Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane was born in 1972 in Marseille, France. His parents are the emigrants from Algeria. When the boy was ten he joined US Saint-Henri, after a year he moved to SO Septèmes Valons and in 1986 he switched to Cannes. Zidane was promoted to Cannes first team and made his Ligue 1 debut at the age of 17. That was the game against Nantes on 18 May 1989. He helped his side to finish fourth in his first season with the club, thus ensuring the UEFA Cup spot.

In 1992 Zinedine Zidane signed for Girondins de Bordeaux and stayed with the club for four years. During that period the team won the 1995 Intertoto Cup and in 1995/96 they were UEFA Cup runners-up.

Zidane left Bordeaux for Italian powerhouse Juventus for £3.2 million. While playing for them he helped the team to win Serie A titles in 1996/97 and 1997/98, in 1997 they won Supercoppa Italiana, in 1996 Juventus won UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup and in 1999 they won UEFA Intertoto Cup. Playing for Juventus he was awarded FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998 and 2000.

In 2001 Zinedine Zidane moved to Spain signing a four-year deal with Real Madrid for a fee of €75 million. He helped the team to win La Liga title in 2002/03, in 2001 and 2003 Real Madrid won Supercopa de España. In 2001/02 they claimed UEFA Champions League title, in 2002 they won UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup. Zidane was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2003 for the third time. In 2006 he retired.

In 2013 Zidane started his coaching career by joining Carlo Ancelotti’s staff at Real Madrid. In the summer 2014 he was appointed as the head coach of Real Madrid Cadstilla.

He made his debut for the France national team on 17 August 1994 and that was a 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic, when Zidane scored twice. In 1998 he was the key figure helping France to claim FIFA World Cup victory. In Euro 2004 France was eliminated in the quarterfinals and Zidane decided to retire. Nevertheless he re-joined the France national team qualifying for the 2006 World Cup as well as several other footballers (Thuram and Claude Makélélé). Zidane retired after the World Cup final, when he was given a red card for headbutting Marco Materazzi, being insulted.