Gore me Zidane! Unforgettable, unusual, football

Biography and career of a football player

Zidane is a first generation Frenchman. His parents emigrated to France from Algeria, and Zinedine himself was born in Marseille. He was the fifth child in the family; Zidane has three brothers and a sister, Lila. The whole family, including Zidane, profess the Muslim religion.

The family lived in the La Castellane district of Marseille, Zidane's father worked as a storekeeper in a store, and his mother was in charge of the household. The family was by no means rich, but poor does not mean poor; from childhood, Zidane had the opportunity to do what he loved, or rather, business, since in addition to football, Zinedine was interested in judo, skateboarding and bicycles.

However, the passion for football turned out to be stronger, and from the age of 10 Zidane was a member of the French national teams of almost all ages. In a narrow circle of youth coaches and scouts, the young football player was quite famous and was in the sights of many clubs.

"Cannes"

1988-1992

Therefore, it is not surprising that Zidane signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 and made his debut in Ligue 1 on May 20, 1989.

After only a season, Zidane becomes a Cannes starter and spends two good seasons. However, this team was never among the leaders of French football and in the 1991-1992 season, despite all the efforts of its young star, Cannes left the first division.

"Bordeaux"

1992-1996

It is clear that for Zidane this was a big step back, so the footballer accepted Bordeaux’s invitation. Already in the first season, 20-year-old Zizou scored 10 goals in the French Championship. Then he established himself as a master of free kicks.

Physical strength, technique and excellent vision of the field are Zidane’s main qualities, which gave reason to believe that he would make an outstanding football player.

The only thing that let the football player down was his excessive ardor, for which Zidane was sent off the field more than once and received a disqualification. Despite the fact that in those years, in addition to Zidane, two other future world champions played for Bordeaux - Bixent Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, Zidane's only trophy as part of the Girondins was the now defunct Intertoto Cup.

Let me remind you that the winners of this international tournament (and there were different numbers of them) received the right to participate in the UEFA Cup. And Bordeaux became the only team that became a participant in the UEFA Cup through the Intertoto Cup and reached the final of the tournament. True, there Bordeaux lost without options to Bayern Munich 0:2 and 1:3 - the strengths of the teams were too unequal.

Juventus

1996-2001

The move to Juventus was the next step in Zidane's career - now he had to play in one of the best clubs in the world, the current winner of the Champions League. By the way, at the time of that transition, Zidane's value was only $4 million. At that time, this was not so little, and 24-year-old Zizou was not yet the world-class player that he became while playing for Juve.

Here Zidane fully revealed his considerable potential, becoming the leader of the Turin club. Two Scudetto, the European Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup were won by the Turin club under Zinedine.

The only trophy that Juventus did not win with Zidane in the lineup is the Champions League. For two years in a row - 1997 and 1998, Juventus reached the final of the tournament and lost both times.

It was while a Juventus player that Zidane received his main individual award - the Golden Ball for the best football player in Europe.

"Real Madrid

2001-2006

Zidane's move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2001 cost Florentino Perez a then-record €73.5 million. However, such a policy was fully consistent with the concept of the Real Madrid president. “Galacticos” was the nickname of Real Madrid at that time, and for good reason. Ronaldo, Figo, Zidane, Raul, Beckham, Roberto Carlos - all in one club. There is much debate about the appropriateness of such a policy.

I'll just tell you my point of view. One victory in the championship and one in the Champions League in five seasons is negligible for such a squad. And this happened due to a clear bias towards a large number of high-quality attacking football players, and all of them needed to find a place on the field.

However, whoever pays calls the tune, and Zidane has absolutely nothing to do with it. It was he who became the leader of this star team, and his accurate strike in the final match of the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen brought Real Madrid their only trophy at that time.

By the way, an interesting detail. In his entire great career, Zidane was able to score a hat-trick only once, and this happened in his last season for Real Madrid in a Spanish Championship match against Sevilla (4:2). While playing for Real Madrid, Zidane had a fight with Luis Enrique in a match against Barcelona, ​​which earned him even more respect from the fans of the royal club.

France team

1994-2006

When did Zinedine Zidane become a great player? This question, if asked in relation to other football players, rarely has an answer. After all, this cannot be decided overnight: someone quickly breaks into big football, for others the path to the top is long and thorny.

In the case of Zidane, you can pinpoint the date when he became a great player. This is July 12, 1998, when his two goals against the Brazilian national team in the final of the home World Cup for the French brought France their first (and so far last) world gold.

