Zinedine Zidane Best Moments of All Time
"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. " -Pele
A genius, Zinedine Zidane marked an era in the football world with his elegance and technical skills. Blessed with a natural talent for this sport, the French midfielder won everything that could possibly be won, both with his clubs and with the French national team. A magical player who elected to close out his historic sporting career at Real Madrid, together conquering the 2002 Champions League title.
Zidane, of Algerian origin, was raised in Marseilles. He began playing with the youth teams of his native city, from where he went to Cannes, with whom he made his debut in the French first division at the age of 17. In 1992, after the relegation of his previous club, he signed with Girondins Bordeaux. It was there that he began to attain international recognition.
In this article, we will explore the
best moments of Zinedine Zidane’s career
.
Best moments of Zinedine Zidane’s career
Let's keep on with Zinedine Zidane Greatest Moments ever.
Chip against Norway
One of Zidane’s best moments of all time came in Feb 25th, 1998, in Marseilles, at Stade Velodrome, where he scored a phenomenal chip against
Norway, Although France were held to a 3-3 draw. Deschamp sent a long and accurate pass to Zidane, who received the pass and controlled it superbly, dribbling past two defenders and lobbing the ball past the goalkeeper. This goal put France ahead 2-1 on Zidane’s 30th international cap.
Scoring twice in FIFA 1998 World Cup Final
Being named man of the match and scoring twice before the second half, he played a vital role in crowning France. Both his goals were almost identical. They were headers from in-swinging corners, taken by Emmanuel Petit and Youri Djorkaeff from right and left. Of course, these were the moments Zidane shone the most, but it is worth mentioning that his phenomenal dribbling skills put the Brazilian side into a misery. Didier Deschamp, Christian Karembeu and Zinedine Zidane completely disabled Brazil’s midfield.
Next on our list of Zinedine Zidane Greatest Moments ever, is about his 5 year spell at Juventus.
His 5 year spell at Juventus
Zidane earned 6 titles in 5 years at Juventus. It doesn’t get any better than that. As the famous song goes: “Some people wait a lifetime, for a moment like this…”. Zidane’s moment lasted 5 years. It is said that Bianconeri fans would actually get chills watching him warming up before the games. That sensation Zidane gave to Juventus fans, was nothing short of magical. Zidane and Del Piero were a lethal duo. It was rumored that Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero were Lippi’s favorite kids at Juve. Well, he made the right choice. His impact at Juventus was instantaneous. He was named Serie A Foreign Player of the Year, in his first season. That’s ought to be something! Those 5 years should definitely be one of
Zinedine Zidane greatest moments ever
.
His Goal in 2002 UCL Final
We all have seen this goal somehow, whether in the highlights of the titles of our favorite sports show, or on YouTube. A true football fan knows what goal the author is talking about. The masterpiece scored by the great artist, Zinedine Zidane. Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow witnessed an exceptional goal in 45th minute of the match. A pure work of art that rumbled Hampden Park stadium. The left-footed volley from Zidane was, is, and will always be beyond reason and belief. He received a high cross from Roberto Carlos, whose specialty was sending in high crosses, and beautifully turned it into a great goal.
Another career-defining moment in the list of Zidane best moments of all time, and surely one of
Zidane’s greatest moments as a Real Madrid player
.
2006 FIFA World Cup: France 1-0 Brazil
Thierry Henry may have scored the crucial goal that helped France get to the semi-finals, but it was Zidane who -once again- frustrated Brazilian defenders and midfielders. Go and check out the highlights from that match. Zidane’s impact shall never be denied, as he also was named man of the match. He fired a free kick to the far post where Henry ran in and jumped to side-foot a volley past Dida.
Zidane's performance in the eyes of pundits aroused memories of his best games for France. He orchestrated nearly everything perfectly as France did well and always had time for graceful turns, unstained passes, spellbinding footwork that evaded legs to keep the ball under control. Some even said that it looked as if the ball was stuck to his feet and it was impossible to get the ball back from him and claim possession.
