Zidane Zinedine
Zinedine Yazid Zidane nicknamed “Zizou”, is a retired French footballer. He played as an attacking midfielder for the France national team, Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus and Real Madrid. An elite playmaker, renowned for his elegance, vision, ball control and technique, Zidane was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. At club level, Zidane won the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League,UEFA Supercup and Intercontinental Cup with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus. His 2001 transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid set a world record fee of an equivalent €75 million. His left-foot volleyed winner in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final is considered to be one of the greatest goals in the competition’s history. On the international stage with France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice in the final, and UEFA Euro 2000 where he was named Player of the Tournament. The World Cup triumph made him a national hero in France, and he received the Légion d’honneur in 1998. Zidane was named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times, in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and won the 1998 Ballon d’Or. He was Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 1996, Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2001 and La Liga Best Foreign Player in 2002. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world’s greatest living players compiled by Pelé. Zidane received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup, despite his infamous sending off in the final against Italy for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. Prior to the World Cup, he announced he would retire at the end of the tournament.
Things to Know:
This shirt, was used by Zinedine Zidane during Bologna-Juventus which took place in Bologna on January.18th 1998. The shirt was swapped after the match with Michele Paramatti, Bologna former player. It was auctioned by Paramatti in 2012 for the charity event “Una Maglia per l’Emilia” organized by the player to raise money for people of Emilia Romagna (Italy) who got invloved in the tremendous earthquake of 2012.
Did you Know?
This style of shirt was never used by the team in any Champions League game. This special style was made by team’s supplier Robe di Kappa to celebrate the team’s centenary but the shirt was only used during a friendly game against Newcastle which took place in Cesena on August 3rd 1997.
“Zidane is the master. Over the past ten years, there’s been no one like him, he has been the best player in the world” Pelè
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Many authoritative voices have acclaimed Zidane’s skills and importance in the history of football, such as Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who called Zidane “a monster” for his performance and abilities. German coach Franz Beckenbauer stated, “Zidane is one of the greatest players in history, a truly magnificent player.” Italy’s manager Marcello Lippi, who has also coached Zidane, opined, “I think Zidane is the greatest talent we’ve known in football these last twenty years, yet he never played the prima donna. I am honoured to have been his manager.” Former England manager Kevin Keegan said, “You look at Zidane and think ‘I’ve never seen a player quite like that.’ Diego Maradona was a great player. Johan Cruyff was a great player. They were different — but with similarities. What sets Zidane apart is the way he manipulates a football, buying himself space that isn’t there. Add his vision and it makes him very special.” At the 1998 World Cup, Italian manager Cesare Maldini said, “I would give up five players to have Zidane in my squad.” Among his playing peers, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović commented, “Zidane was from another planet. When Zidane stepped onto the pitch, the ten other guys just got suddenly better. It is that simple.” David Beckham has described Zidane as “the greatest of all time”, Barcelona star Xavi has stated in a 2010 interview that Zidane was “the ’90s and early 2000s best player”, while Brazilian defender and former Madrid teammate Roberto Carlos has said of Zidane, “He is the best player I’ve seen. Supporters arrived earlier at the Bernabéu just to see him warm-up.” Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho stated, “Zidane is one of the best footballers of all time, one of my idols. He had such elegance and grace, a wonderful touch and superb vision.” Belgian midfielder Eden Hazard believes Zidane is “the best ever”.
“He is a special player. He creates space where there is none. No matter where he gets the ball or how it comes to him, he can get out of trouble. His imagination and his technique are amazing” [Edgar Davids]
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In the Champions League 2000/2001, Juventus was a major disappointment, getting knocked out in the first group stage of the tournament. The team was eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, after Zidane was banned for head-butting Hamburger SV player Jochen Kientz.It was the first time in the club’s history that it had been knocked so early in the competition. This performance put Carlo Ancelotti’s position at the helm under even more threat. Ancelotti had already been associated in the previous season with the club’s worst run in any European competition since the 1987–88 season. As a man who had been associated with Juve’s rivals Milan, Roma and Parma for most of his footballing career, he had never been a popular choice with the fans, with frequent doubts being raised about his lack of concern for the club’s declining fortunes. In this season Zinedine Zidane was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year for the second time.
