Zinedine Zidane, the best football player in the world Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane, (often incorrectly spelled ZinÃ©dine, Arabic: زين الدين زيدان‎ transliteration: Zīn ad-Dīn Zīdān), (born June 23, 1972), popularly nicknamed Zizou, is a former French football player of Kabyle Algerian descent who starred for both the French national team and for four club teams, most recently Real Madrid. Zidane is often considered to be the best footballer of his generation and one of the greatest of all time. A midfielder, his elegant dribbling, balance, passing ability, shot accuracy, shot selection, and well-placed free kicks have made him one of the game's finest players and the natural successor of Michel Platini as France's top playmaker. His precise control over the flow of the game and his ability to hold and protect the ball remain highly regarded. Zidane received international attention with his two headed goals in the 1998 World Cup final against Brazil that essentially won his country's first ever title.

He has been elected FIFA World Player of the Year three times (1998, 2000, 2003), a record that has only been matched by Ronaldo, and once as European Footballer of the Year (1998). In 2004, Zidane was added to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by PelÃ© as part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. As announced on 25 April 2006, Zidane retired from international football after the 2006 World Cup Final on 09 July 2006. Club Career Zidane was born in Marseille, France and raised in La Castellane, a government-sponsored housing project (citÃ© HLM) in the northern suburbs of Marseille (the "Quartiers Nord"). Though born in Marseille, Zidane has never played for Olympique de Marseille. Zidane got his start in football at an early age, when he joined the US Saint-Henri club. He moved on to Septemes Sports Olympiques after Saint-Henri's coach convinced its director to sign him.

After leaving Septemes at the age of 14, Zidane participated in the first year junior selection for the league championship. He was called in for three days at the sport regional centre in Aix-en-Provence, where Jean Varraud, AS Cannes' recruiter, took notice of the French-Algerian player. Zidane ventured off to Cannes for what was intended to be a six-week stay, but he remained at the club for four years to play with professionals. After spending four years with Bordeaux, he was transferred to Italy's Juventus F.C. for a fee of Â£3 million. In 2001, Zidane was transferred from Juventus to the Spanish club Real Madrid on a four-year contract. The transfer fee was â‚¬66 million, making him the most expensive player in football history. His fellow Galacticos at Madrid included David Beckham, RaÃºl GonzÃ¡lez, LuÃ­s Figo, Ronaldo, and Roberto Carlos. He scored a spectacular winning goal in a 2-1 win over the German team Bayer Leverkusen in the 2001-2002 Champions League Final in Glasgow's Hampden Park.

On 7 May 2006, Zidane played his last home game for Real Madrid at the famous Santiago BernabÃ©u stadium. His team-mates wore special jerseys that had "ZIDANE 2001 - 2006" written on the bottom of the club logo. As expected, the Real Madrid fans gave him a warm reception and kept cheering him throughout the whole game. The opponent team was Villarreal CF and, unfortunately for Zidane, the game ended in a 3-3 draw. He scored the second goal for Real Madrid without any major celebration. After the game, Zidane swapped jerseys with Juan Roman Riquelme, the Villarreal CF and Argentinian midfielder. Zidane was given a massive ovation by spectators, which left him in tears. International Career Zidane holds dual citizenship of both France and Algeria, and therefore could have played for Algeria. However, Algerian national coach Abdelhamid Kermali denied him a position on the team, arguing that the young midfielder was "not fast enough".

Zidane earned his first cap on August 17, 1994, entering at the 63rd minute of a match against the Czech Republic. France was behind 2-0 when Zidane came to the pitch and subsequently scored two goals, which led to a 2-2 final result. Zidane was a member of the French national football team in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. During France's second match of the first round, he received a red card and a two-game suspension in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia for stomping on Saudi Arabia's team captain Fuad Amin. Reports from people close to Zidane state that Amin had provoked him verbally. After scoring in the Penalty shootout against Italy in the Quarter Final, he scored his first and only regular goals during the tournament in the final against Brazil, leading his team to a 3-0 victory, with France winning its first ever World Cup championship. This was also the first time in 20 years that the host country's team had won the tournament. Two years later, Zidane and France won the Euro 2000 championship.

