In 2005 Juventuz was placed under new management and received a complete
makeover. Unfortunately this also meant that all of the content, some of
lasting value, was removed. This archive is a means to bring the site back
online the way it was in 2005, but in archival form. There will not be any
updates made to this archival site.
The old site is back online, and by and large all the old content is
restored. However, highly time sensitive content (like news, columns, match
reports, league standings and so on) is outdated at this point and
therefore no effort was made to restore this in full (news archives for
instance).
Furthermore, at the time when this version of the site was live, we
relied on any number of other suppliers for features like livescores,
match forecasts, site search and so on. These suppliers have mostly either
shut down or removed our site from their services, so these pages will
show up quite blank.
Interactive features like the juventuz.com email service, the
newsletter and the prediction game have long since been shut down.
There are plenty of things left that stand the test of time, like
everything in the history
section, the club section, the
image gallery,
the wallpapers,
many of the goals in the
video gallery
are still online, as well as the
featured articles.
In short, browse around and you'll find a lot to discover!
If you are interested in the history behind Juventuz, you ought to see
the
site history
page!
Zidane : Man from Marseille
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| Zidane became the icon of
a nation by winning the World Cup at France '98 |
If you were born in Marseille, chances are great that you
will become a ganster or a fisherman. A lot tougher it is to
become a star of soccer. Unless you have the talent of Zidane.
For the past two years, every Frenchman has come to know Zidane
as the man who won the World Cup for France. For one has to
be a soccer genius to give one's best performance in the World
Cup final, and to score two magnificent goals thus deciding
the outcome of the match. That event took place on July 12 1998,
when France became champions of the world, led by Zidane.
Yet Zizou's previous matches in the great tournament gave no
indication of what was to come in the final. In the match vs
Saudi Arabia, he was even sent off the pitch, which earned him
a two match suspension. He showed nothing unusual in the consecutive
games against Italy and Croatia. When the best players of the
World Cup were nominated before the final, his name came up
6th. Yet vs the "canarinhos", Zidane showed the world
who the true kind of France '98 is. Ronaldo could not tackle
the pressure, but Zizou proved he is strong both physically
and mentally. That day at Stade de France he simply was the
best.
Outshining Kopa and Platini
After the victory vs Brazil, noone could doubt who had secured
the championship for France for the first time in their history.
His great predecessors in the national squad never managed to
accomplish what he did. Raymond Kopa's team claimed the bronze
medal in 1958. Michel Platini's copied that result in Mexico
'86. Some would argue the two mentioned did not have the advantage
of playing on home ground. However, there is no rule that the
hosts always win the Cup.
The ancestors of the three leaders of "Les Bleus"
are all foreign. Kopa's father was Polish, Platini's father
was Italian and Zidane's parents were immigrants from Algeria.
Perhaps that is the reason for his strong character and battling
spirit. Although African immigrants are not highly regarded
most of the time in France (even though they make up a population
of 6 million people), Zizou not only became an idol for them.
He became a favorite of the whole country.
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| Zidane has yet to win the
Champions League for Juventus |
Trophy shortage
In Europe, there is no better way to promote oneself, than by
taking part in the European cups. That was also the case for
Zizou. The season of 1995/96 was a very successful one for Bordeaux.
The team entered the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup only to
be beaten by Bayern Munich in the final. That was the first,
but not last time Zizou experienced losing the deciding match.
A solid performance for the French club resulted in attention
from Juventus in the summer of 1996, and eventually a transfer.
It was playing for the Bianconeri that Zidane lost two consecutive
European Cup finals, first to Dortmund, then to Real Madrid.
It would get worse. In the spring of '99, Zidane was injured
and Juventus did not make the final of the tournament.
Not long ago, Juventus was eliminated before reaching the quarter-finals
of the UEFA Cup. What is plain to see, is that Zidane's merits
in international club championships are pale compared to Platini's.
Both have won the Intercontinental Cup and the European Supercup.
But Platini also won the European Cup and the Cup Winner's Cup.
Zidane evades comparison with the great champion. "We play
in the same position and for the same club, but there the similiarities
end. I have my own style and supporters of both Juve and France
have noticed that."
The road to greatness
Zidane started his international career in 1994. Although he
only played in the second half of his first match, he scored
two goals, which tied France with the Czech Republic. Two years
later he found himself in the team which won the bronze medal
at Euro '96. Many were not satisfied with the result. His critics
claimed that he's unable to perform in the deciding moments.
Few acknowledged that he was not in the best of form at the
time, much due to a car accident few weeks before the tournament.
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Zidane at a young age,
sitting infront with one of his first trophies
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But Zidane made up to all the critics on July 12 1998. He proved
that he can be do magnificent dribbles and take excellent shots
not only in league games.
In a few weeks time, he will be given another chance to prove
his class, when Euro 2000 is kicked off. Needless to say, the
French team will be largely dependent on their number ten.
The humble hero
Zidane has remained a humble man despite his victories. That
is no simple task in the 20th century, when many stars are been
created by the media. Obviously he also takes part in commercials,
but he does not provide gossip like many of his collegues. His
personal life is no news story. He has stayed married to Veronique,
Spanish by heritage, whom he met while playing for Cannes. They
have two sons, the older is named Enzo, after Zidane's great
soccer idol Enzo Francescoli of Uruguay, River Plate and, of
course, Marseille.
On rare occasions one can observe a smile on the face of Zizou,
revealing his shyness and his humility. Not even after the glorious
World Cup final did he change. "The whole team played very
well, not only myself. It is true that I scored two goals but
I don't feel like a hero."
To win the Champions League
After the World Cup victory, Zidane was decorated with a number
of awards and titles. He won the contest for player of the year
in Europe, awarded by "France Football", "Onze
Mondial" and "El Pais". He was also chosed world
player of the year by FIFA and "World Soccer". Reuters
named him sports personality of the year and ISK best sportsman
in the world.
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| Zidane has won numerous individual
awards and titles, the most prestigious being player of
the year by "France Football" |
Unfortunately, his next season was less successful, when he
spent many months healing his knee injury. In spite of this,
he quickly regained his form and at the beginning of year 2000
he again amazed everyone with his skills. Platini could not
imagine how he could perform so well already in February.
At the moment he is bound for another scudetto with Juventus,
now with Carlo Ancelotti in charge. The two quickly hit it off
and decided they both wanted to win the Champions League. Even
the rumours of Zizou moving to Spain have stopped for the moment,
although his wife apparently would like it to happen.
So far it has been revealed that Juventus have signed Fabian
O'Neill for next season, the Uruguayan playing for Cagliari
in Zidane's position at the moment. That could mean Zidane's
departure, but it could also mean Juventus is strengthening
the squad for next season, expecting to compete on several fronts.
Should Zidane bore of playing in a foreign land, he can always
return to Bordeaux, where he will find his good friend Christophe
Dugarry, after the latter's many foreign escapades.
This article is adapted from "Zinedine Zidane: Czlowiek
z Marsylii", taken from Pilka
Nozna, April 2000. The images are not original.
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