Barney Corkhill's A Tribute To... series returns for another tribute to a legend.
Today's tribute is to a modern day legend who has surpassed established legends such as Michel Platini. His skills, grace, and pure class captivated audiences for years.
I speak, of course, of the French legend—Zinedine Zidane.
Zinedine Yazid Zidane, born 23 June, 1972 spent his early years in Marseille as the son of Algerian immigrants. At ten years old, he joined his first youth club, US Saint Henri. A few years later and he was spotted by a scout from French club AS Cannes.
Zidane liked the idea of playing for a professional club, so went for a six week trial period. Cannes liked what they saw, and the six weeks soon became four years.
Soon after signing his first professional contract, Zidane made his Cannes debut, aged just 17. He was by no means a first team regular, but his skill was evident even from that early age.
Despite making his debut in 1988, it wasn't until 1991 that Zidane scored his first ever professional goal. The team president was so delighted with his young starlet that he bought him a car.
From this moment on, he started playing much more regularly. In his first two seasons at Cannes, he only played two games. During the next two seasons, however, he was involved in 63 games, scoring six times.
His potential was starting to show through. He wasn't the fastest player, but he just had natural class. He was the type of player who would just get better with age.
Another French club, Girondins Bordeaux, saw the potential in the young Zidane and, in 1992, signed him from Cannes.
Zidane had climbed the first rung on the way to the top of the ladder, and the top of the footballing world.
It was while at Bordeaux that Zidane was approached by both Algeria and France, both of whom he was eligible to play for. It was rumoured that the Algerian coach actually turned Zidane down because he was too slow.
Whatever the true story, Zidane opted for France, and made his debut in 1994, coming on as a sub against Czech Republic, and scoring two goals in 16 minutes.
Zidane had arrived on the world scene.
Consistent performances from him at Bordeaux ensured he was always in and around the French squad, but he was second choice to Eric Cantona. However, Cantona's suspension for his infamous karate kick gave Zidane his chance.
The coach at the time, Aime Jacquet, wanted to build his team around a play-maker. Now that first choice Cantona was out of the equation, Zidane stepped in, and a new French hero was born.
Back at club level, Zidane was fast becoming the brightest star at Bordeaux. Bigger clubs were getting interested.
He helped them to success in the Intertoto Cup in 1995, before guiding them to the final of the 1996 UEFA Cup, only to lose to Bayern Munich.
Also in that Bordeaux team were Christophe Dugarry, whom Zidane was forming a strong partnership with in midfield, for both club and country, and Bixente Lizarazu, who was also part of the France side.
1996 was an eventful year for Zidane. Not only did he reach the UEFA Cup final, but he was voted French Player of the Year for his efforts. His talents hadn't gone unnoticed, and soon big clubs were knocking at Bordeaux's door.
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