He helped his team reach the final with inspired play and important goals, in quarterfinals against Spain â€” via direct free kick â€” and a golden goal penalty against Portugal in semifinals. Subsequently, his team was ranked the number one team in the world, and it was the first time since West Germany in 1976 that a team held both the World Cup and Euro titles. Injuries prevented Zidane from performing at his best in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. France's attempt at defending their title was spectacularly unsuccessful; the team was eliminated in the first round without scoring a single goal. Zidane rushed back from his injury in time to play in France's last game, but could not perform at his usual level. On August 12, 2004, after France lost in Euro 2004 to the eventual winners, the Greek national football team, Zidane retired from international football. However, after France experienced serious problems in attempting to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Zidane announced on August 3, 2005 that he was coming back to play for France.

He stated on his official website: "I have gone back on my decision, one year after I said it was categorical." On the same day, French teammate midfielder Claude MakÃ©lÃ©lÃ©, who also quit the French team following Euro 2004, said he wanted to come out of international retirement as well, and in the same week, Lilian Thuram made the same announcement. The trio made their competitive return in the 3-0 FIFA World Cup qualifier win against the Faroe Islands on September 3, 2005, and France went on to win their qualifying group. On 25 April 2006, after an injury-plagued season at Real Madrid, Zidane announced that he would retire from professional football following his representing France in the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals to be held in Germany. On May 27, 2006, Zidane earned his 100th cap for France with a 1-0 victory over Mexico at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris.

It was his last match in the stadium and he became only the fourth Frenchman after Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps and Lilian Thuram to earn a hundred national caps. He was substituted early in the second half. 2006 World Cup In the closing minutes of France's second match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, against South Korea, Zidane was given a yellow card for running into a player late. As a result, he was suspended from the third and final match of the group stage. France nonetheless beat Togo 2-0, allowing Zidane to play in the knockout stage. In the Round of 16 match against Spain in Hanover on June 27, 2006, Zidane assisted Patrick Vieira on the second goal by sending a free kick in to the penalty area. During stoppage time, he scored the final goal of the match, leading to a 3-1 victory. The win booked Zidane and France's date with defending champions Brazil in the quarter-finals of the tournament. On 1 July 2006, France beat favoured Brazil 1-0 in Frankfurt.

Zidane provided the free-kick assist on Thierry Henry's winning goal, and was named Man of the Match by FIFA's Technical Study Group. On 5 July 2006, France played against Portugal in Munich for the semi-final. Zidane scored a penalty kick against Ricardo, which turned out to be the only goal of the game and saw France through to the final. 2006 World Cup Final On July 9, 2006, Zidane played his second World Cup final match and scored in the seventh minute from the penalty spot with a chip shot that hit the crossbar before narrowly bouncing behind the goal line. He became one of only four footballers to achieve the feat of scoring in two different World Cup final matches (he scored twice in the 1998 FIFA World Cup final), sharing the honour with PelÃ©, Paul Breitner, and VavÃ¡. This goal also made him one of the top goalscorers in World Cup final matches, with 3 goals, tied for first place with VavÃ¡, Geoff Hurst and PelÃ©.

He almost scored a second goal during the first period of extra time but his header was saved by Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Controversy over violent offence Zinedine Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup Final (animated image, video, alternate video, front angle video)Zidane was sent off for violent conduct after headbutting Italy's defender, Marco Materazzi, in the chest in the 110th minute, after exchanging words while walking down the field. The game ended in a 1-1 draw and Italy won the championship after a penalty kick shootout. Regarding the substance of the argument, Zidane's agent Alain Migliaccio said, "[Zidane] told me Materazzi said something very serious to him but he wouldn't tell me what." He also told reporters that Zidane planned to speak out about the incident." Several newspapers have had lipreaders try to interpret what Materazzi said, though they have come up with different interpretations, ranging from racist remarks concerning Zidane and his family, to an inappropriate comment about his wife.

Broad consensus of these analyses is that Materazzi spoke in Italian, a language understood by Zidane, and that he gravely insulted Zidane. According to Milan based La Gazzetta dello Sport, Materazzi admitted that he insulted Zidane, but recounted the incident as follows: "I held his shirt for a few seconds only, then he turned to me and talked to me, jeering. He looked at me with a huge arrogance and said: 'If you really want my shirt, I'll give it to you afterwards'. I replied with an insult, that's true." He stressed that the insults were "the type [...] that we've heard before so many times on the pitch, and sometimes we don't even notice it". Responding to reports that he had called Zidane a "dirty terrorist" or "son of a terrorist whore", Materazzi insisted the insult was not racist in nature: "I did not call him a terrorist. I am not a cultured person and I don't even know what an Islamist terrorist is." He also rejected claims that he had insulted Zidane's mother: "I certainly didn't talk about Zidane's mother because to me the mother is sacred".

