The artist

French midfielder Zinedine Zidane eyes the ball as he dribbles upfield during the friendly soccer match between France and Slovenia at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, northern Paris, 26 April 2000. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO JACK GUEZ

Three-time winner of FIFA's World Player of the year Zinedine Zidane will go down in footballing history as one of the greatest players of all time, having won every major title on offer in a glittering career marked by his technical brilliance.

French midfielder Zinedine Zidane holds the FIFA World Cup trophy after France defeated Brazil 3-0 in the World Cup final 12 July 1998 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. Zidane scored two goals. AFP PHOTO/ACHIM SCHEIDEMANN

When he rose to send two bullet like headers past Brazil's goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel in the final of the 1998 World Cup in Paris he guaranteed himself a place in the hearts of all French people for ever more.

It is his ability to provide a match winning performance on the crucial big occassions, not only for France but also at club level with Real Madrid, that mark him out as a true great.

Fast track

Reproduction of a picture belonging to Jean Varraud, former recruter for the French soccer club of AS Cannes, of Zinedine Zidane, who started playing for the division 1 club at the age of 17.

Zidane was born in Marseille on June 26, 1972 and was just 16 when he broke into top-flight football along the Mediterranean coast at Cannes.

The silky touch he had shown amid the rough and tumble of the Castellane housing estate as a youngster was so exceptional he had already been fast-tracked through France's highly sophisticated football training structure.

Cannes' manager at the time, Luis Fernandez (part of the great French team that won the 1984 European Championship), knew class when he saw it and Zidane was playing for the first team before his 17th birthday.

Great start

French Zinedine Zidane (L) of Juventus battles for the ball with Real Madrid's Argentinian Fernando Redondo during their Champions League final in Amsterdam 20 May. Current score is 0-0.

Within two years he had broken into the national side, scoring twice on his debut against the Czech Republic in August 1994 to haul France back into a match they had been losing 2-0.

He was part of the Bordeaux side that enjoyed a run to the UEFA Cup final in 1996, putting in performances that inspired Juventus to pay four million dollars for him.

The move provided a more fitting stage for Zidane's sublime talents and he develloped both as a playmaker and in the holding role with the Turin club.

Towards the heights

There Zidane tasted real success, winning the European Super Cup, two Intercontinental Cups and two Italian Championships.

French midfielder Zinedine Zidane (R) fights for the ball with Spanish defender Michel Salgado (L) during the Euro 2000 quarter final match between Spain and France in Bruges 25 June 2000.

If Zidane-mania reached stratospheric heights in 1998 it disappeared into space in 2000 as he inspired France to an unprecedented back-to-back success in the European Championship, despite undergoing a knee operation in August 1999.

Even the New York Times weighed in, calling "Zizou" the Michael Jordan of football.

Family man

French soccer player Zinedine Zidane poses 29 January 2001 in front of a mural bearing his image on a building in his home city of Marseille. AFP PHOTO GERARD JULIEN

Real Madrid French playmaker Zinedine Zidane (L) vies with Michael Ballack of Bayer Leverkusen during the Champions League final at Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow 15 May 2002.

He was voted World Footballer of the Year (1998, 2000 and 2003) and only a handful of clubs were big enough for him. Real Madrid broke the bank with a phenomenal 63.6 million dollars bid for his services in July 2000.

He scored a truly world class goal, a blistering left-footed volley, in the final of the 2002 European Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen, and Real's victory meant Zidane had won the only major title still missing from his extraordinary list of achievments.

French national soccer player Zinedine Zidane holds his head after an injury at the left thigh, 26 May 2002, during the friendly match Korea-France in Suwon, South Korea. Zidane went off in the 38th minute of the match clutching his left thigh. French coach Roger Lemerre admitted he was worried about the former world player of the year who sat on the bench with an ice pack on the leg as his teammates struggled with the determined World Cup co-hosts. AFP PHOTO - PATRICK HERTZOG

Unfortunately the 2002 World Cup was a rare disappointment as an injury on the eve of the tournament meant he played just one match and France crashed out.

Real Madrid's French midfield star Zinedine Zidane takes part in a press conference 15 December 2003 at the FIFA seat in Basel. Zinedine Zidane was named FIFA Player of the Year today for the third time, ahead of Arsenal's French player Therrry Henry and Brazilian teammate Ronaldo. AFP PHOTO THOMAS WIRTH

Back at Real, he continues to sparkle and the team won another Spanish title in 2003 just part of the reason he was awarded the world player of the year award for the third time in December, 2003.

He has hinted Euro 2004 may be his last major tournament and it would surprise few observers if he left the international stage on a winning note.