It was after this match that Zidane overnight moved from the category of a great master to the category of great players, equaling his compatriot Michel Platini. It’s not for nothing that Zidane played under the same number ten in the national team.

And, if you remember, that championship was not easy for Zidane - he was sent off in a group stage match, a two-match disqualification, not a single goal scored or assisted - with such gloomy baggage Zizou approached that final.

Zidane made his debut in the French national team in August 1994, in a friendly match against the Czech national team, and his first major tournament was the 1996 European Championship, where the French reached the semi-finals. But Zidane spent the next European Championship as a real leader. He led the team, and his goals in the playoff matches with Spain (2:1) and Portugal (2:1) helped the French reach the final, which ultimately turned out to be victorious for them.

What Zinedine Zidane meant to that French team can be judged by the 2002 World Cup. Zidane went there with an untreated injury and missed the first two matches against Senegal (0:1) and Uruguay (0:0). In the decisive match against the Danish national team, Zidane enters the field not completely healthy and cannot help his team in any way - 0:2. But the French included such attacking masters as Henry, Trezeguet, Wiltord, Dugarry, Djorkaeff, Boghossian. But without their leader, they were unable to score at least one goal in the tournament. Euro 2004 began for the French team with a benefit performance by Zinedine Zidane. The opening match seemed to have already been lost to the British, but two goals from Zizou in stoppage time turned the defeat into a victory. However, having taken first place in the group, the French unexpectedly lost to the Greek team, the future champion, in the quarterfinals.

Two years later, at the World Cup in Germany, not much was expected from the French team. The team failed the last two major tournaments, was one of the oldest in the championship, and of the young players in the team, only Franck Ribery appeared.

And at first, the French really didn’t look so good – they drew with the teams of Switzerland and South Korea. And only a victory in the last round over the Togo team allowed them to take second place. But in the playoffs the French veterans changed. Spain, Brazil and Portugal were defeated by the French team. And, of course, Zinedine Zidane took the lead - he scored a goal each against the Spaniards and the Portuguese, and provided an assist in the match with Brazil.

And the final match began with a goal from Zizou - already in the 7th minute he scored a penalty against Buffon. However, in extra time, the world witnessed seemingly inexplicable behavior of the star. In the 110th minute of the match, in a non-playing situation, Zinedine Zidane hit Materazzi with his head and was immediately sent off. A photograph of Zidane leaving the dressing room with the World Cup in the background went viral around the world. And the French, left without their leader and best penalty taker, lost the post-match series. This was Zidane's last official match, and, by the way, this removal did not prevent him from becoming the best player of that World Cup.

Much later, Zidane admits that this reaction was caused by the words of Materazzi, who insulted his sister.

Childhood and youth

The full name of the attacking football midfielder and coach is Zinedine Yazid Zidane. He was born on June 23, 1972 in Marseille, is French, but he comes from Algeria. His parents were forced to emigrate from there, but the athlete was born and raised in the French city of Marseille. The family has many children; besides him, his parents raised four more children. All Muslims. Zinedine's father made a living as a storekeeper, his mother was a housewife. There was never wealth in the house, but no one went hungry. And the young man was passionate about sports, and not only football took up all the free time of the future star. Zidane willingly attended judo and was fond of skateboarding and cycling.

Zinedine Zidane's titles

Team

1. Two-time Italian champion.
2. Winner of the Italian Super Cup.
3. Champion of Spain.
4. Two-time winner of the Spanish Super Cup.
5. Champions League winner.
6. Two-time UEFA Super Cup winner.
7. Two-time winner of the Intercontinental Cup.
8. World champion and vice-champion.
9. European Champion.

Individual

1. Winner of the 1998 Ballon d'Or.
2. The best football player of the 2006 World Cup.
3. Best foreign player in Serie A - 3 times.
4. The best football player in France - 2 times.

With Juventus, Zidane won the Scudetto twice and never significant international trophies.

Zidane moved to Juventus in 1996. He spent five seasons with the Old Lady, winning the Italian Championship twice, the Italian Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup once each. With the Bianconeri, Zinedine reached the Champions League final twice - in the 1996/97 and 1997/98 seasons.

Zinedine found it difficult to settle into Juventus. He was unprepared for the stress of the training camp, did not know the language and had a hard time adapting. He was constantly compared to the legendary Frenchman of the Turin club Michel Platini and was often criticized.

The turning point in Zizou's career was the victory over Inter in the 6th round of the Italian Championship of the 1996/97 season. Zidane scored the first goal for Juventus and was named man of the match.

