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PLAYER FILE

ZIDANE

Zinedine Yazid Zidane
FRANCE · FRA · ATTACKING MIDFIELD · #10
23 JUN 1972 · Cannes · Bordeaux · Juventus · Real Madrid
★ 1 WORLD CUPS
Zizou
FRANCE · #10

🌎 WORLD CUP RECORD

1
TITLES
12
MATCHES
5
GOALS
YEARHOSTAPPSGOALSRESULT
1998France52 ★ WINNER
2002South Korea / Japan10 GROUP STAGE
2006Germany63 RUNNER-UP
█ ATTRIBUTES
PACE 74
SHOOTING 83
PASSING 92
DRIBBLING 96
DEFENDING 64
PHYSICAL 84

⚡ DEFINING MOMENTS

▲ 1998 · Two headers in the final
On home soil in Saint-Denis, Zidane met two corners with his head either side of half-time to put France 2-0 up against the holders Brazil. The 3-0 win delivered France a first world title, and turned a gifted playmaker into a national monument overnight.
▲ 2006 · A Panenka, then the headbutt
Recalled from international retirement, the captain chipped a seventh-minute penalty off the bar and in against Italy, the coolest of finishes in his final match. In extra time he answered a goad from Marco Materazzi with a headbutt to the chest and was sent off; France lost the shoot-out, and he left the field a champion no more.
▲ 2006 · Golden Ball in defeat
Across the knockout rounds he ran the tournament — a stoppage-time clip against Spain, a penalty to settle the semi-final with Portugal — and was voted the competition's best player despite the dismissal. It remains a rare thing: the outstanding figure of a World Cup he did not win.

📜 CAREER TIMELINE

1994
Debuts for France as a substitute and scores twice in the closing minutes against the Czech Republic.
1998
Scores both goals in the final as France win the World Cup at home.
2001
Moves from Juventus to Real Madrid for a then-world-record fee.
2002
A thigh injury limits him to one match as holders France exit in the group stage without a goal.
2006
Comes out of retirement, captains France to the final, and takes the Golden Ball before his sending-off.
2006
Retires from football after the final in Berlin, his last act in the game a red card.
◄ SCROLL ►
█ THE ALMANAC SPEAKS
PROF. INKSWORTH:

The almanac keeps two photographs of Zidane side by side: the head meeting the ball twice in 1998, and the head meeting Materazzi's chest in 2006. Between them sits one of the most complete midfielders the World Cup ever staged — a winner, a runner-up, and the only Golden Ball that ends in a red card. History does not tidy him up, and neither do we.

  • His two headers in the 1998 final made him the rare playmaker remembered for finishing with his head rather than his feet.
  • He is one of only a handful of men to score in two different World Cup finals — a brace in 1998, a penalty in 2006.
  • He won the 2006 Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, then was sent off in the final he lost — the only man to manage both.
Ready.
Zone: Historical