Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Yazid Zidane (, Kabyle: Zinəddin Lyazid Zidan, Arabic "زين الدين زيدان"; born 23 June 1972) is a retired French footballer. Zidane played as an attacking midfielder and playmaker for the French national team, Juventus and Real Madrid.

Zidane was the leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. An injury prevented Zidane from playing in France's first two matches in the 2002 World Cup, and he came back prematurely for the third game despite not being fully fit, but could not prevent France from being eliminated in the group stage. He played in the 2004 European Championship where France finished top of their group, but were eliminated in the quarter finals, by the eventual winner of the competition Greece. He briefly retired from international football but returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.

At club level Zidane won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. Zidane was voted as FIFA World Player of the Year on three occasions (1998, 2000 and 2003), and also won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. Zidane retired from professional football after the 2006 World Cup. He currently holds the post of Real Madrid Director of Football, On 31 July 2012, Real Madrid announced that as soon as he completes management qualification, he will begin training to be a coach while at the same time coaching Real Madrid’s youth academy.