zidane

Zinedine Zidane was born June 23, 1972, in Marseille, France. Zidane got his start in football (known as soccer in North America) at an early age, when he joined the US Saint-Henri club.

He moved on to Septemes Sports Olympiques after the coach convinced the director of the club to sign him. After leaving Septemes at the age of 14, Zidane participated in the first year junior selection for the league championship, the same year he was discovered.

His beginning with Bordeaux was hard on 24-year-old Zidane, as it forced him to adapt, but once he did, he did so with flying colours. Not only did Bordeaux qualify every year that Zidane played with the team, but Bordeaux also qualified for the UEFA Cup through Intertoto and went to the final in 95-96, Zidane's last year with the team.

At the same time, Juventus sought out Zidane, and after his four crucial seasons with Bordeaux, he moved to Torino. Again, Zidane was forced to adapt to the Italian way of playing as well as to the lifestyle, but after his first year, he was a bona fide star.

In 2000 France added the European Championship to their achievements. His further honours include European Footballer of the Year (1998) and FIFA World Footballer of the Year (1998, 2000, 2003). In 2001 he signed for Spanish club Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee of ₤47·2 million, and his annual income is estimated at around ₤5 million.

In 2004, Zidane was named best European football player of the past 50 years by the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll and was included in the FIFA 100, Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living footballers. In 2006, he was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He retired after the finals that year