Djamel Zidane (born 28 April 1955) is an Algerian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a forward. He played in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. He appeared for the Algeria national team at the

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

and at the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

, in which he scored one goal, a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Career

He spent nine seasons with hometown club

USM Alger Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger ( ar, الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة الجزائر); known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its co ...

. Making his first steps in the B team, he had rapidly ascended to the A team, then playing in the Algerian Division 2 in 1972. He won two Algerian Juniors Cups, and helped promote the team to the 1st division in the 1973/74 season. He was crowned Algerian best player of the year, and departed to the Belgian League, where he spent seven seasons with KV Kortrijk and KSV Waterschei.fifa.com
Zidane amassed 15 appearances with the Algerian national team between 1975 and 1986, 5 of them in the 1982 and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. He made his international debut in a friendly against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, a 1–0 win, in January 1975. He did not play again for his country until 1981, when he scored his first international goal in a 2–0 defeat of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

in October 1981. He was part of Algeria's 1982 FIFA World Cup squad, the country's first appearance in the competition, which ended with an elimination after the West-Germany Austria '' Non-aggression pact of Gijón''. Zidane was also part of Algeria's squad for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, where he scored his only World Cup goal against

, a free-kick on the hour mark. Algeria's final game in that competition, a loss against Spain, was Zidane's last international appearance.

Zidane football academy

In 2006 a football academy named after the champion opened in El Achour quarter "Our objective is to educate and train young players, to create an environment in which they can progress," explained academy director Farid Bahbouh.

Personal life

He is not related to

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zidane, Djamel 1955 births Living people Footballers from Algiers Algerian footballers Algerian expatriate footballers Algeria international footballers USM Alger players K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen players AS Corbeil-Essonnes (football) players K.V. Kortrijk players K. Waterschei S.V. Thor Genk players 1982 African Cup of Nations players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Belgian Pro League players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Algeria youth international footballers Association football forwards K. Sint-Niklase S.K.E. players 21st-century Algerian people