Zidane's mother Malika had been taken ill to hospital hours before the World Cup final. Golden Ball award The day following the final, July 10, 2006, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball for being voted best player in the 2006 World Cup by a poll of journalists covering the tournament. Zidane received 2,012 votes, ahead of Italy's Fabio Cannavaro (1,977 votes) and Andrea Pirlo (715 votes). Although the polling continued until midnight, most votes were cast during half-time, prior to Zidane being sent off. Aftermath of the incident The reaction to the headbutting incident has been mixed. After returning to Paris, the team met with French President Jacques Chirac, who had also attended the game in Berlin. Chirac hailed Zidane as a national hero and proclaimed: "You are a virtuoso, a genius of world football" He added: "You are also a man of heart and conviction. That is why France admires and loves you." Despite the controversy surrounding Zidane's offence, his main sponsors announced that they would stick with him.

Regarding the headbutt itself, an advertising executive stated that the "childish gesture" would give "a more human image of the hero". It would "bring the icon closer to the people". Not all post-game reaction was positive, however. Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira dubbed Zidane a "monster" for his action, while Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta described the headbutt as a "spiteful gesture." Moreover, some French newspapers condemned the headbutt. Le Figaro called the headbutt "odious" and said Zidane's "unacceptable gesture was sanctioned properly." On the Monday after the final, an editorial in popular sports daily L'Equipe questioned how Zidane could explain his action to "millions of children around the world," comparing him to Muhammad Ali but adding that neither Ali, nor Jesse Owens or Pele "broke the rules the way you did." The newspaper went on to admonish Zidane for failing to console his teammates on the pitch after the loss and said he would have to "explain your gesture to your four sons." On Tuesday, however, the newspaper apologised for Monday's comments.

"If they [my words] hurt you, I apologise," editorialist Claude Droussent wrote on the front-page. Protaganist's comments Materazzi acknowledged he insulted Zidane, who he called his "hero," without giving specifics. "I didn't say anything to him about racism, religion or politics," Materazzi said. "I didn't talk about his mother, either. I lost my mother when I was 15 and even now I still get emotional talking about her." On French television in an interview on Wednesday, Zidane didn't indicate what Materazzi said, but went on to say the insults related to his mother and sister. On July 20 both players will give their explanations during a hearing of the FIFA disciplinary committee.

Zidane repeated the "he felt no regret about his outburst because that would mean (Materazzi) was right to say all that." He concluded with : "My act is unforgivable, but they must also punish the true guilty party, and the guilty party is the one who provokes." Honours With the French national team: FIFA World Cup Spanish Super Cup: 2001, 2003 UEFA Champions League: 2001/2002 Spanish League - La Liga champions: 2002/2003 European Super Cup: 2002 FIFA World Player of the Year: 1998, 2000, 2003 European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or): 1998 UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2001-02 UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll (Best European player of the past 50 years): 2004 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Award: 2006 Personal Life Zidane's first name is Arabic for "ornament of the faith", while his family name is Arabic for "increases/grows the faith".

His wife, VÃ©ronique Zidane, is a former dancer and model of Spanish origin. They married in 1993 and have four sons named Enzo, Luca, ThÃ©o and Elyaz. Zidane describes himself as a "non-practicing Muslim". Allegations that Zidane's father was a harki, or Algerian supporter of French rule, have been denied by Zidane himself. Trivia The nickname Zizou was given to Zidane when he played for Bordeaux in the mid-1990s. Yaz - for Yazid, his middle name - is another of Zidane's nicknames, given to him by his brothers and used by his family and close friends. When Zidane came back from international retirement, in August 2005, he was reinstated as captain of the French national team, where he wears squad number 10. At Real Madrid he wore squad number 5. In an interview Zidane declared that when he was a teenager, he admired Olympique de Marseille's Uruguayan playmaker Enzo Francescoli (after whom he named his eldest son).