The newspaper La Stampa wrote about Zidane: “He reminds me of Platini.” Photo: calciopedia.com

By the end of the first season, Juventus finally accepted Zidane. Zinedine scored important goals, won the championship title with the team and played one of the best matches of his career - against Ajax in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. Then Zinedine scored a goal and gave two assists.

In his first season at Juventus, Zizou was included in the list of candidates for the Ballon d'Or. Then Zinedine took a modest 28th place, in 1997 - 3rd, in 1998 - won the award.

Zidane came to Juventus when the team was coached by Marcello Lippi. Under Lippi's leadership, Zinedine became a key player for Juventus, capable of deciding the outcome of a match with one effective action. Zizou’s partner Edgar Davids said about him: “He creates moments out of thin air. His ingenuity and technique are incredible.”

Zinedine Zidane - coach

After finishing his football career, Zidane remained in the Real Madrid system, holding administrative positions and working on the coaching staff.

And in January 2020, Zidane became the head coach of Real Madrid. And the first pancake did not go well for him - Real almost created a football miracle, because the huge gap over Barcelona was almost eliminated, and only one point separated the teams in the final table. And in his first El Classico, Zidane won at the Camp Nou.

Then there was a victory in the Spanish championship and an absolutely phenomenal achievement - three victories in a row in the Champions League, a tournament that before Zidane’s Real Madrid had not been conquered by anyone even twice in a row. As a coach, Zidane has two undoubted advantages - he is an excellent motivator and enjoys the unquestioning authority of the players, because few of us have achieved the same on the field as Zizou.

In May 2020, Zinedine Zidane announced his resignation as head coach of Real Madrid. He left gracefully - at the peak of his glory, and I think there is no need to worry about his coaching future.

Titles of Zinedine Zidane - coach

Team

1. Champion of Spain.
2. Winner of the Spanish Super Cup.
3. Three-time Champions League winner.
4. Two-time UEFA Super Cup winner.
5. Winner of the Club World Championship.

Personal

1. Twice named coach of the month in La Liga.
2. The best coach of 2020 according to various authoritative football publications.

Zidane grew up in a disadvantaged area of ​​Marseille

Zinedine's father Smail was born in the Algerian village of Agemoun. In 1953 he came to France in search of work. Smail got a job as a builder in Saint-Denis. He had no housing for a long time, and Smail had to live at a construction site. In 1962, he decided to leave his low-paying and difficult job and return to Algeria. Before boarding the ship, Smail stopped by to say goodbye to his relatives who had managed to settle down in Marseille. There he met one of his cousins, Malika. Smail fell in love with Malika and decided to stay with her in France. Soon they got married.

Marriages between cousins ​​are common among Arabs, Malagasy, Dagestan and Central Asian peoples.

Smail and Malika had five children: sons Majid (Jamel), Farid, Nordin, Zinedine and daughter Lila. Zinedine was the youngest child in the family.

In July 2020, Zidane's brother Farid died of cancer. Because of this, Zidane left Real Madrid, and the team’s training began with a minute of silence. Photo: imago images

Smail and Malika and their children lived in a four-room apartment in the Castellane district of Marseille. This is the largest microdistrict north of Marseille, which is notorious for drug trafficking. Castellane's residents are mostly immigrants and poor.

Zidane's family was not wealthy. Smail worked at a local supermarket, first as a forklift operator, then as a security guard. Malika was sitting with the children.

Family and personal life of Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane's wife, Veronica Fernadez, is a Frenchwoman originally from the Spanish province of Andalusia.

Zizou is an example of an exemplary family man, he adores his wife and children, of which the Zidans have four and all sons – Enzo, Luca, Theo and Elyaz. All children study at the Real Madrid football school.

Luca has achieved the greatest success so far. He was born in 1998 and plays as a goalkeeper, being the number one of his age in Real Madrid and the French national team, with which he won the European Youth Championship in 2020.

Interesting Facts

• Zidane named his first son Enzo in honor of the Uruguayan football player Enzo Francescoli, who played for Olympique de Marseille.
• Zidane played under different numbers in different teams. In Cannes it was numbers 8, 9 and 11, in Bordeaux number 7, in Juventus number 21, in Real Madrid number 5, in the French national team – number 10.
• Zidane is only the fourth player in history to score in two World Cup finals.
• Zidane received 14 deletions throughout his career, two of them in matches for the French national team. Frankly speaking, this is a lot for a player of his role.
• As a coach, the Frenchman is very emotional - everyone knows how Zidane tore his pants reacting to the play of his players.

