Saturday, February 16, 2008

zizou-facts and quotes

  • Nicknamed "Zizou"
  • Born in marseilles, France, of Algerian parents
  • Scored his first goal professionally in 1991; the president of the cannes football club gifted him with a car.
  • In his first international game (playing for France against the Czech Republic) in 1994, he scored two goals in 17 minutes
  • Won Golden ball European MVP award for leading France to victory in 1998
  • FIFA Player of the Year in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006
  • Became football's most expensive player in 2001, when Real Madrid acquired him for £46 million (roughly $66 million)
  • Christian Dior's first male model
  • After being sidelined several times with injuries, he announced he would retire after 2006 World cup games in Germany
  • Captained the French team in World Cup 2006 games; they lost to Italy
  • headbutted opponent Marco materazzi after a brief altercation in the 100th minute of the World Cup Final game. Zidane was red-carded, banished from the field.
  • Still won 2006 FIFA Golden Ball
  • Is featured as a LEGO minifigure, included in some of the soccer playsets

QUOTES


"I have won many awards and I am very happy about this, but I am not the best player in the world." — Zinedine Zidane

"It doesn't matter how many times you win an award, it is always very special." — Zinedine Zidane

"When we don't know what to do, we just give the ball to Zizou and he works something out." — Bixente lizarazu

No comments: