World Cup winner, Zinedine Zidane, has taken over as coach of Real Madrid following the sacking of Rafael Benitez.
The three-time FIFA World Player of the Year, who also played for the club between 2001 and 2006 said about his new role: “I want to thank the club for giving me the opportunity to manage… the best club in the world. I will try to put my entire heart in it. I believe that everything will go well.”
Here are five facts about the 43-year-old former midfielder nicknamed “Zizou”.
- His North African heritage
Zinedine Zidane was born in La Castellane, Marseille, in southern France. His parents emigrated to Paris from northern Algeria in 1953 before the start of the Algerian War. Zidane grew up hoping to emulate the feats of famous Marseille players Enzo Francescoli and Jean-Pierre Papin.
- His roots in football
Zidane began his professional career at Cannes in 1989 and in his first full season the club finished fourth and qualified for the Uefa Cup. He also played for Bordeaux before moving to Italy with Juventus, where he won successive Serie A titles.
- When he was Bernabeu bound
In 2001 Real Madrid paid a then world record 75 million euro to take Zidane to Spain, where he won the La Liga and Champions League titles as part of the club’s famed Galacticos – the world stars who included the likes of Luis Figo, Ronaldo and David Beckham among their number during his five years at the club.
- His world star status
Zidane won both the World Cup and European Championship with France. He won the 1998 World Cup, scoring two goals in the 3-0 win over favourites Brazil in the final on home soil. Two years later Zidane helped France to win the European Championship title.
- His disciplinary problems
The moment for which Zidane is most infamously known is in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy. During extra-time Zidane head-butted Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest. Zidane was previously sent off for head-butting Hamburg’s Jochen Kientz in a Champions League tie in 2000 while playing for Juventus. Following his red card in the World Cup final, Zidane retired from professional football and confirmed that he would not go back on his decision. He was sentenced by FIFA to a three match suspension for the red card and agreed to complete three days of community service with children in one of FIFA’s humanitarian projects. Zidane ended up tying with Brazil’s Cafu for the record for most cards given in World Cup matches, with six.
