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Zinedine Zidane

Personal information
Full name	Zinedine Yazid Zidane
Date of birth	23 June 1972 (1972-06-23) (age 37)
Place of birth	Marseille, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder (retired)
Youth career
1982–1983	US Saint-Henri
1983–1987	SO Septèmes-les-Vallons
1987–1988	Cannes
Senior career1
Years	Club	Apps (Gls)2
1988–1992	Cannes	061 0(6)
1992–1996	Bordeaux	139 (28)
1996–2001	Juventus	151 (24)
2001–2006	Real Madrid	155 (37)
Total		506 (95)
National team
1994–2006	France	108 (31)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. 2 Appearances (Goals)

Zinedine Yazid Zidane (French pronunciation: [ˌzineˈdin jaˈzid ziˈdan]; born 23 June 1972 in Marseille), popularly nicknamed Zizou, is a natural-born French citizen best known for having been a football midfielder. He had played for club teams in France, Italy, and Spain, and was a member of the French national team. His career accomplishments include helping France win the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, in addition to winning the 2002 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid.

One of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners (Ronaldo being the other), Zidane was also named the European Footballer of the Year in 1998. His abilities were further recognized in 2004 when he was included in Pelé's choice list of the world's greatest footballers. He retired from professional football after the 2006 FIFA World Cup.¹

Club career

Zidane joined the junior team of US Saint-Henri, a local club in the La Castellane district of Marseille. At the age of 14, he participated in the first-year junior selection for the league championship, where he caught the attention of AS Cannes scout Jean Varraud. He went to Cannes for a six-week stay, but ended up remaining at the club for four years to play at the professional level. Zidane played his first Ligue 1 match at seventeen, and scored his first goal on 8 February 1991, for which he received a car as a gift from the team president. His first season with Cannes culminated in a UEFA Cup berth.

Zidane (left) with David Beckham at Real Madrid.

Zidane transferred to Girondins de Bordeaux for the 1992–93 season, winning the 1995 Intertoto Cup and finishing runner-up in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup in four years with the club. He played a set of midfield combinations with Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, which would become the trademark of both Bordeaux and the 1998 French national team. In 1995, Blackburn Rovers coach Ray Harford had expressed interest in signing both Zidane and Dugarry, to which team owner Jack Walker reportedly replied, "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?"²

In 1996, Zidane moved to Champions League winners Juventus for a fee of £3 million, and won the 1996–97 Scudetto and the Intercontinental Cup, but lost the 1997 UEFA Champions League final 3–1 to Borussia Dortmund. He netted seven goals in 32 matches to help Juventus retain the Scudetto the next season and make their second consecutive UEFA Champions League final appearance, losing 1-0 to Real Madrid which would be his next destination. Juventus were runners-up in 2000–01, but were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, during which Zidane was sent off for headbutting Hamburger SV player Jochen Kientz.

In 2001, Zidane joined Real Madrid for €78 million, the most expensive transfer fee in football history at the time, and signed a four-year contract. He scored the match-winning goal in Madrid's 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final completing this personal quadruple. The next season, Zidane was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the third time. In 2004, fans voted him atop UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll, and he was included in the FIFA 100.

Despite scoring his first-ever hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Sevilla FC, Zidane's final season of club football ended trophyless. On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup,³ played his last home match and scored in a 3-3 draw with Villarreal CF. The squad wore commemorative jerseys with "ZIDANE 2001–2006" below the club logo.

International career

A Zidane football jersey, number 10 for France.

Both France and Algeria consider Zidane a citizen, but he was ineligible to play for the Algerian national team. There was also a rumor that coach Abdelhamid Kermali denied him a position for the Algerian squad because he felt the young midfielder was not fast enough. ⁴ However, Zidane dismissed the rumor in a 2005 interview, saying that he would have been ineligible to play for Algeria because he had already played for France.⁵

He earned his first cap with France as a substitute in a friendly against the Czech Republic on 17 August 1994, which ended in a 2-2 draw after Zidane scored twice to help France erase a 2-0 deficit. After Éric Cantona was handed a year-long suspension in January 1995 for assaulting a fan, Zidane took over the playmaker position. France were eliminated in the UEFA Euro 1996 semifinals in a penalty shootout by the Czech Republic after the match ended 0-0 in extra time.

Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup with France, scoring twice in the final against defending champions Brazil. He finished with two goals as France then won UEFA Euro 2000, becoming the first team to hold both the World Cup and the European Championship since West Germany in 1974. A thigh injury prevented Zidane from playing in France's first two matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He rushed back prematurely for the third game despite not being fully fit, but could not prevent France from being ignominiously eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal.⁶

After France were eliminated in the UEFA Euro 2004 quarterfinals by eventual winners Greece on 12 June 2004, Zidane retired from international football.⁷ With the mass retirement of veteran key players such as Bixente Lizarazu, Marcel Desailly and others, France struggled to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, at the urging of coach Raymond Domenech, Zidane came out of retirement and was immediately reinstated as team captain.⁸ He made his competitive return in a 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands on 3 September 2005, as France went on to win their qualifying group.⁹

On 27 May 2006, Zidane earned his hundredth cap for France in a 1-0 friendly win over Mexico, becoming France's fourth player ever to reach this milestone, after Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps and Lilian Thuram. He was substituted early in the second half.¹⁰

2006 World Cup

Zidane during the 2006 World Cup final.

After being suspended on yellow cards from the final match of the group stage,¹¹ Zidane set up a goal for Patrick Vieira and scored one himself in the 91st minute of the second round match against Spain. As France held Brazil to just one shot on goal in the rematch of the 1998 final, Zidane's free kick led to Thierry Henry's deciding goal, sealing a 1-0 win. Zidane was named Man of the Match by FIFA.¹² Before the final match, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the competition.¹³

By scoring a 7th minute penalty in the final, Zidane became only the fourth player in World Cup history to score in two different finals, along with Pelé, Paul Breitner, and Vavá, in addition to being tied for first place with Vavá, Pelé and Geoff Hurst with three World Cup final goals apiece. However, he was sent off in the 110th minute with the match tied 1–1, for an off-the-ball head-butt of Marco Materazzi. Thus, he did not participate in the penalty shootout, which Italy won 5–3. It would be his final moment and match in professional football. Despite his red card and the controversy that followed, he kept the Golden Ball award.¹³

Post-retirement

On June 1, 2009, Zidane was announced as the Advisor to the President as Florentino Perez was named President of Real Madrid for the second time. He also regularly plays for Real Madrid Veterans team.¹⁴ He along with Jorge Valdano, General Director, and Miguel Pardeza, Sporting Director, will be the key decision makers on the sporting side of the club.

Charity activities

Zidane during an appearance for the Danone Nations Cup.

In 2003, Zidane attended the Race Against Hunger organized by Action Against Hunger Spain (also known as Acción Contra el Hambre) held at the French Lyceum of Madrid. This event raised an estimated 25,000 Euros.

On 24 February 2007, before a crowd of 10,000 fans at a match in northern Thailand for the Keuydaroon children's AIDS charity, Zidane scored the first goal and set up the second for a Malaysian teammate as the match ended 2-2. The event raised ฿260,000 ($7,750). This money paid for the building of two schools and 16 three-bedroom houses.¹⁵

On 19 November 2007, Zidane took part in the fifth annual Match Against Poverty in Málaga, Spain, which also ended in a 2-2 draw; he went scoreless but set up his team’s second goal. He and former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo, who collaborated in conceiving the yearly event to benefit the United Nations Development Programme, regularly captain their respective teams consisting of active footballers, other professional athletes and celebrities. Zidane, a U.N. goodwill ambassador since 2001, stated before the game that “everyone can do something to make the world a better place.”¹⁶

Awards, honours, and appointments

In 2004, Forbes magazine named him the 42nd-highest paid athlete in the world, with earnings of US$15.8 million a year.¹⁷ In November 2006, Zidane toured Bangladesh as the guest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. He also visited the Algerian birthplace of his parents, and met personally with president Abdel Aziz Bouteflika.¹⁸

Filmmakers Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon filmed a documentary, Zidane, which follows Zidane during an entire match, filmed with 17 cameras. The documentary was part of the 2009 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.¹⁹

Sponsorships

Zidane has had endorsements with many companies, including: Adidas, Lego, France Telecom, Orange, Audi, Volvic and Christian Dior. These sponsorship deals earned him €8.6 million on top of his €6.4 million Real Madrid salary in his final season, making him the sixth-highest paid footballer.²⁰²¹

Personal life

Zidane is of Algerian Kabyle descent. His parents, Ismail and Malika, both Muslims, emigrated from the village of Aguemone in the Kabylie region of Algeria in 1953, and settled in Paris, before moving to Marseille a few years later.²²

Zidane met his wife, Véronique while playing for Cannes in the 1988-89 season.^{23dead link} They have four sons: Enzo (named after former Uruguayan player Enzo Francescoli), Luca,²⁴ Theo,²⁵ who are both members of the Real Madrid Infantil B Team, and Elyaz.

