Zinedine Zidane Trivia
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52 free Zinedine Zidane trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
Zinedine Zidane scored two headers in a World Cup final, hit the greatest volley in Champions League history, ended his playing career with a headbutt, and then became the only coach ever to win three Champions Leagues in a row. This quiz covers all of it: his childhood in a tough Marseille estate, the years at Cannes, Bordeaux and Juventus, the world-record move to Real Madrid, France's triumphs at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, the drama of Berlin 2006, and his second life on the touchline. It is written for football fans who grew up watching Zizou and younger fans who know him from the highlight reels. The first questions are ones any supporter should get; later ones dig into transfer fees, red cards, charity matches and the details of his coaching trophies. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's article on Zidane, and each question carries the sentence that supports it.
30 of 52 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01By what nickname is Zinedine Zidane popularly known?
Zizou
Zizou was coined by his coach at Bordeaux in the early 1990s, and the nickname stuck.
Q 02In which French city was Zidane born?
Marseille
Marseille was his home city, but Olympique de Marseille reportedly judged him too slow in 1992, so he signed for Bordeaux instead.
Q 03Zidane's parents emigrated to France from which country?
Algeria
Algeria's president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, decorated him with the Athir medal of merit during his visit to the country in December 2006.
Q 04At which club did Zidane make his professional debut in 1989?
Cannes
Cannes finished fourth in his first full season there, earning the club a place in the UEFA Cup for the first time in its history.
Q 05Which English club reportedly turned Zidane down in 1996 for a modest fee, saying he was not good enough?
Newcastle United
Newcastle United watched him and decided he wasn't even good enough for England's second tier, agent Barry Silkman recalled; two years later he was a world champion.
Q 06Which forward did Zidane play just behind as the playmaker in Turin?
Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero scored the late winner against River Plate in the 1996 Intercontinental Cup final, finishing after Zidane headed the ball on to him.
Q 07Who beat Zidane's Turin side 3-1 in the 1997 Champions League final?
Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund had Paul Lambert shadow Zidane to the point of frustration, while Karl-Heinz Riedle scored twice before Lars Ricken added a third.
Q 08Roughly how much did Real Madrid pay Juventus for Zidane in 2001?
About €75 million
About €75 million made him the most expensive player in history, and in his first season Real won a ninth European Cup.
Q 09Zidane's famous 2002 Champions League final winner was a volley against which club?
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-1 at Hampden Park and ended that season as runners-up in the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League.
Q 10Whose looping cross did Zidane volley in for his 2002 Champions League final winner?
Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos hooked the ball in from the left, and the naturally right-footed Zidane met it on the volley with his weaker left foot.
Q 11Which legend picked Zidane for the 2004 FIFA 100 list of greatest living players?
Pelé
Pelé was asked to name the greatest living players for FIFA's centenary, but found it too hard to stop at 100 and picked 125.
Q 12Zidane was man of the match as France knocked out which team 1-0 in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals?
Brazil
Brazil, the holders, went out in a rematch of the 1998 final when his free kick set up Thierry Henry's volley for the only goal.
Q 13Zidane's 1998 World Cup red card, the first for a Frenchman at a finals, came against which team?
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia were beaten 4-0, but his stamp on Fuad Anwar earned a two-match ban, so he missed the games against Denmark and Paraguay.
Q 21In which city was the 2006 World Cup final played?
Berlin
Berlin hosted his last match, in which he was sent off in extra time before Italy won on penalties.
Q 22What did Zidane win the day after the 2006 World Cup final, despite his red card?
The Golden Ball as player of the tournament
Pep Guardiola wrote that Zidane exerted so much influence that "France are never disorganised".
Q 23How did FIFA punish the retired Zidane for his headbutt?
Three days of community service with children
Q 14How did Zidane score the golden goal that beat Portugal in the Euro 2000 semi-final?
A penalty
A penalty, given for Abel Xavier's handball in extra time, settled the semi-final, and UEFA later banned Xavier, Nuno Gomes and Paulo Bento for confronting the officials.
Q 15After Euro 2000, France was the first team to hold both the World Cup and Euros since which side?
West Germany in 1974
West Germany in 1974 fell behind to a second-minute penalty in the World Cup final, then beat Johan Cruyff's Netherlands 2-1.
Q 16What kept Zidane out of France's first two matches at the 2002 World Cup?
A thigh injury
A thigh injury picked up in a friendly against South Korea sidelined him, and without him France failed to score in either game.
Q 17Which team knocked France out of Euro 2004, prompting Zidane's first retirement?
Greece
Greece won 1-0 through an Angelos Charisteas header in Lisbon, and the outsiders went on to win the whole tournament.
Q 18Which France coach persuaded Zidane to come out of international retirement in 2005?
Raymond Domenech
Raymond Domenech brought him back in August 2005 alongside Claude Makélélé, with France struggling in World Cup qualifying.
Q 19How did Zidane score France's goal in the 2006 World Cup final?
A Panenka-style penalty
His Panenka-style penalty clipped the underside of the crossbar and bounced just over the line to put France ahead early on.
Q 20Which Italian defender did Zidane headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final?
Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi admitted insulting him, and Zidane said the defender's words about his mother and sister provoked the headbutt.
FIFA also fined him 7,500 Swiss francs, and he agreed to three days of community service with children in place of a three-match ban.
Q 24Through the 2026 World Cup, which Cameroonian was the only other player sent off at two tournaments?
Rigobert Song
Rigobert Song came out of a two-day coma in 2016 and went on to coach Cameroon at the 2022 World Cup.
Q 25Zidane scored in his Bernabéu farewell game against which club?
Villarreal
Villarreal drew 3-3 in a stadium where fans wore Zidane shirts and held up banners thanking him.
Q 26Zidane scored twice on his France debut in 1994 to rescue a 2-2 draw against which team?
Czech Republic
Czech Republic led 2-0 until the debutant scored with his left foot and then his head, the two skills he called his weak points.
Q 27Which country's bid to host the 2022 World Cup did Zidane serve as ambassador for?
Qatar
Qatar won the vote in Zurich in December 2010, and Zidane, its bid ambassador, hailed the result as a victory for the Arab world.
Q 28Which of the club's sides did Zidane coach before taking over the senior team at the Bernabéu?
Castilla, the B side
Castilla, the B side, was his charge in 2014 when Spain's national coaching school reported him for managing without the necessary badges.
Q 29Whom did Zidane replace as Real Madrid head coach in January 2016?
Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez was sacked after seven months, having struggled to win over some of Real's players, and Zidane took over that night.
Q 30Five days after winning a third straight Champions League, what did Zidane do?
Resigned
He resigned on 31 May 2018, saying the team needed a change.