Nov 2010: Becoming Real Madrid’s special advisor
This became a turning point in Zidane’s post-playing days career, as he often traveled with the first team, and got to attend the training sessions. It is believed that this decision was made in response to an appeal, made by then manager, Jose Mourinho, as he wanted Zidane to work more closely with the team. In July 2011, it was announced that Zidane would become Real Madrid’s new sporting director.
2013-2014 season: Assistant of Carlo Ancelotti
In 2013 Zidane was announced as the new assistant coach to Carlo Ancelotti, who was keen to work with Zidane as well. There were some rumors that the appointment of Zidane, was forced on Carletto by the Florentino Perez. This rumor was strengthened by the news that Ancelotti had brought his own staff, yet Ancelotti dismissed all the rumors and expressed his interest to work with Zidane. Time to go through the next item on our list of Zidane's best moments as Real Madrid's coach.
June 2014: Managing Real Madrid Castilla
In June 2014,
Real Madriddeclared that Zidane would be the coach of Real Madrid's B team, Real Madrid Castilla. There was a big controversy regarding Zidane not having necessary qualifications.
While the official match report for Castilla's first game in the Segunda División B lists Santiago Sánchez as the Los Blancos' head coach and Zidane as his assistant, Miguel Galán, director of the Spanish National Football Coach Education Center said, "This hierarchy only exists on paper. The truth is the exact opposite: Zidane is acting as Real Madrid Castilla's head coach, while, with all due respect to him as a colleague, Mr Sánchez's role basically boils down to providing the badges." Coaching Castilla and beginning his coaching career is definitely a career-defining moment for him, and deserves to be on the list of
Zidane best moments of all time
.
April 2016: Beating Barcelona 2-1
Zinedine Zidane’s first el clásico as manager brought Barcelona’s 39-game unbeaten run to an end. This win was very crucial for Zidane, as Real Madrid was down by one goal, but they secured a comeback in Camp Nou, and Ronaldo scored an 85th minute winner. The important note about Zidane’s side, was that they never gave up even after they were down by one man. They continued to push forward and were rewarded by when Ronaldo popped up to finish past Bravo to win it for Zidane.
Beating
Barcelonaat his first El Clasico should definitely be on the list of
Zidane best moments of all time
and
Zidane’s best moment as Real Madrid’s coach
.
June 2017: Securing La Duodécima (12th European Cup)
What happened in June 2017, worth definitely mentioning on our list of
Zidane's best moments as Real Madrid's coach
.
The 4-1 win against Juventus at Cardiff stadium achieved so many records for Zidane and Real Madrid. They were the first ever team to win the Champions League back to back. Zidane also clinched his firt double UEFA Champions League title. Zidane became the second manager to win the European Cup in his first two seasons in management. This was considered to be a great honor for Los Blancos, and this should surely be on the list of Zidane best moments of all time.
2017: Earning Best FIFA Men’s Coach award
One of Zinedine Zidane best moments ever was in year 2017, when Zidane had earned as many titles as games lost during his tenure. An exceptional achievement for a 45 year old coach at the 3rd year of his career. In December 2017, he won his 8th trophy as manager, beating Gremio in the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup final. Earning Best FIFA Men’s Coach Award in 2017, is surely one of Zidane best moments of all time.
26th May: winning UCL for the 3rd time
Beating Klopp’s Liverpool 3-1 was not at all easy. Yet, mission impossible was accomplished due to Salah’s injury, Karius’ blunder and Zidane’s attacking strategy. Zidane became the first manager to win this trophy in three consecutive years, and he also became one of the three managers to win the UEFA Champions League three times, after Sir Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti. This game deserves to be on the list of
Zidane best moments of all time
.
July 2020: Winning La Liga for the second time
Another moment on the list of Zidane best moments of all time, is the time he won La Liga for the second time.
His cooperative mentality was hailed by both international and Spanish media, as
Real Madridbroke multiple records, including the number of scorers and keeping their best league defensive record in 30 years, as 21 of his players succeeded to get on the scoresheet during the 2019–20 La Liga race.
What other "Zidane's greatest moments as a Real Madrid player" can you think of? Comment down below and add it to the list of
Zidane best moments of all time
.
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