ZINEDINE ZIDANE-The Coach And Player
Zinedine Yazid Zidane O.L.H., A.O.M.N(French pronunciation: [zinedin zidan], born 23 June 1972), nicknamed "Zizou", is a retired French footballer and current manager of Real Madrid. He played as an attacking midfielderfor the France national team, Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus and Real Madrid.[3][4] An elite playmaker, renowned for his elegance, vision, ball control and technique, Zidane was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Pollin 2004.[5] He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.[6][7][8]
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At club level, Zidane won the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cupand a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned teams. His 2001 transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid set a world record fee of €77.5 million. His left-foot volleyed winner in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final is considered to be one of the greatest goals in the competition's history. On the international stage with France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice in the final and being named to the All-Star Team, and the UEFA Euro 2000 where he was named Player of the Tournament. The World Cup triumph made him a national hero in France, and he received the Légion d'honneurin 1998.
Zidane was named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times, in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and won the 1998 Ballon d'Or. He was Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 1996, Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2001 and La Liga Best Foreign Player in 2002. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players compiled by Pelé. Zidane received the Golden Ball for 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. Prior to the World Cup, he announced he would retire at the end of the tournament. He retired as the fourth-most capped player in France history.
After retirement, Zidane became assistant coach at Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti for the 2013–14 season. After a successful year in which the club won the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey, Zidane became the coach of Real Madrid's B team, Real Madrid Castilla.[9] In 2010, Zidane was an ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first Arabcountry to host the tournament.[10] Zidane is currently the manager of Real Madrid, taking over the position in January 2016.[11] In his first two seasons as manager, Zidane won the UEFA Champions League title twice, a La Liga title, a Supercopa de España title, the UEFA Super Cup twice and a FIFA Club World Cup.[12]
Early life and career
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (Arabic: زين الدين يزيد زيدان) was born on 23 June 1972 in La Castellane, Marseille, in Southern France. Zidane is of Algerian Kabyle descent.[13][14]His parents, Smaïl and Malika, emigrated to Paris from the village of Aguemoune in the Berber-speaking region of Kabylie in northern Algeria in 1953 before the start of the Algerian War. The family, which had settled in the city's tough northern districts of Barbès and Saint-Denis, found little work in the region, and in the mid-1960s moved to the northern Marseille suburb of La Castellane in the 16th arrondissement of Marseille. In 1972, Zidane was born there as the youngest of five siblings. His father worked as a warehouseman and nightwatchman at a department store, often on the night shift, while his mother was a housewife.[13] The family lived a reasonably comfortable life by the standards of the neighbourhood, which was notorious throughout Marseille for its high crime and unemployment rates.[14][15]
It was in Castellane where Zidane had his earliest introduction in football, joining in at the age of five in football games that the neighbourhood's children played on the Place Tartane, an 80-by-12-yard plaza that served as the main square of the housing complex.[16] In July 2011, Zidane named former Marseilleplayers Blaž Slišković, Enzo Francescoli and Jean-Pierre Papin as his idols while growing up.[17][18] At the age of ten, Zidane got his first player's licence after joining the junior team of a local club from Castellane by the name of US Saint-Henri.[19] After spending a year and a half at US Saint-Henri, Zidane joined SO Septèmes-les-Vallons when the Septèmes coach Robert Centenero convinced the club's Director to get Zidane.[19] Zidane stayed with Septèmes until the age of 14, at which time he was selected to attend a three-day training camp at the CREPS (Regional Centre for Sports and Physical Education) in Aix-en-Provence, one of several such footballing institutes run by the French Football Federation. It was here that Zidane was spotted by AS Cannes scout and former player Jean Varraud, who recommended him to the training centre director of the club.[3]
Club career
Cannes
"He’d go past one, two, three, five, six players – it was sublime. His feet spoke with the ball"
Zidane went to AS Cannes for a six-week stay, but ended up remaining at the club for four years to play at the professional level. Having left his family to join Cannes, he was invited by Cannes Director Jean-Claude Elineau to leave the dormitory he shared with 20 other trainees and to come and stay with him and his family. Zidane later said that while living with the Elineaus he found equilibrium.[13]
It was at Cannes where Zidane's first coaches noticed that he was raw and sensitive, prone to attack spectators who insulted his race or family.[20] His first coach, Jean Varraud, encouraged him to channel his anger and focus on his own game. Zidane spent his first weeks at Cannes mainly on cleaning duty as a punishment for punching an opponent who mocked his ghetto origins.[20] The occasional violence that he would display throughout his career was shaped by an internal conflict of being an Algerian-Frenchman suspended between cultures, and surviving the tough streets of La Castellane where he grew up.[20]
Zidane made his professional debut with Cannes on 18 May 1989 in a French Division 1match against Nantes.[21] He scored his first goal for the club on 10 February 1991[22] also against Nantes in a 2–1 win. After the match during a party for all the Cannes players, Zidane was given a car by Cannes Chairman Alain Pedretti, who had promised him one the day he scored his first goal for the club.[23] On the pitch, Zidane displayed extraordinary technique on the ball, offering glimpses of the talent that would take him to the top of the world game.[3] In his first full season with Cannes, the club secured its first ever European football berth by qualifying for the UEFA Cup after finishing fourth in the league. This remains the club's highest finish in the top flight since getting relegated for the first time from the first division in the 1948–49 season.[24]
Bordeaux
Zidane was transferred to Girondins de Bordeaux in the 1992–93 season, winning the 1995 Intertoto Cup after beating Karlsruhe,[25]and finishing runner-up against Bayern Munich in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup,[26][27] in four years with the club. He played a set of midfield combinations with Bixente Lizarazuand Christophe Dugarry, which would become the trademark of both Bordeaux and the 1998 French national team. In 1995, Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish had expressed interest in signing both Zidane and Dugarry, to which team owner and chairman Jack Walker reportedly replied, "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?"[28] Also towards the beginning of the 1996 season, according to football agent Barry Silkman, Zidane was offered to Newcastle United for £1.2 million, but the club turned down the offer after watching him, claiming that he was not good enough for the English First Division.[29] In 1996, Zidane received the award for Ligue 1 Player of the Year.
Juventus
"He is a special player. He creates space where there is none. No matter where he gets the ball or how it comes to him, he can get out of trouble. His imagination and his technique are amazing"
After a series of stand out performances for both Bordeaux and France, Zidane had offers to join Europe's top clubs in the spring of 1996, deciding on a move to UEFA Champions League winners Juventus during the close season.[31] Zidane's impact in Italy was immediate, winning the 1996–97 Serie A title and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup.[32] He lost in the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final 3–1 to Borussia Dortmund when he was unable to make an impression against the close marking of Paul Lambert.[33] The following season, Zidane scored seven goals in 32 matches in the league to help Juventus win the 1997–98 Serie A and thus retain the Scudetto. In Europe, Juventus made their third consecutive UEFA Champions League Finalappearance, but lost the game 1–0 to Real Madrid. In 1998, Zidane was named FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the Ballon d'Or. Juventus finished second in the 2000–01 Serie A, but were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, after Zidane was banned for head-butting Hamburger SVplayer Jochen Kientz.[34] In 2001, Zidane was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Yearfor the second time.
Real Madrid
In 2001, Zidane joined Real Madrid for a world record fee of 150 billion Italian lire,[35][36](about €77.5 million by fixed exchange rate; a reported 12.8 billion pesetas[37]) in installments,[38] and signed a four-year contract. The latest addition to the Galácticosera of global stars signed by Real Madrid every year, in his first season at the club Zidane scored a famous match-winning goal, a volley hit with his weaker foot, in Madrid's 2–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final, completing his personal quadruple.[39] The goal has been cited as one of the greatest in Champions League history.[40][41][42]
"He dominates the ball, he is a walking spectacle and he plays as if he had silk gloves on each foot. He makes it worthwhile going to the stadium — he's one of the best I have ever seen."