He once was a ballboy at a match with Francescoli and thus saw him up close. He was an Athens 2004 Torchbearer. In 2004, Zinedine Zidane was appointed as "Chevalier" (Knight) of the LÃ©gion d'honneur by French President Jacques Chirac. The first penalty kick Zidane ever missed for France was during his last match in a French stadium, while playing a friendly game against China in Saint-Ã‰tienne, June 7, 2006, the last preparation game for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, where he accidentally slid and placed the ball above the goal. Zidane's first hat-trick was against Espanyol in La Liga 2006 with Real Madrid. The assist for Thierry Henry's goal against Brazil in the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-final was Zidane's first in 53 games for his teammate. The game ended 1-0. Zidane scored the only goal of the game, a penalty, in France's semi-final win over Portugal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

It was the team's eighth consecutive successful spot-kick. Zidane also scored a penalty kick against Portugal in the semi-final of Euro 2000. Zidane shares his birthday with former French teammate Patrick Vieira. Zidane is known to be modest, quiet and admittedly shy. However, Zidane has occasionally shown a quick temper on the pitch. One such display occurred in a 2000/2001 Champions League match between Juventus Turin and Hamburger SV, in which Zidane headbutted Jochen Kientz; he received a red card for this action. He also received a red card and a two-game suspension for stomping on Saudi Arabia's team captain Fuad Amin in the 1998 World Cup, allegedly in response to an insult. In extra time of the 2006 World Cup final, he was sent off for head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi. Overall, he was sent off 14 times in his career.

Zidane was not the first player to be sent off in a World Cup final match (three others preceeded him in that), nor was he the first to sent off in two World Cup tournaments (Rigobert Song from Cameroon was the first, in 1998), but Zidane was the first to be sent off during extra time. Zidane was sponsored by LEGO for a while and wore its logo. He was the official endorser of the company's Soccer/Football line, and was also immortalised in plastic in the form of a LEGO minifigure of himself, available in several of the sets. He is also sponsored by adidas, who supply him with Predator football boots and gear. Other sponsorship deals have included Danone, Generali, Orange, Audi, Ford and Christian Dior. During the 2005/2006 season, sponsorship deals like this earned him â‚¬8.6 million, on top of his â‚¬6.4 million Real Madrid salary. Credits : This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License .

It uses material from the Zinedine Zidane (Soccer Player) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Zinedine Zidane Male Born Jun 24, 1972 Zinedine Zidane is a retired French footballer. Zidane was the leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. After a brief international retirement, he returned to the national team in 2005 and captained France to the 2006 World Cup Final where he won the Golden Ball as the tournament's most outstanding player.… Read More related links Zidane Plans To Limit Ronaldo's Minutes Yahoo News - 12 days ago ' Real Madrid boss <mark>Zinedine Zidane</mark> insists he will continue to periodically leave out four-time world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo to keep the Portuguese fresh for the business end of the season. Ronaldo has sat out Real\'s last two home games -- missing the visit of Deportivo la Coruna in December and a 3-0 Copa del Rey romp over Sevilla on Wednesday.

Zidane confirmed in midweek that Ronaldo will return for lowly Granada\'s visit to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. ' Zidane Celebrates Flawless Year At Madrid Yahoo News - 14 days ago ' The relentless demands for success at Real Madrid have cost many high-profile and heavily experienced coaches their jobs, but <mark>Zinedine Zidane</mark> has made the move into senior management look serene as he celebrates a year in charge as a European and world champion. Madrid was a club with a very different feel 12 months ago when Zidane was promoted from his post as coach of Real\'s youth team Castilla in a salvage operation from club president Florentino Perez to rescue a hitherto ... Photo: Ex Italy Star Continues To Troll Real Madrid Boss Over Infamous 2006 World Cup Final Moment Yahoo News - Dec 21, 2016 ' âFor all of his world class ability as a footballer, one of the overriding memories of <mark>Zinedine Zidane</mark>, for many, will be his infamous 2006 World Cup final moment.

