Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Yazid Zidane, often called Zizou, is a French football manager and former attacking midfielder, currently coaching the France national team. Born on 23 June 1972, he is considered one of the sport's all-time greats, known for his elegance, vision, passing, and ball control. As a player, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year three times (1998, 2000, 2003) and won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. Later, he managed Real Madrid in two separate periods from 2016 to 2021, winning several domestic and international trophies.

Zidane began his professional career at Cannes and later became a top player in Ligue 1 with Bordeaux. In 1996, he joined Juventus in Italy, winning two Serie A titles and reaching consecutive UEFA Champions League finals in 1997 and 1998. He transferred to Real Madrid in 2001 for a then-world-record €77.5 million, a fee that stood for eight years. With Madrid, he won a La Liga title and the Champions League, scoring a legendary left-foot volley in the 2002 final. Both Real Madrid and Juventus named him in their all-time greatest XIs in 2012 and 2017, respectively.

For France, Zidane earned 108 caps. He was a national hero after scoring twice in the 1998 World Cup final, earning a place in the All-Star team and receiving the Legion of Honour. He also won UEFA Euro 2000, where he was named Player of the Tournament. At the 2006 World Cup, he received the Golden Ball as best player, despite being sent off in the final for headbutting Marco Materazzi. He retired as France's fourth-most capped player.

In 2004, Pelé included Zidane in the FIFA 100 list of the greatest living players, and the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll named him the best European footballer of the previous 50 years. He is one of only eleven players to have won the World Cup, Champions League, and Ballon d'Or. He also served as an ambassador for Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid.

After retiring as a player, Zidane coached Real Madrid's B team, Castilla, for two years before taking over the first team in 2016. In his first three seasons, he became the first and only coach to win the Champions League three times in a row. He also won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup twice each, plus a La Liga title and a Supercopa de España. This earned him the Best FIFA Men's Coach award in 2017. He resigned in 2018, returned in 2019 to win another La Liga and Supercopa, then left again in 2021. In 2026, he returned to coaching, replacing Didier Deschamps as head coach of the France national team.

Zidane was born on 23 June 1972 in La Castellane, a neighborhood in Marseille, the youngest of five children. His parents, Smaïl and Malika, were Algerian immigrants from Kabylia who moved to France in 1953. His father worked as a warehouseman and security guard, while his mother was a housewife. Zidane credits his strict upbringing and his father as his "guiding light." He started playing football at age five on a small plaza in his housing complex. As a child, he idolized Marseille players Blaž Slišković, Enzo Francescoli, and Jean-Pierre Papin. At ten, he joined local club US Saint-Henri, then moved to SO Septèmes-les-Vallons. At 14, he was spotted by a Cannes scout at a training camp and joined the club, initially for six weeks but staying four years. He lived with the club director's family after leaving his own.