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| Birth Name(s) : Zinedine Zidane |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Single
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| Profession:
Athlete |
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Full Zinedine Zidane Biography
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (IPA: ; born 23 June 1972), popularly nicknamed Zizou, is a retired French football player of Algerian descent, famous for leading France to winning the 1998 World Cup. He was a midfielder who played for four European clubs, including Juventus FC and Real Madrid. As a member and later captain of French national team he participated in two World Cup finals - including winning the tournament in 1998 - and in three European Championships, winning that tournament in 2000.
Having gained fame in Europe as a playmaker for Juventus, Zidane attracted worldwide attention in the 1998 World Cup final with two goals headed in against Brazil which won his country its first FIFA World Cup. He also contributed to France's victory in Euro 2000, the two trophies never being won consecutively since West Germany's 1974 team. At the club level he went on to win domestic championships in Italy and Spain with Juventus and Real Madrid respectively. In the final of the 2001-02 UEFA Champions League he scored the winning goal for Real Madrid. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was named "Most Outstanding Player" of the tournament, receiving the Golden Ball, captaining the French side that reached the final. However, Zidane's career ended in controversy when in his final match he was dismissed in extra-time of the 2006 World Cup Final for headbutting Italian defender Marco Materazzi.
Zidane was elected FIFA World Player of the Year a record-equalling three times (1998, 2000, 2003), finished in the top-three an additional three times (1997, 2002, 2006). He was also named European Footballer of the Year in 1998. The world-record fee of €66 million (US$87 million, £47 million) for his transfer to Real Madrid in 2001 is the highest ever paid. In 2004, he topped the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll as the "Best European football player of the past 50 years", and was included in the FIFA 100, Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living footballers.
In 2001, Zidane was transferred to Real Madrid on a four-year contract. The transfer fee was €66 million, around £45.6 million or $94 million, the highest in football transfer history. His fellow Galacticos at Madrid included Raúl, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos, and later Ronaldo, David Beckham and Michael Owen. He scored a spectacular winning volley in a 2-1 win over the German team Bayer Leverkusen in the 2001-2002 Champions League final at Glasgow's Hampden Park. On 7 May 2006, Zidane played his last home game for Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. His team-mates wore special jerseys that had ZIDANE 2001–2006 written on the bottom of the club logo. The Real Madrid fans gave him a warm reception and kept cheering him throughout the game. The opposing team was Villarreal CF,he is also a practicing Muslim, and the game ended in a 3-3 draw, where he scored the second goal for Real Madrid. After the game, Zidane swapped jerseys with Juan Román Riquelme, the Villarreal CF and Argentinean midfielder. Zidane was given an ovation by spectators chanting "merci", which left him in tears.
In 1995 Zinedine Zidane might have become another high profile signing for Blackburn Rovers during the Jack Walker era. Kenny Dalglish had wanted to sign both Zidane and Christophe Dugarry who were playing in France for FC Girondins de Bordeaux, however Walker reportedly said to Dalglish: "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?"
A thigh injury prevented Zidane from playing in France's first two matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He rushed back from his injury to play in the third game, but could not perform at his usual level. France was eliminated in the first round without scoring a single goal, and the attempt at defending the World Cup title was unsuccessful.
In the Euro 2004 tournament, Zidane and his team started strongly, and he scored a free kick and a penalty in a come-from-behind victory against England in the group stage. On 12 June 2004, after France was upset in the quarter-finals to the eventual winners, the Greek national football team, Zidane retired from international football.
However, after France experienced problems in qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Zidane announced on 3 August 2005 that he was coming back to play for France and was reinstated as captain of the national team. He made his competitive return in the 3-0 FIFA World Cup qualifier win against the Faroe Islands on 3 September 2005, and France went on to win their qualifying group.
Zidane has shown a quick temper on the pitch. On top of his World Cup send-offs (in 1998 and 2006), he headbutted Jochen Kientz in a 2000/2001 Champions League match between Juventus and Hamburger SV, for which he was also sent off. Overall, he was sent off 14 times in his career.
In the 110th minute of the 2006 World Cup final against Italy, Zidane was sent off for deliberately headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. The two players exchanged words before Zidane began to walk away from him. Materazzi then insulted his sister at which point Zidane turned around, made a run-up and head-butted Materazzi in the chest, sending him to the ground. Although play was halted, referee Horacio Elizondo did not appear to have seen the confrontation. According to match officials' reports, Fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo informed Elizondo of the incident through his earphones. After consulting his assistant referees, Elizondo showed Zidane the red card and sent him off. |
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