Zinedine Zidane

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Zinedine Yazid Zidane was born on 23 June 1972 in La Castellane, a neighbourhood in the 16th arrondissement of Marseille, in Southern France. He is the youngest of five siblings born to Algerian parents Smaïl and Malika, who had immigrated to Paris from the village of Aguemoune in the Berber-speaking region of Kabylia in 1953, before the start of the Algerian War. The family, which had settled in the city's tough northern districts of Barbès and Saint-Denis, found little work in the region, and in the mid-1960s moved to the northern Marseille suburb of La Castellane.

In Their Own Story

Zidane's legacy at FC Barcelona is defined by his opposition. He moved to Real Madrid for a world-record fee of €77.5 million in 2001. In the 2002 Champions League final, he scored a left-foot volleyed winner that is considered one of the greatest goals in football history. He won a La Liga title and the Champions League with Real Madrid. In 2012 and 2017, respectively, Zidane was named in Real Madrid's and Juventus's greatest XI of all time. He retired as the fourth-most capped player in French history. After retiring as a player, Zidane began his coaching career at Real Madrid Castilla. He remained in the position for two years, before managing the first team in 2016. In his initial three seasons, Zidane became the first and only coach to win the Champions League three consecutive times. He also won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup twice each, as well as a La Liga title and a Supercopa de España. This success led to Zidane being named Best FIFA Men's Coach in 2017. He resigned in 2018, but returned to the club in 2019, and won another La Liga title and a Supercopa de España, before leaving again in 2021. In 2026, he returned to coaching, succeeding Didier Deschamps as the new head coach of the France national team.

Reader's Guide

Zidane started his career at Cannes before establishing himself as one of the best players in the French Ligue 1 at Bordeaux. In 1996, he moved to Italian club Juventus, where he won two Serie A titles and played in consecutive UEFA Champions League finals in 1997 and 1998. He moved to Real Madrid for a world-record fee at the time of €77.5 million in 2001, which remained a record for the next eight years. In Spain, Zidane won several trophies, including a La Liga title and the Champions League. In the 2002 Champions League final, he scored a left-foot volleyed winner that is considered one of the greatest goals in football history. In 2012 and 2017, respectively, Zidane was named in Real Madrid's and Juventus's greatest XI of all time. After retiring as a player, Zidane began his coaching career at Real Madrid Castilla. He remained in the position for two years, before managing the first team in 2016. In his initial three seasons, Zidane became the first and only coach to win the Champions League three consecutive times. He also won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup twice each, as well as a La Liga title and a Supercopa de España. This success led to Zidane being named Best FIFA Men's Coach in 2017. He resigned in 2018, but returned to the club in 2019, and won another La Liga title and a Supercopa de España, before leaving again in 2021. In 2026, he returned to coaching, succeeding Didier Deschamps as the new head coach of the France national team.

Did You Know?

• Zidane scored a left-foot volleyed winner in the 2002 Champions League final, considered one of the greatest goals in football history.
• He is one of eleven players to have won the World Cup, the Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or.
• Zidane was the ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 World Cup, the first Arab country to host the tournament.
• He was named Best FIFA Men's Coach in 2017.