Statistics

²⁶

Honours

Bordeaux

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1995

Juventus

• Serie A: 1996-97, 1997-98
• Italian Super Cup: 1997
• European Super Cup: 1996
• Intercontinental Cup: 1996
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2002-03
• Spanish Super Cup: 2001, 2003
• UEFA Champions League: 2001-02
• European Super Cup: 2002
• Intercontinental Cup: 2002

International

• FIFA World Cup: 1998
• UEFA European Championship: 2000
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2001, 2003

Individual

Ballon d'Or awarded to Zidane in 1998.

• Ligue 1 Best Young Player - 1994
• Ligue 1 Best Player - 1996
• UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder - 1998
• Ballon D'or - 1998
• UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament - 2000
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year - 1997, 2001
• Serie A Footballer of the Year - 2001
• Onze d'Or - 1998, 2000, 2001
• French Player of the Year - 1998, 2002
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year - 2002
• UEFA Team of the Year - 2001, 2002, 2003
• FIFA World Player of the Year - 1998, 2000, 2003
• UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll - 2004
• FIFA 100
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament - 2000, 2004
• FIFA World Cup Golden Ball - 2006
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team - 1998, 2006
• FIFPro World XI All-Star Team - 2005, 2006

Orders

• Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1998²⁷²⁸, promoted to Officier (Officer) in 2009²⁹

See also

• Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait

Notes and references

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zinedine Zidane

• (French) / (Spanish) Official website
• Zinedine Zidane's career timeline and detailed statistics
• Zinedine Zidane at the Internet Movie Database

