Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (French pronunciation: [zinedin zidan]; born 23 June 1972 in Marseille, France) is a retired French World Cup-winning footballer. Widely regarded as one of the game’s all-time greats, Zidane 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 World Cup and 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 – the other being Ronaldo – Zidane also won the Ballon d’Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after scoring and being sent off in the final of the 2006 World Cup.
Early life and Club career
Zidane was born in Marseille to Amine and Malika, both Muslims of Kabyle descent. His parents emigrated to Paris from Algeria in 1953 from the village of Aguemone in the Kabylie region of Algeria. They moved to Marseille a few years later, where Zidane was born.[1] Zidane describes himself as ‘a non-practising Muslim’.[2]
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 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?”[3]
In 1996, Zidane moved to Champions League winners Juventus for a fee of £3.2 million even though he wanted to become a Rossoneri. Despite waiting for Milan, they were not forthcoming in an offer for him, so he joined Juventus 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 third 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 a then world record fee of 150 billion Italian lire[4] (about €75 million[5]) and signed a four-year contract. He scored the match-winning goal, a thunderous volley hit with his weaker foot, in Madrid’s 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final completing this personal quadruple. The next season, Zidane helped Real Madrid to win the Spanish league title and 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, 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,[6] 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
Both France and Algeria consider Zidane a citizen, but he was ineligible to play for the Algerian national team. There was a rumor that coach Abdelhamid Kermali denied Zinedine a position for the Algerian squad because he felt the young midfielder was not fast enough.[7] 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.[8]
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 Euro 96 semi-finals in a penalty shootout by the Czech Republic after the match ended 0-0 in extra time.
1998 World Cup
Zidane won the 1998 World Cup with France, scoring twice in the final against defending champions Brazil.
Euro 2000
He finished with two goals as France then won Euro 2000, becoming the first team to hold both the World Cup and the European Championship since West Germany in 1974.
2002 World Cup
A thigh injury prevented Zidane from playing in France’s first two matches in the 2002 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.[9]
After France were eliminated in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals by eventual winners Greece on 12 June 2004, Zidane retired from international football.[10] With the mass retirement of veteran key players such as Bixente Lizarazu, Marcel Desailly and others, France struggled to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. However, at the urging of coach Raymond Domenech, Zidane came out of retirement and was immediately reinstated as team captain.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13]
2006 World Cup
After being suspended on yellow cards from the final match of the group stage,[14] Zidane set up a goal for Patrick Vieira and scored one himself in the ninety-first 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.[15] Before the final match, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the competition.[16]
Upon scoring a seventh 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. Zidane was sent off in extra-time after headbutting Marco Materazzi following verbal taunts and insults from the Italian, and so did not participate in the penalty shootout, which Italy won 5–3.[17][18] Despite the incident, Zidane was allowed to keep the Golden Ball award.[16] In 2010, Zidane said that he “would rather die” than apologise to Materazzi for the headbutt in the final.[19]
Post-retirement
On 1 June 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.[20] 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
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.[21]
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.”[22]
In June and July 2009, Zidane toured across Canada with stops in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Although billed as Zidane and “Friends”, the likes of which included Fabian Barthez and Samuel Eto’o, the exhibition matches featured local players. Tournament organisers cited lack of sponsorship and support from the Canadian Soccer Association for the disorganized rosters. Some proceeds were given to Unicef.
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.[23] 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.[24]
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.[25]
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.[26][27]
Personal life
Zidane’s parents’ house in the village of Aguemoune Ath Slimane in Kabylie.
Zidane met his wife, Véronique, while playing for Cannes in the 1988-89 season. They have four sons: Enzo, Luca,[28] Theo,[29] and Elyaz. Luca and Theo are both members of the Real Madrid Infantil B Team.
Statistics
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| France | League | Coupe de France | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 1988-89 | Cannes | Division 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1989-90 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1990-91 | 28 | 1 | - | - | 28 | 1 | ||||
| 1991-92 | 31 | 5 | - | 4 | 0 | 35 | 5 | |||
| 1992-93 | Girondins Bordeaux | Division 1 | 35 | 10 | - | - | 35 | 10 | ||
| 1993-94 | 34 | 6 | - | 6 | 2 | 40 | 8 | |||
| 1994-95 | 37 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 9 | ||
| 1995-96 | 33 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 55 | 10 | ||
| Italy | League | Coppa Italia | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 1996-97 | Juventus | Serie A | 29 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 48 | 8 |
| 1997-98 | 32 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 48 | 11 | ||
| 1998-99 | 25 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 41 | 2 | ||
| 1999-00 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 4 | ||
| 2000-01 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 6 | ||
| Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 2001-02 | Real Madrid | La Liga | 31 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 49 | 11 |
| 2002-03 | 33 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 49 | 12 | ||
| 2003-04 | 33 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 50 | 10 | ||
| 2004-05 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 39 | 6 | ||
| 2005-06 | 29 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 9 | ||
| Total | France | 200 | 34 | 17 | 5 | 22 | 4 | 239 | 43 | |
| Italy | 151 | 24 | 26 | 2 | 49 | 5 | 226 | 31 | ||
| Spain | 155 | 37 | 23 | 2 | 47 | 9 | 224 | 48 | ||
| Career Total | 506 | 95 | 66 | 9 | 118 | 18 | 689 | 122 | ||
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
- UEFA Super Cup: 2002
- Intercontinental Cup: 2002
International
- FIFA World Cup: 1998
- UEFA European Championship: 2000
Individual
- Ligue 1 Best Young Player – 1994
- Ligue 1 Best Player – 1996
- UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder – 1998
- Ballon D’or – 1998
- FIFA World Player of the Year – 1998, 2000, 2003
- FIFPro World XI All-Star Team – 2005, 2006