Zinedine Zidane

Profile Football Stars | Zinedine Zidane | Zidane is of Kabyle Berber descent. At club level Zidane won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus, an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both the aforementioned sides. He is one of only two players to have been the FIFA World Player of the Year three times (Brazilian striker Ronaldo being the other). He also won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. He retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup.

At the age of ten, Zidane got his first player's license after joining the team of a local junior club from La Castellane by the name of U.S. Saint-Henri. After spending a year and a half at the U.S. Saint-Henri, Zidane joined SO Septèmes Valons when the Septèmes coach Robert Centenero convinced the club's Director to get Zidane.

Zidane 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 made his professional debut with Cannes on 18 May 1989 at the age of seventeen in a Ligue 1 match against Nantes. After the match during a party for all the players Cannes, Zidane was gifted a car by chairman Alain Pedretti Cannes, who had promised him one the day he scored his first goal for the club.

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. In 1995, Blackburn Rovers coach Kenny Dalglish had expressed interest in signing both Zidane and Dugarry, to the which team owner Jack Walker reportedly replied, "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?" In 1996, Zidane moved to the UEFA Champions League winners Juventus for a fee of £ 3.2 million and won the 1996-97 Serie A and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup. Following the season, Zidane netted seven goals in 32 matches in the league to help Juventus win the 1997-98 Serie A and Thus Spake retain the Scudetto. In Europe, Juventus made Their third consecutive UEFA Champions League Final appearance, but lost the game 1-0 to Real Madrid, a club Zidane would later join. However Zidane was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year for the second time.

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, hit a volley with his weaker foot, in Madrid's 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League Final 2002 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. While Zidane's final season of club football ended trophy-less, he enjoyed success on a personal note recording the maiden hat-trick of his career, Thrice scoring against Sevilla FC in a 4-2 win in January 2006. On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had his plans to retire Announced after the 2006 World Cup, played his last home match and scored in a 3-3 draw with Villarreal CF. The squad wore shirts with Zidane 2001-2006 Commemorative below the club logo.

Both France and Algeria Zidane Consider a citizen, but he was ineligible to play for the Algerian national team. Before the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final in Berlin, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the competition. Following his red card in the final, Zidane retired from professional football, and confirmed That he would not go back on his decision.

Personal information
Full name Zinedine Zidane
Date of birth 23 June 1972 (age 39)
Place of birth Marseille, France
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Midfielder

Youth career
1982-1983 U.S. Saint-Henri
1983-1986 SO Septèmes-les-Vallons
Cannes 1986-1988

Senior career
years Team
Cannes 1988-1992 61 (6)
Bordeaux 1992-1996 139 (28)
Juventus 1996-2001 151 (24)
2001-2006 Real Madrid 155 (37)
Total 506 (96)

National team
1992-2006 France 108 (31)

Honors

Club
    Girondins Bordeaux France
        UEFA Intertoto Cup:
            Winner: 1995
        UEFA Cup:
            Runner-up: 1995-96

    Juventus
        Serie A:
            Winner: 1996-97, 1997-98
            Runner-up: 1999-00, 2000-01
        Supercoppa Italiana:
            Winner: 1997
            Runner-up: 1998
        UEFA Champions League:
            Runner-up: 1996-97, 1997-98
        UEFA Super Cup:
            Winner: 1996
        Intercontinental Cup:
            Winner: 1996
        UEFA Intertoto Cup:
            Winner: 1999

    Real Madrid
        La Liga:
            Winner: 2002-03
            Runner-up: 2004-05, 2005-06
        Supercopa de España:
            Winner: 2001, 2003
        Copa del Rey:
            Runner-up: 2001-02, 2003-04
        UEFA Champions League:
            Winner: 2001-02
        UEFA Super Cup:
            Winner: 2002
        Intercontinental Cup:
            Winner: 2002

Country
    France France
        FIFA World Cup:
            Winner: 1998
            Runner-up: 2006
        UEFA European Football Championship:
            Winner: 2000
            Third Place: 1996
        King Hassan II International Cup Tournament:
            Winner: 1998, 2000
        Tournoi de France:
            Third Place: 1997

Individual
    Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year - 1994
    Ligue 1 Player of the Year - 1996
    Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year - 1997, 2001
    UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year - 1998
    FIFA World Cup Final Man of the Match - 1998
    World Soccer Player of the Year Awards - 1998
    Ballon D'or - 1998
    L'Equipe Champion of Champions - 1998
    French Player of the Year - 1998, 2002
    Onze d'Or - 1998, 2000, 2001
    FIFA World Player of the Year - 1998, 2000, 2003
    FIFA World Cup All-Star Team - 1998, 2006
    ESM Season XI: 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04
    World Soccer 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century - 1999
    UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament - 2000
    UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament - 2000, 2004
    Serie A Footballer of the Year - 2001
    UEFA Team of the Year - 2001, 2002, 2003
    UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match - 2002
    La Liga Best Foreign Player - 2002
    UEFA Club Footballer of the Year - 2002
    FIFA World Cup Dream Team - 2002
    FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers - 2004
    UEFA Best European Player of the Past 50 Years - 2004
    FIFPro World XI All-Star Team - 2005, 2006
    IFFHS World's Best Playmaker - 2006
    FIFA World Cup Golden Ball - 2006
    UNFP Honorary Award - 2007
    Marca Leyenda Award - 2008
    Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award - 2011
    UEFA Champions League Best Player of the Past 20 Years - 2011

Order
    Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion d'honneur in 1998, Promoted to Officier (Officer) in  2009