It was during this time when Zinedine won the FIFA World Player of the Year trophy a record three times in 1998, 2000, and 2003. While at Real Madrid, Zinedine enjoyed the privilege of playing with other all-time greats such as Luis Figo, David Beckham, and Ronaldo. He also helped Real Madrid win the prestigious Spanish La Liga Cup and the UEFA Champions League Super Cup (Carther, 398). However, in the year 2006, he exited international and professional football after featuring in the world cup finals against Italy in Germany (Dubois, 23).
Zinedine is nicknamed "Zizou". He is mostly remembered for head butting a fellow opponent during his last game at the world cup finals in 2006, where he received a red card. However, even after the incident, Zinedine was still regarded as the most outstanding player of the tournament. In his defense, he claimed that he hit his opponent, Marco Materazzi, in retaliation for insulting his mother and sister. However, Materazzi came on record later to oppose the allegations claiming that he did not even know if Zidane had a sister at the time. In his post-playing career, Zinedine managed to be included in FIFA's 100 players of all time, as well as Pele's category of the top 125 best living soccer players (LLC, 112). In 2001, he was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations. As ambassador, he organizes an annual match for charity together will fellow retired stars of his time. In 2010, Zinedine served as Qatar's high-profile ambassador and helped them get the approval for hosting the world cup in 2022. In 2011, he returned to Real Madrid as its sporting director. The following year, Zinedine began coaching Real's youth academy and is now the manager for Real's team C that plays in division B of Spanish soccer (Mailonline, 1).
I think that the above submissions serve to show the greatness of Zinedine Zidane, as a soccer player. Hence, his hard work and discipline over the years, enabled him to rise to his current legend status.
