Zinedine Zidane

French football legend and manager, head coach of the France national team.

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Zinedine Yazid Zidane (born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the head coach of the France national team.

Quick Facts

Full name: Zinedine Yazid Zidane
Born: 23 June 1972
Birthplace: Marseille, France
Height: 1.85 m / 6 ft 1 in
Position: Attacking midfielder
Current club: France (head coach)
Total caps: 506
Total goals: 95

Lore & Background

Zidane started his career at Cannes before establishing himself at Bordeaux. In 1996, he moved to Juventus, winning two Serie A titles and playing in consecutive UEFA Champions League finals in 1997 and 1998. He moved to Real Madrid for a world-record fee of €77.5 million in 2001. In Spain, he won a La Liga title and the Champions League, scoring a left-foot volleyed winner in the 2002 final. Capped 108 times by France, he won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a brace in the final, and UEFA Euro 2000. He also received the Golden Ball at the 2006 World Cup despite his sending off for headbutting Marco Materazzi. He retired as the fourth-most capped player in French history. After retiring, he coached Real Madrid Castilla, then managed the first team from 2016, becoming the first coach to win the Champions League three consecutive times. He resigned in 2018, returned in 2019, and left again in 2021. In 2026, he succeeded Didier Deschamps as head coach of the France national team.

Reader's Guide

Zidane is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, a playmaker renowned for elegance, vision, passing, and ball control. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000, and 2003, and won the 1998 Ballon d'Or. He was named in the FIFA 100 in 2004 and the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. He is one of eleven players to have won the World Cup, the Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or. As a coach, he won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup twice each, a La Liga title, and a Supercopa de España, and was named Best FIFA Men's Coach in 2017.

Did You Know?

Zidane was born in La Castellane, a neighbourhood in Marseille, to Algerian parents.
He scored his first professional goal for Cannes against Nantes on 10 February 1991.
He was the ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 World Cup.
He was named in Real Madrid's and Juventus's greatest XI of all time in 2012 and 2017 respectively.