My Science School

Zinedine Yazid Zidane, popularly known as “Zizou”, is a former professional French football who played as an attacking midfielder in the juniors teams of the France and eventually in the core national team for a very long period. He also played for the clubs like Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus and Real Madrid, and brought laurels for each of them.

His elegance, swiftness and exceptional ball control made him probably the best of his time.

He is decorated with Legion of Honour bestowed by French Government and National Order of Merit by Algerian Government for his remarkable career.

In 1989, Zizou earned his first professional contract by Cannes and made his debut in the French first division game against Nantes. In his first full season with Cannes, the club secured its first ever European football berth by qualifying for the UEFA Cup after finishing fourth in the league. He made 61 appearances in his first three seasons for the club and scored six goals.

In 2004, he was declared as the best European footballer in the history of UEFA. In 2006, he scored his maiden hat-trick, against Sevilla, and ended the season as the second highest goal scorer, only after Ronaldo.

In 2016, he was bestowed with more intense duty- managing Real Madrid. Under his regime, Madrid set a new record of 16 consecutive La-Liga victory. He also led the team in the 2016 and 2017 UEFA Championship, 2016 FIFA Club World Cup and 2017 UEFA Super Cup victory. He was awarded as the Best FIFA Men’s Coach in 2017.

 

Picture Credit : Google

The UEFA Champions League is the premier club competition in Europe. Played every year, there is a scramble for places in this tournament in domestic leagues across different countries. When qualification in itself is a matter of pride, it isn’t difficult to imagine how prestigious winning this tournament would be.

Spanish giants Real Madrid however, have made it a habit to win this event and have dominated the tournament. In fact, they have won the European Cup. UEFA Champions League 13 times – a record in the competition.

The last three times they have won this tournament, they have had the same manager in charge – Frenchman Zinedine Zidane. Zidane, who is also Real Madrid’s current manager, became just the third manager to win the competition on three occasions.

By winning this title for a third time in 2018, Zidane joined Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti as the only managers to win it thrice. What makes zidane’s feat even more incredible is the manner in which he achieved it. Zidane’s Real Madrid won the Champions League in 2016, 2017 and 2018, making it a hat-trick of titles. That makes Zidane the only manager to have won the competition three times in a row!

 

Picture Credit : Google