27 Curious Zinedine Zidane Facts For Football Lovers!

Among all the soccer stars in the world, Zinedine Zidane will always be a remarkable name that will remain indelible in history.

Smail and Malika are Zidane's parents, he is the youngest among four brothers and a sister. In his career, Zidane has exalted his performance in a glorious way and has collected a lot of accolades.

The name Zidane always comes on the list of the top highest-paid footballers in the world. He is the sixth highest-paid player in the game.

The Cannes recruiter Jean Varraud found this young boy Zidane, during a French Football Federation training camp, and he spent the next three years polishing his skills in Cannes' youth division. Zidane started his first expedition in his professional career with Cannes by scoring a goal in his first game.

Prior to this, he also played for US Saint-Henri and SO Septèmes-les-Vallons

Zidane did not disappoint the faith shown in him, as he guided Real Madrid to unprecedented heights with his excellent leadership and attacking plans when he was 17. After he had relocated to Bordeaux he became the offensive midfielder who sustained his uptight performance and acquired a certain reputation.

Young Zidane has set numerous records in his football career and has had a significant impact on the teams he has played.

In the final of the 1998 world cup, France was up against a tenacious Brazilian team. France won the match and the tournament by a score of three goals to none.

Zinedine Zidane is considered one of the most significant figures in the history of French football so far as revealed by a poll conducted by Journal du Dimanche, a French newspaper. Zidane received his first player license for a local club junior team when he was 10 years old.

He cultivated the required skill to become a football player in the landmasses of La Castellane in Marseille, France. In the football world, Zinedine Yazid Zidane embodies perseverance, dedication, focus, and discipline.

His name will linger on long after he is gone. He used to play football with his neighborhood friends in Place Tartane, the housing complex's main square.

Only appearances and goals for senior clubs in the domestic league were counted. Zinedine Yazid Zidane's position in the French National Team was as a midfielder.

In his playing career, he has represented four European clubs as well as the French national team. Before the Algerian war began in 1953, Zidane's family was among those who migrated from the village of Aguemoune in North Algeria to South France.

During his career, Zidane played for a number of well-known famous football clubs, including Juventus in Italy and Real Madrid in Spain. Before announcing his retirement, he led Real Madrid to two UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA World Cup, one Spanish title, and one Spanish Super Cup.

Zizou is the nickname, which he got from a childhood pal. In the history of the FIFA World Cup, he has received the most number of red cards, the total number standing at six.

He was known to have France's highest honor, Legion d'honneur. Zinedine Zidane has broken all barriers with a few kicks of football here and there!

In Real Madrid's 110 year history, he is the first French coach to lead the club. He has a song to his name, which was performed by Melbourne's Vaudeville Smash.

Zidane was a big fan of Barcelona as a kid, and it was his favorite team in Spain. He led France to victory in the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and the European Football Championship in 2000.

Zinedine Zidane: Life History

Zinedine Zidane has one of the most catchy nicknames in the football world. The majority of his admirers and friends refer to him as Zizou.

The nickname's origin is unknown, he was initially called that by a friend. His friend was reminded of another brilliant player nicknamed Zizou.

Also, the moniker arose as a result of people's aversion to calling him Zizi, which is a slang term in the French language. By June 23, 1972, Zidane was born to his parents in Marseille, France. His parents were Algerian immigrants.

He began playing football in the streets of La Castellane with his friends. The street was a nasty part of Marseille at that time. He met his wife in 1989 when strict gender norms did not allow them to interact.

Their relationship took off when Zidane said "Hi" to her once! They got married in 1994.

Zidane's talent was identified after he starred in the area's youth groups. Zidane polished his skills in the Cannes Youth Division from the age of 14 for three years until he was 17.

Zidane's heritage can be traced to Kabyle Berber in Algeria, however, he was born in Marseille, France. Zidane has played for a number of well-known football clubs, including Juventus in Italy and Real Madrid in Spain.

He led the French football team to victory in the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and the European Football Championship in 2000.

He also won the UEFA Champions League for Real Madrid in 2002, which was the club's ninth title. He was one of those players who was named the winner of FIFA World Player of the Year three times.

The other player to have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times was Ronaldo from Brazil. He was perhaps the finest player in the 2006 World Cup, leading France to the final.

He was known to acquire the title of being the generation's best among times. After the 2006 World Cup, Zidane declared his retirement.

Zidane is best known for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest in the 110th minute of extra time during the 2006 FIFA World Cup final, for which he was sent off with a red card. France finished second after losing five against three goals in the penalty round against Italy.

The Zidane headbutt became well-known as a result of this incident.

In Doha, Qatar, there is even a sculpture of it. In 2010, Zidane served as a high-profile spokesperson for Qatar's successful bid to host the World Cup 2022.

At the end of the World Cup 2006, Zidane decided to call quits on his football career. Later he became an official part of the Real Madrid club and held a managerial post on the behalf of Real Madrid Castilla, a part of the official club.

Zinedine Zidane's Contributions To Football

When he was 17 training at Cannes Youth level helped Zinedine Yazid Zidane to determine a professional career in football. Zidane started scoring with Cannes and later relocated to Bordeaux by 1992, where he became a midfielder.

