Most World Cup matches – Zinedine Zidane (14)

Lore & Background

Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup with France, scoring a brace in the final, and was named in the All-Star team. He also won UEFA Euro 2000 and was named Player of the Tournament. He received the Golden Ball as Player of the Tournament at the 2006 World Cup, despite his sending off in the final for headbutting Marco Materazzi.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at the Olympiastadion hummed like a living thing. Extra time. The 110th minute. Zidane, 33 years old, knees aching, lungs burning, watched the ball drift toward the penalty area. He did not think. He never had to think for moments like this. He rose — that impossible, liquid rise — and the back of his head connected with the ball in a single, silent arc. The net rippled. The French bench erupted. For ninety seconds, the world belonged to a man from Marseille who had carried a nation on his back for eight years. Then the whistle, the equaliser, the penalties, the silence. He peeled off his boots one by one, placed them neatly on the grass, and walked toward the tunnel. Ahead of him, nothing. Just the quiet, and the knowledge that he had given everything.

Reader's Guide

Zidane is one of eleven players to have won the World Cup, the Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000, and 2003, and won the 1998 Ballon d'Or.

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 was the ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 World Cup.
• Zidane is the only coach to win the Champions League three consecutive times.