Profile: Zinedine Zidane

full name:

Zinedine Yazid Zidane

bio:

Zidane is one of the soccer icons of his generation and is known to be modest, quiet and self-admittedly shy. However, he also has occasional flashes of aggression on the pitch

also known as:

Zizou

born:

Marseille, 3rd June 1972

nationality:

French

family:

Zinedine is the son of Algerian immigrants. He is married to a French woman, Véronique, of Spanish descent ,a former model. Together they have four sons, Enzo (named after Enzo Francescoli) , Théo, Lucas and Elyas.

physical:

Height: 185cm(6ft)
Weight: 80kg

sport:

Football or Soccer

teams / clubs:

• Cannes (France, 1987 - 1992).
  
• Girondins (France, 1992- 1996).
  
• Juventus (Italy, 1996- 2001).
  
• Real Madrid (Spain, 2001-?).
  

position:

midfileder

foot:

jersey number:

10 (France), 5 (Real Madrid)

achievements:

• 2004 - named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations.
• 2004 - voted the best European player for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll.

what you may not know:

• First professional match: Nantes - Cannes : 1-1 on 20/05/1989
• In 2001, he became the most expensive player in football history when Real Madrid acquired him for 46 million pounds (roughly $66 million US Dollars).
• In addition to promoting a slew of sports products, Zidane is also Christian Dior's first male model
• He was an Athens 2004 Torchbearer.
• In 2004, Zinédine Zidane was appointed as "Chevalier" (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur by French President Jacques Chirac.
• Zidane was sponsored by LEGO for a while and wore their logo, and was also immortalised in plastic in the form of a LEGO minifigure of himself, available in several of the sets.