Just a few months ago, Luca Zidane (27) decided to play for Algeria. Now the man with the famous name is an important part of the team’s success in the Africa Cup of Nations so far – because despite playing in a completely different position, he has inherited one of his father’s qualities.
Anyone who has been following the Algerian national team’s games at the Africa Cup of Nations will have long since spotted the secret star of the TV broadcasts. He sits in the stands. When Zinedine Zidane is shown on the stadium screens, the crowd in Morocco goes wild – even though he is a supporter of rival neighbor Algeria. “It’s an honor for us that he’s watching,” says Leverkusen’s Ibrahim Maza. Yet one of the most successful soccer players in history is only one thing here: a father. It was only in September that he decided to play for the national team of the country from which his grandparents—Zinedine’s parents—once emigrated to Marseille. “When I think of Algeria, I immediately think of my grandfather,” Luca told beIN Sports at the start of the tournament. “I talked to him about it before I decided to play for the national team. He was totally thrilled.” After each nomination, the now 90-year-old Smail Zidane calls him “and tells me that I made a good decision.”
Luca had played for France’s youth national teams. The country that his father headed to the World Cup title in 1998—Luca was just two months old at the time. However, the now 27-year-old has never played for a French club. Thanks to his father’s successful playing and coaching career at Real Madrid, Luca also played for Real’s youth teams, but he didn’t make it to the pros for more than two games. The French and Spanish national teams, for which he could have played due to his parents’ nationalities, were always a distant prospect. And in the North African country, he went from zero to 100 in no time. Zidane’s appearance in the last-minute round of 16 victory over DR Congo was only his fourth international match. Although the keeper, who now plays for Spanish second division club Granada, made his debut for Algeria in October in the World Cup qualifiers, he was not actually intended to be the number 1.
Then regular goalkeeper Alexis Guendouz was injured, and national coach Vladimir Petkovic decided to make Zidane the number one for the Africa Cup of Nations, despite his lack of experience with the national team.
“He integrated quickly and gained experience,” Petkovic praised his goalkeeper during the group stage, crediting him with playing a “significant role” in the two opening victories. In all three tournament games in which Zidane guarded the Algerian goal—he was rested in the inconsequential final group game—the keeper did not concede a single goal. On Saturday, they face a difficult task in the quarterfinals against Nigeria, by far the best offense in the tournament so far, led by their two superstars Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman. Zidane will be challenged. But not only on the line.
No wonder: Zidane is “as technically skilled as a field player”
“He plays a very important role in building up play,” explains Maza. “He’s a goalkeeper who plays along. With a goalkeeper like him, you can easily outplay the opponent’s pressing.” Zidane, says Maza, is “incredible with the ball.” No wonder, given his father. Even Luca himself, as a childhood friend recently told L’Equipe, “never really wanted to be a goalkeeper, but rather have the ball at his feet.” The 1.83-meter-tall goalkeeper, who is rather small, is “as technically skilled as a field player.” This is another reason why Zidane is highly regarded in the Algerian team. “You can joke around with him, talk to him easily, he’s a nice and open person,” says Maza. Manchester City left-back Rayan Ait Nouri even describes the new goalkeeper as a “fantastic person” and praises him: “He quickly integrated into the group and talks a lot on the pitch. As a player and a person, he fits perfectly into the team.”
Nevertheless, the truth is that if his name weren’t Zidane, they probably wouldn’t have asked about him at all. “His last name is a burden,” admits Riyad Mahrez, the real star of the team. So far, Zidane has handled it very well. He doesn’t know any different.