The France legend headbutted Italy\'s Marco Materazzi in Les Bleus\' eventual 5-3 penalty shootout defeat to the Azzurri after a 1-1 draw, in an incident that has gone down as one of the sport\'s most iconic events. Never one to shy away from controversy, Materazzi took to his official Instagram account to stoke the ... Ronaldo Hits 500th Goal As Real Reach World Final Yahoo News - Dec 15, 2016 ' Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 500th club goal Thursday as Real Madrid eased past Mexico\'s Club America 2-0 to reach the Club World Cup final in Japan. The Spanish giants will face shock finalists Kashima Antlers, the J-League champions, in Yokohama on Sunday as they look to capture their second world title in three years and fifth in total. \"Our sole aim was to reach the final -- so it\'s job done,\" Real coach <mark>Zinedine Zidane</mark> told reporters after goals from Karim Benzema and ... Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Zinedine Zidane.

CHILDHOOD Show Less In 1972, Zidane was born there as the youngest of five siblings. … Read More His father worked as a warehouseman and nightwatchman at a department store, often on the night shift, while his mother was a housewife. The family lived a reasonably comfortable life by the standards of the neighbourhood, which was notorious throughout Marseille for its high crime and unemployment rates.<br /><br /> It was in Castellane where Zidane had his earliest introduction in football, joining in at the age of five in football games that the neighbourhood's children played on the Place Tartane, an 80-by-12-yard plaza that served as the main square of the housing complex. In July 2011, Zidane named former Marseille players BlaÅ¾ SliÅ¡koviÄ, Enzo Francescoli and Jean-Pierre Papin as his idols while growing up. At the age of ten, Zidane got his first player's licence after joining the junior team of a local club from Castellane by the name of US Saint-Henri.

After spending a year and a half at US Saint-Henri, Zidane joined SO SeptÃ¨mes-les-Vallons when the SeptÃ¨mes coach Robert Centenero convinced the club's Director to get Zidane. Zidane stayed with SeptÃ¨mes until the age of 14, at which time he was selected to attend a three-day training camp at the CREPS (Regional Centre for Sports and Physical Education) in Aix-en-Provence, one of several such footballing institutes run by the French Football Federation. It was here that Zidane was spotted by AS Cannes scout and former player Jean Varraud, who recommended him to the training centre director of the club. Read Less Zinedine Yazid Zidane was born on 23 June 1972 in La Castellane, Marseille, in southern France. … Read More Zidane is of Algerian Kabyle Berber descent. His parents, SmaÃ¯l and Malika, emigrated to Paris from the village of Aguemoune in the Berber-speaking region of Kabylie in northern Algeria in 1953 before the start of the Algerian War.

The family, which had settled in the city's tough northern districts of BarbÃ¨s and Saint-Denis, found little work in the region, and in the mid-1960s moved to the northern Marseille suburb of La Castellane in the 16th arrondissement of Marseille. Read Less TEENAGE 1989 17 Years Old Zidane made his professional debut with Cannes on 18 May 1989 in a French Division 1 match against Nantes. 1991 19 Years Old He scored his first goal for the club on 10 February 1991 also against Nantes in a 2â1 win. … Read More After the match during a party for all the Cannes players, Zidane was given a car by Cannes Chairman Alain Pedretti, who had promised him one the day he scored his first goal for the club. On the pitch, Zidane displayed extraordinary technique on the ball, offering glimpses of the talent that would take him to the top of the world game.

In his first full season with Cannes, the club secured its first ever European football berth by qualifying for the UEFA Cup after finishing fourth in the league. This remains the club's highest finish in the top flight since getting relegated for the first time from the first division in the 1948â49 season. Read Less TWENTIES 1992 - 1995 3 More Events 1992 20 Years Old Zidane was transferred to Girondins de Bordeaux in the 1992â93 season, winning the 1995 Intertoto Cup after beating Karlsruhe, and finishing runner-up against Bayern Munich in the 1995â96 UEFA Cup, in four years with the club. … Read More He played a set of midfield combinations with Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, which would become the trademark of both Bordeaux and the 1998 French national team.

Read Less 1994 22 Years Old … On 5 November 2006, Zidane appeared in the American animated sitcom Family Guy, seen headbutting an old lady in the episode "Saving Private Brian" as a parody of his headbutt on Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup Final. The infamous headbutt has also been the subject of a lyrical essay by the Belgian novelist Jean-Philippe Toussaint entitled La MÃ©lancolie de Zidane (2006). <br /><br />In 2010, footage of Zidane appeared in the "Waka Waka" music video by Shakira, which shows him celebrating France winning the 1998 World Cup. In 2014, Australian sports presenter Les Murray collaborated with the band Vaudeville Smash and performed a Zidane tribute song, the accompanying video featuring four footballers performing ball tricks in Zidane masks, one of whom ends up headbutting a nightwatchman.