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In 1998 Zidane and France went on to play against defending champions and favourites Brazil at the Stade de France in the FIFA World Cup Final. France dominated Brazil from the kick-off, with Zidane scoring two similar goals, both headers from corner kicks taken by Emmanuel Petit and Youri Djorkaeff. Courtesy of Zidane’s two goals, France went into the half-time break 2–0 up with one hand already on the World Cup trophy. Petit added a third goal deep in stoppage time to seal the 3–0 win and France’s first ever World Cup. Zidane became an instant national hero, and over one million people celebrated the victory on the Champs-Élysées where a huge image of Zidane was projected on the Arc de Triomphe along with the words “Merci Zizou”. With his team Zidane scored seven goals in 32 matches in the league to help Juventus win the 1997–98 Serie A and thus retain the Scudetto. Due his phenomenal year Zidane in 1998 was named FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the Ballon d’Or. Zidane was named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times, in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and won the 1998 Ballon d’Or.
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2000-2001 was also Zinedine Zidane’s last season with Juventus as he was sold for a world record fee to Real Madrid, but the Italian club compensated his loss with four new players during the summer, with Gianluigi Buffon and Lilian Thuram coming from Parma, and Pavel Nedvěd and Marcelo Salas came from Lazio.
2000-2001 Lotto logos on sleeves
2001-2002 Lotto logos on sleeves
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This shirt is a prototype shirt never used by the team. It merges together several details of the 2000-2001 shirt and some of the further 2001-2002 model. The shirt’s fabric is the 2000-2001’s fabric, while the Lotto’s logo on chest is the embroidered one from 2001-2002. The two red Lotto’s logos on sleeves are perhaps the velvet made typical details of the next season’s shirt. Name set and number on the back are also from the 2001-2002 season with white number in a black square and a black name in a white strip while 2000-2001 regular shirts have both in white colour in to a black square.
2000-2001 name set and number
2001-2002 name set and number
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Zidane has had endorsements with many companies, including Adidas, Lego, France Telecom, Orange, Audi, Volvic and Christian Dior. These sponsorship deals earned him €8.6 million on top of his €6.4 million Real Madrid salary in 2006, totalling €15 million ($20.4 million), which made him the sixth-highest paid footballer. In 2004, Forbes magazine listed his earnings of $15.8 million for the previous 12 months. In May 2010, Zidane appeared in a commercial for Louis Vuitton, indulging in a game of table football with Pelé and Diego Maradona.
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The 2001-2002 season was the 100th team’s Anniversary season. Real Madrid wore an all white shirt for the whole season, without shirt sponsorship. In the Champions League, the sleeves included the three stripes of Adidas in blue. A special anniversary’s badge was embroidered on sleeve to celebrate it.
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Real Madrid endured decently worst domestic league performance under Vicente del Bosque managerial, finished just 3rd in the league standings as well as Copa del Rey 2002 failure despite Real Madrid’s world record signings of Zinedine Zidane from Juventus. But Real Madrid’s La Novena’s UEFA Champions League title was a consolation prize, following a 2-1 victory against Bayer Leverkusen in the final thanks to Zidane’s volley goal.
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The Fifa World Cup 2002 had several upsets and surprise results which included the defending champions France being eliminated in the group stage after earning a single point. France took on Senegal, Uruguay, and Denmark. The World Cup started with a 1–0 defeat of France, playing without the injured Zinedine Zidane, by tournament newcomers Senegal in the tournament’s opening match held in Seoul, South Korea. France were held to a 0–0 draw in Busan by Uruguay after star striker Thierry Henry was sent off. A 2–0 defeat by Denmark in their last group game in Incheon sealed France’s elimination in the World Cup. The world champions went out of the Cup without even managing to score a goal and earned the unwanted record of the worst World Cup performance by a defending champion
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As reigning world and European champions, France entered the 2002 World Cup as favourites but a thigh injury prevented Zidane from playing in France’s first two matches and without their talisman, the French team failed to score in either match. He was rushed back prematurely for the third game despite not being fully fit, but could not prevent France from being ignominiously eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal; the worst performance by a defending champion in the history of the competition.
“Technically, I think he is the king of what’s fundamental in the game — control and passing. I don’t think anyone can match him when it comes to controlling or receiving the ball” Michel Platini
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Zinedine Zidane while he was playing with these kind of boots was usual to have some tape on heels. It shouldn’t be a blister’s issue since he used the tape for years. And we don’t think Adidas was making uncomfortable boots for the player. Maybe a ritual to ward off bad luck?