Zinedine Zidane - Navigation boxes and awards v • d • e France squad – UEFA Euro 1996 semi-finalists 1 Lama • 2 Angloma • 3 Di Meco • 4 Leboeuf • 5 Blanc • 6 Guérin • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Djorkaeff • 10 Zidane • 11 Loko • 12 Lizarazu • 13 Dugarry • 14 Lamouchi • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Madar • 18 Pedros • 19 Karembeu • 20 Roche • 21 Martins • 22 Martini • Coach: Jacquet v • d • e France squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup Winners (1st Title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Guivarc'h • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Diomède • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Charbonnier • Coach: Jacquet v • d • e France squad – UEFA Euro 2000 Winners (2nd title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Anelka • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Wiltord • 14 Micoud • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Ramé • Coach: Lemerre v • d • e France squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Ramé • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Christanval • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Makélélé • 8 Desailly • 9 Cissé • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Micoud • 23 Coupet • Coach: Lemerre v • d • e France squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Landreau • 2 Boumsong • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly • 9 Saha • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Rothen • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Dacourt • 18 Pedretti • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Marlet • 22 Govou • 23 Coupet • Coach: Santini v • d • e France squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Landreau • 2 Boumsong • 3 Abidal • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Malouda • 8 Dhorasoo • 9 Govou • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Saha • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Givet • 18 Diarra • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Chimbonda • 22 Ribéry • 23 Coupet • Coach: Domenech v • d • e Ballon d'Or 1956: Matthews · 1957: di Stéfano · 1958: Kopa · 1959: di Stéfano · 1960: Suárez · 1961: Sívori · 1962: Masopust · 1963: Yashin · 1964: Law · 1965: Eusébio · 1966: Charlton · 1967: Albert · 1968: Best · 1969: Rivera · 1970: Müller · 1971: Cruijff · 1972: Beckenbauer · 1973: Cruijff · 1974: Cruijff · 1975: Blokhin · 1976: Beckenbauer · 1977: Simonsen · 1978: Keegan · 1979: Keegan · 1980: Rummenigge · 1981: Rummenigge · 1982: Rossi · 1983: Platini · 1984: Platini · 1985: Platini · 1986: Belanov · 1987: Gullit · 1988: Van Basten · 1989: Van Basten · 1990: Matthäus · 1991: Papin · 1992: Van Basten · 1993: Baggio · 1994: Stoichkov · 1995: Weah · 1996: Sammer · 1997: Ronaldo · 1998: Zidane · 1999: Rivaldo · 2000: Figo · 2001: Owen · 2002: Ronaldo · 2003: Nedvěd · 2004: Shevchenko · 2005: Ronaldinho · 2006: Cannavaro · 2007: Kaká · 2008: C. Ronaldo v • d • e Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year 1997: Zidane | 1998: Ronaldo | 1999: Batistuta | 2000: Shevchenko | 2001: Zidane | 2002: Trézéguet | 2003: Nedvěd | 2004: Kaká | 2005: Ibrahimović | 2006: Kaká & Suazo | 2007: Kaká | 2008: Ibrahimović v • d • e Serie A Footballer of the Year 1997: Mancini | 1998: Ronaldo | 1999: Vieri | 2000: Totti | 2001: Zidane | 2002: Trezeguet | 2003: Nedvěd & Totti | 2004: Kaká | 2005: Gilardino | 2006: Cannavaro | 2007: Kaká | 2008: Ibrahimović v • d • e FIFA World Player of the Year 1991: Matthäus | 1992: van Basten | 1993: Baggio | 1994: Romário | 1995: Weah | 1996: Ronaldo | 1997: Ronaldo | 1998: Zidane | 1999: Rivaldo | 2000: Zidane | 2001: Figo | 2002: Ronaldo | 2003: Zidane | 2004: Ronaldinho | 2005: Ronaldinho | 2006: Cannavaro | 2007: Kaká | 2008: C. Ronaldo v • d • e World Soccer Footballer of the Year 1982: Rossi | 1983: Zico | 1984: Platini | 1985: Platini | 1986: Maradona | 1987: Gullit | 1988: van Basten | 1989: Gullit | 1990: Matthäus | 1991: Papin | 1992: van Basten | 1993: Baggio | 1994: Maldini | 1995: Vialli | 1996: Ronaldo | 1997: Ronaldo | 1998: Zidane | 1999: Rivaldo | 2000: Figo | 2001: Owen | 2002: Ronaldo | 2003: Nedvěd | 2004: Ronaldinho | 2005: Ronaldinho | 2006: Cannavaro | 2007: Kaká | 2008: C. Ronaldo v • d • e FIFA 100 UEFA Baggio · Ballack · Banks · Baresi · Beckenbauer · Beckham · Bergkamp · Bergomi · Best · Boniek · Boniperti · Breitner · Buffon · Butragueño · Cantona · Ceulemans · Charlton · Cruijff · Dalglish · Dasayev · Davids · Del Piero · Desailly · Deschamps · Emre · Eusébio · Facchetti · Figo · Fontaine · Gullit · Hagi · Henry · Kahn · Keane · Keegan · Klinsmann · Kluivert · Kopa · B. Laudrup · M. Laudrup · Lineker · Luis Enrique · Maier · Maldini · Masopust · Matthäus · Müller · Nedvěd · Neeskens · Nesta · Owen · Papin · Pfaff · Pirès · Platini · Puskás · Raúl · Rensenbrink · Rijkaard · Rivera · Rossi · Rui Costa · Rummenigge · Rüştü · Schmeichel · Seedorf · Seeler · Shearer · Shevchenko · Stoichkov · Šuker · Thuram · Totti · Trésor · Trezeguet · van Basten · R. van de Kerkhof  · W. van de Kerkhof · Van der Elst · van Nistelrooy · Vieira · Vieri · Zidane · Zoff CONMEBOL Carlos Alberto · Batistuta · Cafu · Crespo · Cubillas · di Stéfano · Falcão · Figueroa · Francescoli · Júnior · Kempes · Maradona · Passarella · Pelé · Rivaldo · Rivelino · Roberto Carlos · Romário · Romerito · Ronaldinho · Ronaldo · Djalma Santos · Nílton Santos · Saviola · Sívori · Sócrates · Valderrama · Verón · Zamorano · Zanetti · Zico CAF Diouf · Milla · Okocha · Abédi Pelé · Weah CONCACAF Akers · Hamm · Sánchez AFC Hong · Nakata Awards Preceded by Inaugural UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder 1997-98 Succeeded by David Beckham Preceded by Matthias Sammer European Championship Player of the tournament 2000 Succeeded by Theodoros Zagorakis Preceded by Stefan Effenberg UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player 2001-02 Succeeded by Gianluigi Buffon Preceded by Oliver Kahn FIFA World Cup Golden Ball 2006 Succeeded by Incumbent Sporting positions Preceded by Patrick Vieira France captain 2005–2006 Succeeded by Patrick Vieira