<br /><br />At the age of 17, Zidane met his future wife, VÃ©ronique FernÃ¡ndez (born in Aveyron of Spanish descent), while playing for Cannes in the 1988â89 season. Read Less Married in 1994, they have four sons: Enzo Alan Zidane FernÃ¡ndez (born 24 March 1995), Luca Zinedine Zidane FernÃ¡ndez (born 13 May 1998), Theo Zidane FernÃ¡ndez (born 18 May 2002), and Elyaz Zidane FernÃ¡ndez (born 26 December 2005). … Read More Enzo, Luca, Theo and Elyaz are all members of the Real Madrid Academy. Enzo (midfielder) is a Real Madrid Castilla (Real Madrid B) player, Luca (goalkeeper) is in Juvenil A, Theo (midfielder) is in Infantil A and Elyaz (midfielder) in Alevin B.

<br /><br /> Zidane has described himself as "a non-practicing Muslim."<br /><br /> Includes one appearance from the match against FIFA XI on 16 August 2000 which FIFA and the French Football Federation count as an official friendly match.<br /><br /> Bordeaux <br /><br /> Juventus <br /><br /> Real Madrid <br /><br /> France <br /><br /> Real Madrid Read Less 1995 23 Years Old In 1995, Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish had expressed interest in signing both Zidane and Dugarry, to which team owner and chairman Jack Walker reportedly replied, "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?" Also towards the beginning of the 1996 season, according to football agent Barry Silkman, Zidane was offered to Newcastle United for Â£1.2 million, but the club turned down the offer after watching him, claiming that he was not good enough for the English First Division. Show Less In 1996, Zidane received the award for Ligue 1 Player of the Year. … Read More He creates space where there is none.

No matter where he gets the ball or how it comes to him, he can get out of trouble. Read Less After a series of stand out performances for both Bordeaux and France, Zidane had offers to join Europe's top clubs in the spring of 1996, deciding on a move to UEFA Champions League winners Juventus during the close season. Zidane's impact in Italy was immediate, winning the 1996â97 Serie A title and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup. 1997 - 1998 4 More Events Show Less He lost in the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final 3â1 to Borussia Dortmund when he was unable to make an impression against the close marking of Paul Lambert. The following season, Zidane scored seven goals in 32 matches in the league to help Juventus win the 1997â98 Serie A and thus retain the Scudetto. … Read More In Europe, Juventus made their third consecutive UEFA Champions League Final appearance, but lost the game 1â0 to Real Madrid.

Read Less Show Less In 1998, Zidane was named FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the Ballon d'Or. Zidane and France went on to play against defending champions and favourites Brazil at the Stade de France in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final. … Read More France dominated Brazil from the kick-off, with Zidane scoring two similar goals, both headers from corner kicks taken by Emmanuel Petit and Youri Djorkaeff. Courtesy of Zidane's two goals, France went into the half-time break 2-0 up with one hand already on the World Cup trophy. Petit added a third goal deep in stoppage time to seal the 3â0 win and France's first ever World Cup. Zidane became an instant national hero, and over one million people celebrated the victory on the Champs-ÃlysÃ©es where a huge image of Zidane was projected on the Arc de Triomphe along with the words "Merci Zizou".

Read Less Show Less Juventus finished second in the 2000â01 Serie A, but were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, after Zidane was banned for head-butting Hamburger SV player Jochen Kientz. Two years later France won Euro 2000, becoming the first team to hold both the World Cup and the European Championship since West Germany in 1974. … Read More Zidane finished with two goals, a memorable bending free kick against Spain in the quarter-final and the golden goal in the semi-final against Portugal, and was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA. Read Less Show Less In 2001, Zidane was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year for the second time. In 2001, Zidane joined Real Madrid for a world record fee of 150 billion Italian lire, (about â¬77.5 million) and signed a four-year contract. THIRTIES Show Less … Zinedine Yazid Zidane (born 23 June 1972), nicknamed "Zizou", is a French retired footballer and current manager of Real Madrid.

