Zinedine Zidane - Player Profile

Zidane was born in Marseille on 23 June 1972 as the youngest of five children, and was raised in La Castellane, a government-sponsored housing project (cité HLM) in the city's northern suburbs (the Quartier Nord). His parents, Ismail and Malika were originally Berbers from the village of Aguemone, Algeria, from where they had immigrated to France. In 1993, Zidane married Véronique Zidane (born Lentisco), a former French dancer of Spanish origin whose parents live in Rodez, Aveyron, France. They have four sons: Enzo (born 24 March 1995 and named after the Uruguayan Football player Enzo Francescoli, Zidane's childhood hero), Luca (born 13 May 1998), Théo (born 18 May 2002), and Élyaz (born 26 December 2005).

Zidane got his start in football at a young age when he joined the junior team of US Saint-Henri, his local club in the La Castellane district of Marseille. At the age of 14, Zidane left Septemes and participated in the first year junior selection for the league championship, where Jean Varraud, AS Cannes' recruiter, took notice of him. Zidane went to Cannes for what was intended to be a six-week stay, but remained at the club for four years to play with professionals. Showing the determination of an athlete who wanted to exceed expectations, Zidane played his first game in First Division at the age of 17, and it was from then that football went from an ambition to a passion. The Cannes midfielder scored his first goal on 8 February 1991 (he received a Clio as a promise from the Cannes President, who promised him a car when he scored his first goal as a professional), and his first season with the club was marked by a qualification for the UEFA Cup. Zidane's second season with Cannes was not as promising, but on the non-professional front he met his future wife Veronique, a Spanish dancer. Afterwards, Zidane spent four years with FC Girondins de Bordeaux, leading them to victory in the 1995 Intertoto Cup and to a 2nd place in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup tournament. In Bordeaux, he met Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, with whom he played a set of midfield combinations that would become the trademark of both Bordeaux and the 1998 French national team. In 1996, he was transferred to Italy's Juventus F.C. for a fee of £ 3 million.

At Juventus, Zidane was one of the top players and playmaker of Marcello Lippi's team, along with Didier Deschamps, Alessandro Del Piero, Angelo Di Livio, Ciro Ferrara and Edgar Davids. His team won two Serie A titles and reached two consecutive UEFA Champions League finals, in 1997 and 1998, losing both, the latter to the Spanish club Real Madrid.

In 2001, Zidane was transferred to Real Madrid on a four-year contract. The transfer fee was €66m, around £45.6m, the highest in football history. His fellow Galacticos at Madrid included Raúl, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos, and later Ronaldo and David Beckham. He scored a spectacular winning volley in a 2-1 win over the German team Bayer Leverkusen in the 2001-2002 Champions League final at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

On 7 May 2006, Zidane played his last home game for Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. His team-mates wore special jerseys that had ZIDANE 2001–2006 written on the bottom of the club logo. The Real Madrid fans gave him a warm reception and kept cheering him throughout the game. The opposing team was Villarreal CF, and the game ended in a 3-3 draw, where he scored the second goal for Real Madrid. After the game, Zidane swapped jerseys with Juan Román Riquelme, the Villarreal CF and Argentinean midfielder. Zidane was given an ovation by spectators chanting "merci", which left him in tears.

Personal Profile

Full Name
Zinedine Yazid Zidane

Nick Name
Zizou

Date of Birth
23 June 1972

Place of Birth
Marseille, France

Height
185 cm

Playing Position
Attacking Midfielder

National Team
France (1994-2006) (108 appearances / 31 goals)

Senior Clubs

1988-1992
Cannes (61 appearances / 6 goals)

1992-1996
Bordeaux (135 appearances / 28 goals)

1996-2001
Juventus (151 appearances / 24 goals)

2001-2006
Real Madrid (155 appearances / 37 goals)