Top 10 Facts about Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane is a French former professional football player who is the current manager of Real Madrid, one of the best teams in La Liga, the men’s top professional football division in Spain. One of the best players in the world during his time, he is now currently one of the most successful managers in the world.

Regarded as one of the best of all time, he was commonly known for his vision on the ball, his long and short-range passing abilities, his extraordinary technique, and his tenacity on the pitch. Let’s check out the top 10 facts about one of the best players to ever grace the sport of football.

His parents are from Algeria

His parents, Smail and Malika, moved to Paris from the small village of Aguemoune, a village in the Boukhelifa commune in the Kabylie region of Algeria.

He grew up in a poor area

After emigrating from Algeria to France, his family moved to Marseille. His father worked as a warehouseman and nightwatchman in order to support his wife and kids, helping the family to live a reasonably comfortable life. However, Zidane did grow up in a neighborhood in Marseilles that was notorious for crime and high unemployment rates.

He first began playing at Castellane

In Castellane is where Zidane first had an introduction to football, joining a local league of games in the neighborhood at just 5 years old. Zidane and his neighborhood friends played on the Place Tartane, a plaza that served as a square of a housing complex, competing in pick-up games. At the age of ten, he got his first official playing license after joining the junior team of a local club in the area.

He began his real playing career at AS Cannes

Zidane went to AS Cannes initially for what was supposed to be just over a month, joining the French association football club that plays in the fifth division of French football. However, he ended up staying for four years, only leaving to continue his career at the professional level.

It was at this first club that his coaches noticed that he was a special talent and attacking force, with his abilities helping Cannes qualify for the UEFA Cup by finishing fourth in the league – their highest finish in the club’s history.

He was transferred to Bordeaux in 1992

After his four years at AS Cannes, he decided to move up to professional football and took his skills to Girondins de Bordeaux, helping the team to win the 1995 Intertoto Cup and winning runner-up against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup of the same year.

Juventus offered Zidane in 1996

After two great stints at both Bordeaux and AS Cannes, Zidane had many offers in the spring of 1996. He decided to choose Juventus, an Italian professional association football club that is based in Turin. He joined the team and had an immediate impact, helping the team to win the Serie A in 1996-1997 and claiming victory at the Intercontinental Cup in the same year. After being named Serie A footballer of the year in his first season, Zidane started making a name for himself in European football.

The move to Real Madrid broke the transfer record

When Zidane joined Real Madrid in 2001, the transfer broke the previous world record, coming in at a whopping 150 billion Italian lire, which comes out to about 77.5 million euros by the exchange rate for a four-year contract.

Real Madrid is a Spanish-based football club from Madrid that is one of the best clubs in the entire country, and worth over 3.8 billion euros in 2019.

Zidane helped the club to win the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final by scoring one of the greatest goals in the history of the Champions League, producing an emotional land heartfelt celebration that is still recognizable by millions of fans today.

One endorsement? Talk about dozens!

Zidane has had endorsements with various companies throughout his career, including big-name companies like Adidas, Lego, Orange, Audi, Volvic, Christian Dior, and France Telecom. These sponsorship deals helped him in his already prolific career, gaining him an additional 8.6 million euros on top of his record-breaking Real Madrid salary of 6.4 million euros in 2006 alone.

In 2004, Forbes named Zidane as earning just under $16 million during just a one-year period, citing him as one of the highest-paid footballers in the entire world during his career.

Guest appearance in Family Guy?

Zinedine Zidane an actor? Maybe not, but that didn’t stop him from appearing in the famous American sitcom Family Guy, picturing him headbutting an old lady in an episode in 2006. This was a parody of his infamous headbutt against Materazzi in a match, prompting Zidane to earn a red card and eject him from the game. This infamous headbutt has also been the topic of a lyrical essay by the famous Belgian novelist, Jean-Phillippe Toussaint.

A happily-married man & athletic family

At just 17 years old, Zidane met who would become his future wife – Veronique Fernandez. He met her while playing for Cannes during the 1988-89 season, and they currently have four sons: Enzo Zidane Fernandez, Theo Zidane Fernandez, Luca Zidane Fernandez, and Elyaz Zidane Fernandez.

Enzo is taking after his dad, playing as a midfielder for the Portuguese football club C.D. Aves, while Luca is on the same track as a goalkeeper for Racing Santander, a Spanish football club. Similarly, his other son, Theo, is a midfielder for Juvenil A, and Elyaz is a defender at the Real Madrid Academy.

With such a prolific career as both a player and coach, it is no wonder that Zidane is one of the highest-regarded footballers and managers in the entire history of the game.