Considered by many as the greatest player in the history of French football, Zinedine Zidane is also the greatest pride in Marseille, his hometown. The child of the Castellane has never evolved at Olympique de Marseille. After having evolved, very young, in different teams from the Marseille city and then in the neighboring club of Septèmes-les-Vallons, the young ZZ did his training at AS Cannes.
And if since his retirement as a player, Zinedine Zidane has sometimes been associated with OM to become the coach, rumors were more fantasy than reality. According to a former sky and white player, the tricolor playmaker has sometimes influenced the recruitment of the Marseille club.
Loaned by Real Madrid in winter 2002, Alberto Rivera explained to Casa Football Podcast to have joined OM on the recommendation of Zinedine Zidane. “I was at Real Madrid. I played little. I came from the Cantera du Real Madrid, I had few opportunities in the first team. And during this winter transfer window, this option presents itself to me. Chatting with Zinedine Zidane, he tells me that it is a good club and a good city for me. So I didn't think about it anymore. I understood that he had also talked about me on good side of Marseille and then everything was done very quickly ”, he said.
“Zinedine Zidane, one of the best players in the world”
“Imagine! Me, a little young person from the Real Madrid training center, I joined a huge club, winner of a Champions League, on the recommendation of one of the best players in the world, who has always talked about me, it's incredible, he continued. I will never forget it and I will always be grateful to it. »»
Alberto Rivera, who will only compete in 12 games with OM, does not have an unforgettable memory of his visit to Marseille.
“On the collective level, we lacked regularity. We won everything at home, but outside, we had more harm and we did not find this continuity in the results. We missed a few outdoor matches which would no doubt have allowed us to position ourselves a little higher in the ranking and to fight for European places, he remembered. But we were a somewhat irregular team. »»
“For me, this experience marked a turning point in my career, However, he added. I play regularly for the first time in my career in a leading championship, it made me grow as a player and I think it served as a basis in order to start for the career that I then made in Spain. »»