He played as an attacking midfielder for the France national team, Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus and Real Madrid. Renowned for his elegance, vision, ball control and technique, Zidane was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. <br /><br />At club level, Zidane won the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned teams. His 2001 transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid set a world record fee of an equivalent â¬75 million. Read Less His left-foot volleyed winner in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final is considered to be one of the greatest goals in the competition's history. … Read More On the international stage with France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice in the final, and UEFA Euro 2000 where he was named Player of the Tournament.

The World Cup triumph made him a national hero in France, and he received the LÃ©gion d'honneur in 1998.<br /><br /> Zidane was named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times, in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and won the 1998 Ballon d'Or. He was Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 1996, Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2001 and La Liga Best Foreign Player in 2002. Zidane received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup, despite his infamous sending off in the final against Italy for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. Prior to the World Cup, he announced he would retire at the end of the tournament.

Read Less The latest addition to the GalÃ¡cticos era of global stars signed by Real Madrid every year, in his first season at the club Zidane scored a famous match-winning goal, a volley hit with his weaker foot, in Madrid's 2â1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final, completing his personal quadruple. The next season, Zidane helped Real Madrid to win the 2002â03 La Liga, starring alongside LuÃ­s Figo in midfield, and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the third time. … Read More In 2004, fans voted him as the best European footballer of the previous 50 years in UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll.<br /><br /> While Zidane's final season of club football ended without a trophy, he enjoyed success on a personal note by scoring his first hat-trick, against Sevilla, in a 4â2 win in January 2006.

He ended the season for Real Madrid as their second highest goalscorer and assists provider behind teammates Ronaldo and David Beckham respectively, with nine goals and ten assists in 28 games. On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup, played his farewell match and scored in a 3â3 draw with Villarreal. The squad wore commemorative shirts with ZIDANE 2001â2006 below the club logo. The 80,000 fans inside the Santiago BernabÃ©u held up a banner reading, "Thanks for the magic." Read Less As reigning world and European champions, France entered the 2002 World Cup as favourites but a thigh injury prevented Zidane from playing in France's first two matches and without their talisman, the French team failed to score in either match. … Read More He was rushed back prematurely for the third game despite not being fully fit, but could not prevent France from being ignominiously eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal; the worst performance by a defending champion in the history of the competition.

Read Less … Displaying skills with an array of moves such as his signature La Roulette pirouette, step overs and close ball control, former Brazilian international Rivaldo enjoyed watching Zidane more than any other player, stating, "His elegance of movement on the pitch and his skills are uncanny." Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso opined, "What he could do with a football is a dream for most of us." In 2005, upon Zidane's return to the French national team, his teammate Thierry Henry stated, "In France, everybody realized that God exists, and that he is back in the French international team. God is back, there is little left to say." Zidane has been lauded by sportsmen outside football; having witnessed Zidane's goal against Deportivo La CoruÃ±a in January 2002, where he dragged the ball right then left, turning the defender inside out, before scoring with a left foot finish, basketball player Magic Johnson stated, "One of the most inspiring nights of my life.

Zidane is a phenomenon." <br /><br />Zidane has been named FIFA World Player of the Year three times, a feat achieved only by Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2002, ESPN described Zidane as "the greatest player in the world in the world's biggest game". Read Less In a 2002 FIFA poll, Zidane was selected in the FIFA World Cup Dream Team. … Read More In 2004, he was voted UEFA Best European Player of the Past 50 Years, and was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Read Less 2004 - 2005 2 More Events 2004 32 Years Old At Euro 2004, France topped their group with wins over England and Switzerland, before being knocked out in the quarter finals by eventual champions Greece in a surprise 1â0 loss. … Read More In the opening match against England, Zidane scored a free kick and penalty in stoppage time to turn defeat into a 2â1 victory for France.

After France's elimination Zidane announced his retirement from international football.<br /><br /> With the mass retirement of veteran key players such as Bixente Lizarazu, Marcel Desailly, Claude MakÃ©lÃ©lÃ© and Lilian Thuram, France struggled to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. At the urging of coach Raymond Domenech, Zidane came out of retirement and was immediately reinstated as team captain. Read Less 2005 33 Years Old Zidane, along with Thuram and Makelele, made his competitive return for France in a 3â0 win over the Faroe Islands on 3 September 2005. … Read More The trio helped France rise from fourth place to win their qualifying group. Read Less

Question: Prior to Zinedine Zidane being sent off in the world cup final of 2006 which other French player was also sent off in a World Cup Final (1998)?
Answer: Marcel Desailly