Zinedine Zidane

Zidane, the favourite son of France is back!

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 Real Madrid's French playmaker Zinedine Zidane is perhaps the greatest footballing artist of his era, a man who has won every major title on offer.

French midfielder Zinedine Zidane holds the FIFA World Cup Trophy at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis after France defeated Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 Soccer World Cup final match 12 July.

When he rose to send two bullet-like headers past Brazil's goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel in the 3-0 victory in the final of the 1998 World Cup in Paris, Zidane also won a place in French hearts for ever more.

When he announced his retirement from international football at age 32 after Euro 2004, the nation's football fans went into mourning.

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.

However in a shock decision, he announced in August 2005, he would return to the heart of the French midfield in a bid to help his country's flagging qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup.

Hailed as 'the saviour', the news transformed the spirits of the country and suddenly the disappointment of losing the Olympics to London was forgotten with Zidane's announcement equivilent for many to hitting the jackpot in Monte Carlo.

It was a successful decision as France followed the leadership of the inspirational Zidane and booked their ticket to Germany where fans can look forward to one last look at his unique talents on the world stage.

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

Great start

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.

l'attaquant de la Juventus Zinedine Zidane (G) est à la lutte avec Fernando Redondo du Real de Madrid, le 20 Mai à l'ArenA stadion d' Amsterdam, lors de la finale de la Ligue des champions opposant la Juventus d Turin au Real de Madrid. ( IMAGE ELECTRONIQUE)

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.

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

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 at Euro 2000.

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

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.

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 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.

Zinedine Zidane of France lays on the ground after falling, 11 June 2002 at the Incheon Munhak Stadium in Incheon, during first round Group A action between Denmark and France in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. AFP PHOTO/GREG WOOD

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

Back at Real, he continued to sparkle and the team won another Spanish title in 2003.

Euro 2004 appeared to be his last major tournament and though a lacklustre France were beaten by eventual winners Greece in the quarter-finals, his two last gasp goals in a 2-1 win over England in the group stage were one of the highlights.

French pride has been wounded in recent seasons but confidence is returning sharply spurned by Zidane and if the team goes to Germany with the likes of Henry, Vieira, Trezeguet not to mention Gallas, Thuram and Makelele, this side will once again be a contender for one of the biggest prizes in sport.