Luis Suarez bites Giorgio Chiellini

Giorgio Chiellini is not the first footballer to be bitten by Luis Suarez, but this episode occurred at the World Cup and is the most famous of the Uruguayan striker's toothy exploits. In the group stage match against Italy, Luis attacked a Squadra Azzurra defender, as a result of which he was excommunicated from football for 4 months, which, however, did not prevent him from moving from Liverpool to Barcelona.

“Football unusual” is, of course, not limited to these cases. What unusual episodes stuck in your memory? Maybe phantom goals, firecrackers hitting football players, manifestations of exceptional resourcefulness or humanity? Tell us in the comments, we’ll arrange a “live article”!

Zinedine Zidane in cinema and art

• A documentary film was made about Zidane called: “Zidane: Portrait of the 21st Century.”
• In 2008, Zidane played a cameo role in the film “Asterix and Obelix at the Olympic Games.”
• The English writer Dew Jonathan wrote a book about Zidane, which he called “Zidane’s Golden Bald Head.”
• At the National Center of Art and Culture in Paris there is a monument to Zidane beating Materazzi.
• A figure of Zinedine Zidane is also installed in the Paris wax museum.

The French national team is a unique team of its kind. She won all her titles (one world and two European) when Michel Platini or Zinedine Zidane were in her team. Even now, in the summer of 2016 at the home Euro, players like Griezmann, Pogba, Poyet could not lead France to the championship title. Apparently, this requires a new Zidane.

All four of Zidane's sons are footballers

Enzo is a midfielder for Almeria, Luca is a goalkeeper for Real Madrid, on loan for Racing. Theo plays as a midfielder in the youth team of Real Madrid. The youngest Elias is also a midfielder. He plays at Real Madrid's academy.

On March 31, 2020, in the La Liga match against Huesca, Zidane put his son Luca in goal instead of Keylor Navas, who was injured. After this match, sports experts and journalists reproached Zidane for helping his son take a place in the team. Luca started the season as Madrid's fifth goalkeeper. The more experienced Lunin and Casilla could take the field. This was the only time Lucas started for Real Madrid. The meeting ended with a score of 3:2 in favor of Madrid.

Zidane said about his son: “Luca is a player like everyone else.
I trust him as much as the other guys on the roster.” Photo: AFP Enzo also played for Real Madrid. In the 2016/17 season, he was included in the main team in three matches of the King's Cup. Enzo took the field in only one of them – against Leonesa (6:1). He spent 45 minutes on the field and scored a goal.

10 facts about Zidane

• Zidane often takes part in charity events. In 2003, he auctioned off his Ford Expedition for €39,800. The proceeds went to fight childhood leukodystrophy. Zizou is a member of the European Association against Leukodystrophy and a permanent participant in the social program for the rehabilitation of orphans and homeless children.
• Zidane speaks French, Algerian, Berber, Arabic, Italian, French and Spanish.
• The experimental film “Zidane. Portrait of the 21st century." It is collected from moments of the match between Real Madrid and Villarreal on April 23, 2005 and lasts exactly 92 minutes. The film was shot with 17 cameras aimed at Zidane. The soundtrack to the film was composed by the band Mogwai.
• Zidane's favorite music album is “Musica E” by Italian Eros Ramazzotti.
• Algerian artist Adel Abdessemed created a five-meter sculpture depicting Zidane beating Materazzi in the chest in the 2006 World Cup final. The sculpture is called "Who's Afraid of the Dire Wolf?" In 2012, it was installed in front of the Pompidou Center in Paris, and later transported to Qatar, to the Doha embankment.

The sculpture did not stand on the embankment for long. It was dismantled and moved to the Museum of Modern Art due to complaints from residents. Photo: EPA/STR

• Zidane loves films with Robert De Niro and is interested in abstract painting.
• Throughout his career as a football player and coach, Zidane entered into many advertising contracts. The brands Adidas, Canal+, Audi, Danone, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Grand Optical, Mango collaborated with him. Advertisers were not put off by Zidane's performance in the 2006 World Cup final. None of the sponsors terminated the contract with Zidane after the conflict with Materazzi.
• In the film "Asterix at the Olympic Games" Zizou has a small role - Numernabis' cousin, Zinedis. He appears in the frame wearing an Egyptian wig, with eyeliner and kicking a ball.

• Zidane's favorite sports besides football are tennis and Formula 1 racing.
• As a child, Zidane practiced judo and even earned a green belt.