Zinedine Yazid Zidane is one of the soccer’s
all-time greats and achieved a high place in the soccer world and his nickname is
“Zizou”. He is a French soccer player the son of Algerian immigrants who was
born on June, 23, 1972 in Marseille France and has 3 older brothers and one
older sister. He learned how to play soccer in the streets of La Castellane a
rough section of Marseille. He started playing for local youth clubs at the age
of 14 years old. Then he was discovered at a French Football Federation
training camp. Zinedine is married to Veronique Fernandez and they have 4 sons
the one is Enzo was born in 1995, the second is Luca was born in 1998, the
third is Theo was born in 2002 and the last is Elyaz was born in 2006, 3 of his
sons joined the Real Madrid Academy. Zidane met his Spanish wife Veronique
Fernandez while he was playing for Cannes team in the 1988-1989 season. He has promoted several charity projects in various ways
by playing charity matches also he has helped raise money for UNICEF for the
United Nations Development Program and for the Keuydaroon children’s AIDS
charity he is also a UN goodwill ambassador. Zinedine Yazid Zidane at the age of ten he joined the junior team of US
Saint-Henri a local club. After a year and a half he switched to SO Septemes
Valons.
When he was 14 years old he was selected to attend a training camp run by the French Football Federation and was spotted by a talent scout for the AS Cannes. Zidane travelled to Cannes for a six-week stay but ended up staying with the club for four years as a professional. At first the 14 year old lived in a dormitory with other trainees but soon he moved in with Cannes director Jean-Claude Elineau and his family. Zidane played his first Ligue 1 match for Cannes in 1989 at the age of 17. During Zidane’s first full season with Cannes the team qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time in the history of the club. In the 1992-1993 season Zidane was transferred to Girondins de Bordeaux where he stayed until 1996. Girondins de Bordeaux won the 1995 Intertoto Cup and finished second in the 1995-1996 UEFA Cup. Then Zidane was transferred to Juventus for £3.2 million in 1996. Juventus won the 1996-1997 Serie A and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup and finished second in the 1997 UEFA Champions League. Juventus then proceeded to win the 1997-1998 Serie A and once again finish second in the UEFA Champions League. In 2000-2001 the team finished second in Serie A. During his time with Juventus Zidane was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year for both 1997 and 2001. In 2001 Zidane signed a four year contract and transferred to Real Madrid for a record breaking transfer fee of 150 billion Italian lire (roughly €75 millions). Real Madrid won the 2002 UEFA Champions League and in the next season Zidane helped his team secure a victory in La Liga. During Zidane’s last season for Real Madrid, he was their second highest goal scorer and assists provider with 9 goals and 10 assists over the course of 28 games. Zidane played his last home match for Real Madrid in May 2006.
When France hosted the 1998 World Cup, Zidane
spearheaded Les Bleus' march through the tournament with his crisp passing and
dribbling, and then scored twice as France shut down Brazil in the final 3-0 to
become a national hero. Two years later Zidane again was the linchpin of the
French team's run to international glory which culminated with a 2-1 win over
Italy for the European Championship.
Zidane had indicated he would retire after
the 2006 World Cup in Germany and it appeared that his career was heading for a
storybook finish when France advanced to the final against Italy. Instead it
ended in shocking fashion when he was enraged by the opponent Marco Materazzi
commented to him in extra time then he slammed his head into the Italian
player’s chest so after that he was thrown out of the game and France lost the
penalty kicks in the end. After that when Zidane retired he joined Real
Madrid's front office as an adviser and was named the club's sporting director
in 2011. The following year it was announced that the French soccer legend
would begin coaching at Real Madrid's youth academy, the first step in a new
career of calling the shots from the sidelines of his beloved game.
