His father was a French legend, a man revered as a World Cup winner, the face of a nation, and one of the greatest footballers the world has seen. But Luca Zidane, the Marseille-born son of Zinedine Zidane, will never represent Les Bleus after switching his national allegiance to Algeria.
The 27-year-old Granada goalkeeper, who represented France at youth level, had his application to play for Vladimir Petkovic’s side approved by Fifa on Friday.
Zidane qualifies for Algeria through his grandparents, Smaïl and Malika, who left the village of Taguemount Azouz in northern Algeria in 1953 to start a new life in France, initially in Paris and then Marseille.
Like father, like son
The move, which came about after Zidane failed to earn a call-up for the senior national side, means he may yet be able to emulate his father by playing at a World Cup.
Algeria face Somalia in a qualifier next month and are widely expected to book a place at the finals in North America next summer with a game to spare. Although Algeria are ostensibly drawn away, the match is set to be staged in Algiers due to security concerns and the lack of a Fifa-approved stadium in Somalia.
‘When I play I’m Luca, not Zidane’
Should Zidane feature, it will mark another intriguing chapter in a career that began as a youth player with Real Madrid, where he worked his way up from the junior ranks through to the reserve team, Castilla, and was given his professional debut in May 2018 by his father, who had taken up the reins at the Bernabeu almost two and a half years earlier.
“When I play I’m Luca, not Zidane,” he said after letting in two late goals in a 2-2 draw at Villarreal. “The day before dad told me, and said to enjoy the moment, that it’s an honour playing with the best in the world.”
Zidane, the second of four brothers, struggled to build on that auspicious start, making just one more appearance for the club before joining Rayo Vallecano on loan the following season. Zidane moved to Segunda Division side Eibar in 2022, before upping sticks for Granada last summer.
Born in France and schooled in Spain, Zidane will now have the chance to take another step in his father’s footsteps by featuring in a World Cup.