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Zidane has been named FIFA World Player of the Year three times, a feat achieved only by Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2002, ESPN described Zidane as “the greatest player in the world in the world’s biggest game”. In a 2002 FIFA poll, Zidane was selected in the FIFA World Cup Dream Team. In 2004, he was voted UEFA Best European Player of the Past 50 Years, and was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players. When uefa.com asked players, journalists and their users to crown the best player in the UEFA Champions League of the past 20 years, in 2011, Zidane topped the poll ahead of Messi. In a 2004 poll conducted by French newspaper Journal du Dimanche, Zidane was voted as “the most popular Frenchman of all time”. In 2014, in a poll carried out by French TV channel TF1, Zidane was voted as the best player in the history of the French league ahead of other French football legends, such as Michel Platini and Raymond Kopa. In 2016, in a study led by French newspaper Le Parisien, Zidane was named “best French player of all time”.Displaying skills with an array of moves such as his signature La Roulette pirouette, step overs and close ball control, former Brazilian international Rivaldo enjoyed watching Zidane more than any other player, stating, “His elegance of movement on the pitch and his skills are uncanny.” Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso opined, “What he could do with a football is a dream for most of us.” In 2005, upon Zidane’s return to the French national team, his teammate Thierry Henry stated, “In France, everybody realized that God exists, and that he is back in the French international team. God is back, there is little left to say.” Zidane has been lauded by sportsmen outside football; having witnessed Zidane’s goal against Deportivo La Coruña in January 2002, where he dragged the ball right then left, turning the defender inside out, before scoring with a left foot finish, basketball player Magic Johnson stated, “One of the most inspiring nights of my life. Zidane is a phenomenon.”
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Zinedine Zidane alongside with other Adidas testimonials like Ricardo Kaka, David Beckham, Oliver Kahn…was the starring of Adidas Euro 2004 commercial. With his France Team’s kit was shot on a vintage Piaggio Vespa’s in a so called “Road to Portugal” campaign.
Watch above the “Road to Portugal” commercial
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Two years later the FIFA World Cup “FRANCE 98” triumph, Zinedine Zidane won Euro 2000. France became the first team to hold both the World Cup and the European Championship since West Germany in 1974. Zidane finished with two goals, a memorable bending free kick against Spain in the quarter-final and the golden goal in the semi-final against Portugal by way of a penalty, and was named Player of the Tournament by UEFA.
ALL STAR
November 14th 2015
“Match for Children
“Great Britain and Ireland XI” vs “Rest of the World XI”
Match Issued Shirt
Zidane Zinedine
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This shirt was issued for Zinedine Zidane for the charity game “Match for Children” which took place in Manchester, Old Trafford Stadium, on November 14th 2015, organized by David Beckham to raise money for Unicef. The game was played between “Great Britain and Ireland XI” team, captained by David Beckham, who made his return in to his “home” stadium, and a “Rest of the World XI” team. The Beckham’s team included former legends as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, the Liverpool’s hero Jamie Carragher and current Premier League players such as John Terry, Darren Fletcher and Peter Crouch, with former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson back in the Old Trafford technical area, leading the team. The “Rest of the World XI” boasted stellar names such as Cafu, Luis Figo, Clarence Seedorf and Ronaldinho, led by manager Carlo Ancelotti. “Great Britain and Ireland XI” defeated “Rest of the World XI” 3-1. A very touching moment was 15 minutes from the end, when David Beckham left the field and he was replaced by another Beckham…his 16-year-old Brooklyn, a surprise substitute not named on the team sheet, wearing his dad’s famous No.7 shirt. The “Rest of the World XI” supposed to be captained by Zinedine Zidane who, at the very last minute, decided not to join the game due the terroristic attacks that took place in Paris, the day before the match on November 13th 2014. His shirt was perhaps already prepared as was posted some days before the game by David Beckham on his official Instagram’s profile to promote the event.
Zinedine Zidane 40th Birthday Party
Evian Exclusive Limited Edition Bottle
Things to Know:
This bottle was exclusively made by Evian for Zinedine Zidane’s 40th birthday party. It has an exclusive “Zizou – 40 Ans – Z5” engraved on it. It was the water served to the guests during the party and it was gifted to all of his friends after the party.