His first professional appearance was for Cannes in 1989 in French League. He had to wait for two more years to score his first goal.

He is among the soccer stars, which boosted his popularity.

Nonetheless, he was the epitome of control, he knew how to grind his way through the defense and be ergonomic with his ball and feet, how to transfer the ball to a teammate, and how to rocket a goal-scoring shot.

By 1996, Zidane became a proficient player and played for teams like Juventus FC which made him a more significant figure in the field.

Being in the club in those following seasons he was played an instrumental role to win the UEFA Champions League, European Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, LA Liga titles, and the Italian Super Cup.

With France hosting the World Cup 1998 his professional appearance really got a thrust.

He became a national figure where he led France to a victory against Brazil where the final card stood as three against none, he scored two goals on the behalf of France.

By 2000 during the European Championship, he secured another international victory for the French team, where the match was tipped in favor of France as the team scored two goals whereas Italy scored one.

A stipend of $64.45 million was settled for Zidane when he joined Real Madrid the Spanish club breaking the previous record.

The stipend was official and the contract paid off when Zidane was contributed to the club by helping them to win the UEFA Champions League trophy at the beginning of his career with them. The following season was equally fruitful, with his excellent skills assisting Real Madrid in winning many games.

Just after the World Cup 2006, Zidane decided to retire and put an end to his professional football career.

The decision was unexpected but Zidane thought it was time for him to quit playing as he did not want to play for another year.

In his career, he made 506 appearances for the clubs he played scoring 95 goals. For the French National Team, he appeared in 108 matches and scored 31 goals.

In the final of the 2006 World Cup, Macro Materazzi verbally aggravated him which nearly cost him his career. As a repercussion, he shoved his head into another Italian opponent leading to his disqualification. This field hassle was responsible for France losing the penalty kick.

Zinedine Zidane Cups Won

Zinedine Zidane, also known as Zizou, is a French football (soccer) player who won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship for his country. With his numerous exploits and accolades, Zinedine Zidane has carved out a name for himself in soccer.

By 2004 he was honored as the best European soccer player by the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll and this phenomenon nominated him for FIFA 100 list, also led him to be on Pele's list (which was shortlisted with 125 most consequential players so far).

In 1998 and 2002, he received the French Player of the Year award. He is also one of the few players in soccer history to win the FIFA World Player of the Year or Ballon d'Or award three times.

Zidane was selected as the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in 2001.

After Zidane was part of the club Real Madrid as a footballer, they availed the Champions League along with the European Super Cup in 2001. With this title, he lead a team of soccer players in a charity competition against a team captained by Ronaldo, a fellow retired soccer star and United Nations Ambassador.

Zidane had been deployed as Sporting Director by 2011 and became an advisory figure at the front office of Real Madrid.

By 2012, the rumor started to stroll that he might become a football coach in the Academy. This was the first step toward a new job as a sideline announcer for his beloved sport.

Real Madrid's new coach, Zinedine Zidane, was announced in 2016. In 2013-2014, he served as Carlo Ancelotti's assistant coach and helped the squad win another Champions League title.

Zidane is one of the best players of his time even though he did not think of himself as a great player. However, there has always been a debate to select who is the best footballer in the world.

In today's time, the debate surrounds Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo whereas some considered Pele and Maradona to be the best. It is difficult to choose any one of them as the best. However, according to a fan-based poll, Lionel Messi is considered the best footballer in the world.

Teams Coached By Zinedine Zidane

Born on June 23, 1972, Zidane, formerly performed as a midfielder and later was known to manage Real Madrid. Acquiring a portion in Real Madrid's front office as he was an exceptional instructor.

Zidane was a player maker regarding his manifestations, decision-making, and implementations of the game. Being a significant doer he often used to get recognized in the fields and he certainly acquired awards, incorporating 1998, 2000, 2003 FIFA World Player, and 1998 Ballon d'Or award.

Zidane began his career at Cannes before moving to Bordeaux and became one of the top players in the French Ligue I.

He joined Juventus in 1996, where he won several accolades, including two Serie A crowns. Acquiring La Liga's title and UEFA Champions League for the teams he played, he decided to relocate to Real Madrid.

Madrid secured the 2002 Champions League final with a left-foot volley from Zidane. Zidane is still considered in high regard for his performance in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and is acknowledged everywhere.

In France, his victory made him a national hero, and he was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1998. The UEFA Euro 2000 win made him a player in the tournament.

In the 2006 World Cup, after acquiring a Panenka penalty, planting his head against Marco Materazzi cost him a send-off. Initially, the referee was ignorant but later he dismissed the French captain.

Despite this incident, he was awarded the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament. He retired with the fourth-highest number of caps in French history.

Eight players including Zidane were known to receive Ballon d'Or and World Cup in the corresponding season. Lately, he campaigned for the 2022 World Cup on the behalf of Qatar as a brand ambassador. Qatar is the first Asian continent to orchestrate an upcoming international football World Cup.

Being retired he started as an instructor with Madrid Castilla. He held the post for two years until being promoted as head coach of the first team in 2016.

Zidane won the Champions Leagues three times in a row in his first two and a half seasons, as well as the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, the title a La Liga and a Supercopa de Espana. His performance led him to acquire the title of being the Best FIFA Men's Coach by 2017.