for the team. In 1992, he moved to Bordeaux and his successful period in this team began, and Bordeaux fans nicknamed him Zizou. After 2 years, he was called up to the national team and made his international debut on August 17, 1994 against the Czech Republic. He entered the field in the 63rd minute when France was 2-0 down and scored two goals to equalize the game.
Zidane made his professional debut with Cannes on May 18, 1989, at the age of sixteen, in a league match 1-0 against Nantes. He scored his first goal for the club on February 8, 1991, against Nantes in a 2-1 victory. After the game, in a celebration attended by all the Cannes players, the president of the Cannes club, Alain Pedretti, presented Zidane with the car he had promised him for his first goal for the club. He played for the club until 1992, making a total of 65 Ligue 1 appearances and scoring 6 goals. In 1992, he joined Bordeaux, one of the most prestigious clubs in France, at the age of 20.
Zidane moved to Bordeaux in 1992, and his successful career began with the team, and Bordeaux fans nicknamed him “Zizou”. He played for Bordeaux for four years, from 1992 to 1996. In those four years, he played in 157 Ligue 1 matches and scored 32 goals. After four years at Bordeaux, Zidane joined Juventus in 1996 for a fee of three million dollars. At Juventus, he became one of the team’s main stars under the coaching of Marcello Lippi, alongside the likes of Didier Deschamps, Alessandro Del Piero, and Edgar Davids.
In his five years with Juventus, he won two Italian league titles and appeared in two consecutive European Cup finals, in 1997 and 1998. Zidane played for Juventus for a total of five years, until 2001. In these five years, he made 151 appearances in the Italian league and scored 24 goals.
In 2001, Zidane joined Real Madrid in one of the most famous transfers in football history. The transfer fee was 74 million euros, which was unprecedented in football history at that time, and no player was transferred to another club for such a huge amount for another 10 years.
Zidane made his debut for the French national football team on 17 August 1994, and in 1998, he hosted the 1998 World Cup with the French national team. Zidane came on in the quarter-final against Italy, converting a penalty after the game had gone to penalties after 120 minutes. He came on in the final against Brazil, scoring twice to help his team win 3–0, giving France their first World Cup title. Both of his goals were headers, which was impressive for a midfielder of his calibre. Many consider this match to be a turning point in Zidane’s career.
Two years later, Zidane was a member of the French national team at Euro 2000. He was one of France’s best players at the tournament. Zidane scored the opening goal against Spain from a direct free kick in the quarter-final and scored the golden goal from the penalty spot in the dying seconds of the semi-final against Portugal, helping the team reach the final.
2006 World Cup
Zidane appeared for France in the 2006 World Cup for the third time in a row, this time as captain. He received yellow cards in both of his first two matches, against Switzerland and South Korea, and was suspended for the third match. He returned to the team in the round of 16 against Spain, where he scored a goal and assisted a goal as his team advanced to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, France faced defending champions Brazil, a repeat of the 1998 World Cup final.
On 9 July 2006, the final between France and Italy was played, and Zidane captained France. It was his final match in the history of his career. He scored from the penalty spot in the 7th minute to become one of only four players to score in two World Cup finals, along with Pelé, Vava and Paul Breitner. The match ended in a 1–1 draw after normal time, and went into extra time. Zidane almost opened the scoring with a header in the first half of extra time, but Buffon saved his shot. The 110th minute of what would be Zidane’s final game was one of the most controversial moments in world football. During the match, Zidane was sent off and was therefore not involved in the penalty shootout, as France lost 5–3 in his absence and that of Patrick Vieira, who was injured and substituted.
Despite the controversial move and Zidane’s dismissal in the final, he was named the best player of the 2006 World Cup, completing his illustrious collection of honours.
Honours
World Cup: 3 appearances (1998, 2002, 2006) – once champion (1998) – once runner-up (2006)
European Cup: 3 appearances (1996, 2000, 2004), once champion (2000)
European Club Cup: 1 victory (in 2001–2002 with Real Madrid)
Italian League: 2 victories (in 1996–1997 and 1997–1998 with Juventus)
Spanish League: 1 victory (in 2002–2003 with Real Madrid)
Intercontinental Cup: 2 victories (in 1996 with Juventus and in 2002 with Real Madrid)
European Super Cup: 2 victories (in 1996 with Juventus and in 2002 with Real Madrid)
Italian Super Cup: 1 victory (in 1997 with Juventus)
Spanish Super Cup: 2 victories (in 2002 and 2003 with Real Madrid)
Zidane Awards
Three times the best FIFA World Player of the Year (1998, 2000 and 2003)
One-time European Player of the Year (Ballon d’Or) by France Football magazine (1998)
One-time European Club Cup Most Valuable Player (2001–2002 with Real Madrid)
Two-time World Cup Player of the Year (2006 World Cup in Germany and 1998 in France)
Best Player of the Last Half Century of the 20th Century (2004 by UEFA website visitors)
Knight of the Legion of Honor since 1998
Olympic Torchbearer at the 2004 Athens Olympics
Winner of the Laureus Sportsmanship Award in 2010
Zinedine Zidane’s coaching career
In January 2016, Rafael Benitez was sacked as Real Madrid manager after seven months in charge, and former player Zinedine Zidane took over. Just five months into his tenure, Zinedine Zidane led the club to their 11th Champions League title. Zidane became the first manager in history to win the European Cup as a player, assistant manager and manager.
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