Like father, like son: Zinedine Zidane's son opts to play for France, not Spain
France was given another piece of good news when after the Euro 2016 draw ceremony, it emerged that international football legend Zinedine Zidane's 18-year-old son, Enzo, while holding a dual citizenship, had chosen to represent the French national Under-19 soccer team instead of Spain.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: February 25, 2014 06:50 PM IST
In good news for French football, soccer star Zinedine Zidane's 18-year-old son, Enzo has chosen to represent the French national Under-19 soccer team instead of Spain following in the footsteps of his father, who became a football icon after winning the World Cup with France in 1998. Enzo currently plays for Spanish club Real Madrid's A team, a place where his father rose to international fame while playing as a midfielder.
Enzo's father, Zidane, however said that he was not worried about which country his son would choose to play for. "The player has decided to wear the blue jersey. He can still change in the future but it's his current wish to play for the French national team," said Zidane Sr's former teammate and French youth team manager, Willy Sagnol.
Enzo, an attacking midfielder who will turn 19 on March 24 this year, will take part at a training session and medical tests next week in Clairefontaine, based on a list of players the French Football Federation showed on its website on Monday. He is more known to the world by his mother's name, as Enzo Fernandez.
Zidane's son relocated to Spain as a young boy, and holds a dual nationality since he was born in France. He is also eligible to play for Algeria, the place where his grandparents were born. His three other brothers, 15-year-old Luca, 11-year-old Theo and Elyaz, eight, are also nicely poised for a great career ahead and currently represent various Real Madrid youth teams.
Zidane, who is regarded as one of the sport's greats and was in 2004 named the best European player of the past 50 years by a UEFA poll, had an unceremonious farewell to the game of football when he was red-carded for head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final in Germany, which France lost on penalties.