ZINEDINE ZIDANE BIOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHY AND CAREER

Zinedine Yazid Zidane born 23 June 1972 is a retired French football player. He is widely considered as one of the greatest players in the history of football. Zidane played for major club teams in France, Italy and Spain, and was the captain of the French national team. He was the iconic figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, he returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.

At club level Zidane won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus, and an Intercontinental Cup, and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. He is, alongside Brazilian striker Ronaldo, the only three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winner; he also won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup.

Zidane's parents emigrated to Paris in 1968 from the village of Aguemone in the Kabylie region of Algeria. They moved to Marseille a few years later, where Zidane was born.

Zidane joined 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 was transferred to Girondins de Bordeaux in 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?"


In 1996, Zidane moved to UEFA Champions League winners Juventus for a fee of £3.2 million[citation needed] and won the 1996–97 Serie A and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup, but lost the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final 3–1 to Borussia Dortmund. The following season, Zidane netted 7 goals in 32 matches in the league to help Juventus win the 1997–98 Serie A and thus retain the Scudetto. In Europe, Juventus made their third consecutive UEFA Champions League Final appearance, but lost 1–0 to Real Madrid which would be his next destination. Juventus finished second in the 2000–01 Serie A, but were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League after Zidane was banned for headbutting Hamburger SV player Jochen Kientz. Zidane however was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year for the second time.
Playing for Real Madrid in 2005.

In 2001, Zidane joined Real Madrid for a then world record fee of 150 billion Italian lire (about €75 million) and signed a four-year contract. He scored a famous match-winning goal, a volley hit with his weaker foot, in Madrid's 2–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final completing his personal quadruple. The next season, Zidane helped Real Madrid to win the 2002–03 La Liga and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the third time. In 2004, fans voted him as the best European footballer of the previous 50 years in UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll.

While Zidane's final season of club football ended trophyless, he enjoyed success on a personal note recording the maiden hat-trick of his career, scoring thrice against Sevilla FC in a 4-2 win in January 2006. He ended the season for Real Madrid as their second highest goal scorer and assists provider behind teammates Ronaldo and Beckham respectively, with 9 goals and 10 assists in 28 games. On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup, played his last home match and scored in a 3–3 draw with Villarreal CF. The squad wore commemorative shirts with ZIDANE 2001–2006 below the club logo.



Personal information

Full name: Zinedine Yazid Zidane
Date of birth: 23 June 1972
Place of birth: Marseille, France
Height: 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position: Attacking Midfielder

Youth career
1982–1983 US Saint-Henri
1983–1986 SO Septèmes-les-Vallons
1986–1988 Cannes

Senior career*
1988–1992 Cannes 61 (6)
1992–1996 Bordeaux 139 (28)
1996–2001 Juventus 151 (24)
2001–2006 Real Madrid 155 (37)
Total 506 (95)

National team
1991–1994 France U-21 18 (3)
1994–2006 France 108 (31)