The next season, Zidane helped Real Madrid to win the 2002–03 La Liga, starring alongside Luís Figo in midfield, and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the third time.[43] In 2004, fans voted him as the best European footballer of the previous 50 years in UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll.[5]
While Zidane's final season of club football ended without a trophy, he enjoyed success on a personal note by scoring his first hat-trick, against Sevilla, in a 4–2 win in January 2006.[44] He ended the season for Real Madrid as their second highest goalscorer and assists provider behind teammates Ronaldoand David Beckham respectively, with nine goals and ten assists in 28 games.[45] On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup,[46]played his farewell match and scored in a 3–3 draw with Villarreal. The squad wore commemorative shirts with ZIDANE 2001–2006 below the club logo. The 80,000 fans inside the Santiago Bernabéu held up a banner reading, "Thanks for the magic."[3]
In 2012, Zidane featured for Madrid in an All Stars Match against Manchester United which resulted in a 3–2 win for Real. In April 2013, he was named by Marca as a member of the "Best foreign eleven in Real Madrid's history."[47]
International career
Both France and Algeria consider Zidane a citizen, but he was ineligible to play for the Algerian national team. It was rumoured that coach Abdelhamid Kermali denied Zidane a position for the Algerian squad because he felt the young midfielder was not fast enough.[48] However, Zidane dismissed the rumour in a 2005 interview, saying that he would have been ineligible to play for Algeria because he had already played for France.[49]
He earned his first cap with France as a substitute in a friendly against the Czech Republic on 17 August 1994, which ended in a 2–2 draw after Zidane scored twice to help France erase a 2–0 deficit. After Eric Cantonawas handed a year-long suspension in January 1995 for assaulting a fan, Zidane took over the playmaker position.[50]
Euro 1996
Despite not being at his best during the tournament, France reached the last four. Zidane was not yet fully established in the French team and his level was quite average during the whole event, but he managed to score in the penalty shootout in both the quarter-final and semi-final. France was eliminated in the Euro 96 semi-finals in a penalty shootout against the Czech Republic.[51]
1998 World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the first World Cup that Zidane participated in. It was held in his home country France. The French team won all three games in the group stage but Zidane was sent off in the second match against Saudi Arabia for a stamp on Fuad Anwar, becoming the first French player to receive a red card in a World Cup Finals. Without their playmaker France proceeded to win 1–0 in the last sixteen game against Paraguay and, on his return to the side, defeated Italy 4–3 on penalties after a goalless draw in the quarter-finals. France then defeated Croatia 2–1 in the semi-final. Zidane played a major role in the team's accomplishment, though he had yet to score a goal at the World Cup.
Zidane and France went on to play against defending champions and favourites Brazil at the Stade de France in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final. France dominated Brazil from the kick-off, with Zidane scoring two similar goals, both headers from corner kicks taken by Emmanuel Petit and Youri Djorkaeff. Courtesy of Zidane's two goals, France went into the half-time break 2–0 up with one hand already on the World Cup trophy.[3] Petit added a third goal deep in stoppage time to seal the 3–0 win and France's first ever World Cup. Zidane became an instant national hero, and over one million people celebrated the victory on the Champs-Élysées where a huge image of Zidane was projected on the Arc de Triomphealong with the words "Merci Zizou".[52][53][54]
Euro 2000
Two years later France won Euro 2000, becoming the first team to hold both the World Cup and the European Championship since West Germany in 1974. Zidane finished with two goals, a memorable bending free kick against Spain in the quarter-final and the golden goal in the semi-final against Portugal, and was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA.[55]
2002 World Cup
As reigning world and European champions, France entered the 2002 World Cup as favourites but a thigh injury prevented Zidane from playing in France's first two matches and without their talisman, the French team failed to score in either match. He was rushed back prematurely for the third game despite not being fully fit, but could not prevent France from being ignominiously eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal; the worst performance by a defending champion in the history of the competition.[56]
Euro 2004
At Euro 2004, France topped their group with wins over England and Switzerland, before being knocked out in the quarter finals by eventual champions Greece in a surprise 1–0 loss. In the opening match against England, Zidane scored a free kick and penalty in stoppage time to turn defeat into a 2–1 victory for France. After France's elimination Zidane announced his retirement from international football.[57]
2006 World Cup
Zidane during the 2006 World Cup Final
With the mass retirement of veteran key players such as Bixente Lizarazu, Marcel Desailly, Claude Makélélé and Lilian Thuram, France struggled to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. At the urging of coach Raymond Domenech, Zidane came out of retirement and was immediately reinstated as team captain.[58] Zidane, along with Thuram and Makelele, made his competitive return for France in a 3–0 win over the Faroe Islands on 3 September 2005. The trio helped France rise from fourth place to win their qualifying group.[59] On 27 May 2006, Zidane earned his hundredth cap for France in a 1–0 friendly win over Mexico, in what would also be his last match at the Stade de France. Zidane became France's fourth player to reach 100 caps, after Desailly, Thuram and Didier Deschamps.[60]
France had a slow start to the 2006 World Cupand, after being suspended for the final match of the group stage, Zidane returned to set up a goal for Patrick Vieira and score one himself in the second round match against Spain. In the quarter-final France held Brazil to just one shot on goal in the rematch of the 1998 final. Zidane assisted Thierry Henry's deciding goal and he was named Man of the Match by FIFA.[61] France faced Portugal in the semi final and, as in Brussels six years earlier, Zidane's penalty kick decided the contest and sent France to another major final.[62]
Before the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.[63] Having already announced he was to retire after the expiration of his Real Madrid contract at the end of the 2005–06 season, the world of football already knew Zidane's second World Cup final was to be the last match of his career. Seven minutes into the match Zidane put France ahead with a penalty kick and became only the fourth player in World Cup history to score in two different finals, along with Pelé, Paul Breitner, and Vavá, in addition to being tied for first place with Vavá, Pelé and Geoff Hurst with three World Cup final goals apiece. He almost scored a second goal during the first period of extra time but his header was saved by Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Zidane was then sent off in the 110th minute of the game after headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest,[64]so he did not participate in the penalty shootout which Italy won 5–3.[65] Zidane's actions made headlines all over the world, while in France Le Figaro called his head-butt "odious," and the front page of L'Equipe asked. "What should we tell our children, for whom you have become an example for ever? ... How could that happen to a man like you?."[62]
"The match you played last night was full of talent and professionalism. I know that you are sad and disappointed but what I want to tell you is that the whole country is extremely proud of you. You have honoured the country with your exceptional qualities and your fantastic fighting spirit, which was your strength in difficult times, but also in winning times."
Upon his return to France, the Place de la Concorde in Paris was filled with thousands of fans waving flags and rhythmically chanting "Zizou! Zizou!," and tributes were led by the French president Jacques Chirac.[62]Chirac's words reflected the feeling of the French public, with polls done in the immediate wake of the incident showing support for Zidane: 61% of French people said they had already forgiven him for his actions while 52% said they understood them.[62]According to French journalist Philippe Auclair, Zidane's performances in the knock-out rounds were "ranked among his finest in a blue shirt."[62] As the player of the tournament, Zidane had given the team hope, with the French daily newspaper Libération stating, "For a month, France was dreaming with Zidane."[62] Zidane remained an icon to the French public, and one French writer stated, "It's good for us to see our national hero is fallible."[62] It was later discovered through interviews that Marco Materazzi had insulted Zidane's sister, which led to Zidane's heightened anger and reaction.[66] In 2010, Zidane said that he would "rather die than apologize" to Materazzi for the headbutt in the final,[67] but also admitted that he "could never have lived with himself" had he been allowed to remain on the pitch and help France win the match.[68] He later said, "If you look at the fourteen red cards I had in my career, twelve of them were a result of provocation. This isn't justification, this isn’t an excuse, but my passion, temper and blood made me react."[69]
Following his red card in the final, Zidane retired from professional football and confirmed that he would not go back on his decision.[70] He was sentenced by FIFA to a three match suspension for the red card.[71]He agreed to complete three days of community service with children in one of FIFA's humanitarian projects.[72] Zidane ended up tying with Brazil's Cafu for the record for most cards given in World Cup matches, with six.[73]
Career statistics
Player
Club
International
A Includes one appearance from the match against FIFA XI on 16 August 2000 which FIFAand the French Football Federation count as an official friendly match.[146]
Managerial statistics
- As of 26 September 2017
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