Zizou is a French footballing legend. When he was on the pitch, Zidane would play as an attacking midfielder and would dominate the field no matter his opponents.
When he decided to retire from active football, Zidane couldn’t leave football out of his plans, so took up the managerial role. This change was the best decision for Real Madrid as Zidane became the most successful coach in the world.
If Zinedine Zidane was coaching France, the Odds to Win The World Cup might be even greater. At the moment, they are posed to take down England, but Portugal and Brazil may be more competition than France can handle.
How It All Began
When he was young, Zidane’s family moved around France in search of work. They settled in Marseille where his father was a warehouse worker and department store security guard.
At 5 years old, Zidane played football with his neighborhood friends. 5 years later Zidane received his player's license and joined Castellane, his local club. He would train 3 days a week and continued to bounce between teams until he was spotted by an AS Canes scout.
Cannes
The scout commissioned Zidane to play for the club during a 6 week's stay, but Zidane ended up playing for the club for 4 years. This was his shot at playing professionally, and he knew it.
With racist abuse being shot at him from the sidelines, Zidane struggled to keep his anger to himself. His coaches suggested he put that anger into the match and prove to his nay-sayers that he was better than them.
Every now and then Zidane would turn violent, but every punch thrown left him on cleaning duty. Zidane would battle this torment throughout his career, as his French and Algerian internal conflict continued to bring nasty fans into his world.
With Zidane on the pitch, Cannes qualified for their first-ever European football match. They ended up finishing the UEFA Cup 4th in the league.
Bordeaux
In 1992 Zidane was transferred to Bordeaux where he played with Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry. This trio became the guiding light for Bordeaux. When they eventually played together in the 1998 French national team, the three of them dominated against their opponents.
In 1993, the club manager wanted to sign all three onto their team permanently, but this idea was rejected by the club owner claiming they already had a great attacking midfielder.
Zidane then tried to join the English First Division through Newcastle United, but the team rejected him, claiming he wasn’t good enough.
This was when he turned to Juventus.
Juventus
In 1996, clubs from all over the world started to realize his potential, and Zidane was getting offers from all over Europe. Zidane ended up picking Juventus from the Italian league. His impact was immediate, as the team won the Serie A title in 1997.
There was no denying that Zidane was the reason for this win, and he received the Ligue 1 Player of the Year for the achievement.
Although Zidane wasn’t a selfish player, he still had his outburst and was even banned from the Serie A 2000-2001 games due to headbutting an opponent player.
However, in 2001, Zidane received another prestigious award - Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year. This was the second time he won this achievement.
Real Madrid
After the bust-up with Jochen Kientz, Zidane decided he needed a change. This was when he joined Real Madrid. The fee for such a transfer cost €77.5 million. This was a record at the time and put Zidane into a 4-year contract.
In his first year with Real Madrid, Zidane became an instant star. He even completed his now famous matching-winning goal, where he volleyed the ball using his left foot from the 18-yard box.
This moment is still considered one of the greatest in Champions League history.
Playing For His Country - France
Zidane’s first international game was in 1996 where he played in Euros. He wasn’t known as a legend at this point in time, and his biggest achievement was scoring during the penalty shootouts of the semi-finals.
In 1998 he had a more impactful role and brought the team to the FIFA World Cup finals against defending champions Brazil.
France was dominating the favorite team. Zidane scored 2 goals before halftime, and by the final whistle, they had won 3 nil. This was the first time France had won the World Cup.
From this point onward, France was winning left, right, and center.
However, this changed in 2002 as France was kicked out of the World Cup without scoring a single goal in the Group Stage. It was the worst defeat in history.
In 2006, Zidane was playing his last game as a professional football player. It was in the World Cup Finals against Portugal.
Zidane’s penalty kick was the deciding factor and won France the title.
Summary
Zinedine Zidane had potential as a child, but during his teenage years, many large teams rejected him. This was a mistake many teams would regret as this star player became the driving force for International and league-based wins.
