Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Yazid Zidane was on born 23 June, 1972. Zidane, popularly nicknamed Zizou, is a former French football player of Kabyle ethnicity who has starred for both the French national team and four European club teams, most recently as one of the stars of Real Madrid. In the 1998 World Cup final, Zidane was able to capture international attention with two headed goals in the final match against Brazil, allowing for his country's first ever FIFA World Cup title (and in home soil). He made precious contributions to his teams' victories in the Euro 2000, the UEFA Champions League, and domestic championships in Italy and Spain.

Zinedine Zidane was elected FIFA World Player of the Year three times (1998, 2000, and 2003) and was granted the award for European Footballer of the Year in 1998. Zidane holds the world-record fee of € 66 million for his transfer to Real Madrid in 2001, record that remains unequalled to the date. In 2004, he topped the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll on Best European football player of the past 50 years, and was included in the FIFA 100, Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living footballers. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, and therefore was given the Golden Ball. Zidane retired from football after his participation on the 2006 World Cup Final on 9 July 2006.