Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most successful coaches in the world. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was a playmaker renowned for his elegance, vision, passing, ball control, and technique. He received many individual accolades as a player, including being named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or. Zidane started his career at Cannes before establishing himself as one of the best players in the French Ligue 1 at Bordeaux. In 1996, he moved to Italian team Juventus, where he won several trophies including two Serie A titles. He moved to Real Madrid for a world record fee at the time of €77.5 million in 2001, which remained unmatched for the next eight years. In Spain, Zidane won several trophies, including a La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League. In the 2002 Champions League final, he scored a left-foot volleyed winner that is considered one of the greatest goals in the competition's history. Capped 108 times by France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a brace in the final, and was named to the All-Star team. This triumph made him a national hero in France and he received the Legion of Honour in 1998. He won UEFA Euro 2000 and was named Player of the Tournament. He also received the Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament at the 2006 World Cup, despite his infamous sending off in the final against Italy for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. He retired as the fourth-most capped player in French history. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players compiled by Pelé, and in the same year was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. Zidane is one of nine players to have won the World Cup, the Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or. He was the ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 World Cup, the first Arab country to host the tournament.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“Sometimes I don't know what takes me over during a game. Sometimes I just feel I have moved to a different place and I can make the pass, score the goal or go past my marker at will.”
— Interview, June 2000 .
“It was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.”
— Interview, 2004
“I was lucky to come from a difficult area. It teaches you not just about football but also life. There were lots of kids from different races and poor families. People had to struggle to get through the day. Music was important. Football was the easy part.”
— Interview, 2004
“It's hard to explain but I have a need to play intensely every day, to fight every match hard. And this desire never to stop fighting is something else I learnt in the place where I grew up.”
— Interview, 2004

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Notable quotes

“Sometimes I don't know what takes me over during a game. Sometimes I just feel I have moved to a different place and I can make the pass, score the goal or go past my marker at will.”
— Interview, June 2000 .
“It was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.”
— Interview, 2004
“I was lucky to come from a difficult area. It teaches you not just about football but also life. There were lots of kids from different races and poor families. People had to struggle to get through the day. Music was important. Football was the easy part.”
— Interview, 2004
“It's hard to explain but I have a need to play intensely every day, to fight every match hard. And this desire never to stop fighting is something else I learnt in the place where I grew up.”
— Interview, 2004

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Overview

Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most successful coaches in the world. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was a playmaker renowned for his elegance, vision, passing, ball control, and technique. He received many individual accolades as a player, including being named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or. Zidane started his career at Cannes before establishing himself as one of the best players in the French Ligue 1 at Bordeaux. In 1996, he moved to Italian team Juventus, where he won several trophies including two Serie A titles. He moved to Real Madrid for a world record fee at the time of €77.5 million in 2001, which remained unmatched for the next eight years. In Spain, Zidane won several trophies, including a La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League. In the 2002 Champions League final, he scored a left-foot volleyed winner that is considered one of the greatest goals in the competition's history. Capped 108 times by France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a brace in the final, and was named to the All-Star team. This triumph made him a national hero in France and he received the Legion of Honour in 1998. He won UEFA Euro 2000 and was named Player of the Tournament. He also received the Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament at the 2006 World Cup, despite his infamous sending off in the final against Italy for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. He retired as the fourth-most capped player in French history. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players compiled by Pelé, and in the same year was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. Zidane is one of nine players to have won the World Cup, the Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or. He was the ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 World Cup, the first Arab country to host the tournament.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most successful coaches in the world. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was a playmaker renowned for his elegance, vision, passing, ball control, and technique. He received many individual accolades as a player, including being named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or.

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Zinedine Zidane across IJR

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