Real Madrid could have a fourth member of Zidane’s family to oppose Napoli in the Champions League, as 21-year-old midfielder Theo Zidane has been included in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for Wednesday night’s match at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He would follow in the footsteps of Zinedine Zidane, his father, who won four Champions League titles during his time at the club as a player and coach, as well as his older brothers Enzo and Luca, who continue to run their business at lower levels. of Spanish football.
All four of Zinedine’s youngsters are pursuing careers in professional football, with Theo and Elyaz still on Real Madrid’s books, after all four came here via La Fábrica, as Real Madrid’s youth academy is known.
Théo has made 69 appearances for Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s second team, and is now a regular for Raúl González, the former striker who is now the manager of the side. He has started 11 of Castilla’s 14 matches this season and has established himself after making his way into the team last year.
All Zidane will fight to live up to the legacy of Zizou, one of the club’s historic legends after 227 games as a player and 301 games as the team’s coach.
However, Theo will be looking to compete with his brothers to make his mark on the first team. Enzo and Luca were regulars at Castilla, as were Theo, with 78 and 51 games respectively.
For his first-team debut, Theo hopes to follow in the footsteps of Enzo, who scored in his match for Real Madrid against Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey in 2016. Luca played twice, either in La Liga, against Villarreal in 2018 and Huesca in 2019.
The eldest son, Enzo, has lately been working in the outskirts of Madrid, in the 3rd division, with the Primera RFEF club of Fuenlabrada. His first step after leaving Real Madrid was to sign for Deportivo Alaves, before moving to France with the F. C. Lausanne-Sport, return to Spain with C. F. Rayo Majadahonda and then Portugal with C. D. Poultry.
He returned to Spain for a year at U. D. Almería but left after only three appearances to join Rodez Aveyron Football, where his father is a shareholder, and then came back to Spain once again with CF Fuenlabrada in 2022.
Zinedine Zidane accompanied through his four sons (Theo, Elyaz, Enzo, Luca, from left to right) and his wife Véronique when he was appointed coach of Real Madrid in 2016.
The second son, Luca, has had a more successful career and lately stands out at Eibar, in the Segunda, the second division of Spanish football. The goalkeeper has emerged as a reliable option at this level, after an impressive loan spell at Racing de Santander, where he signed for Rayo Vallecano.
Promotion with Rayo was the highlight, with Luca winning the number one shirt for the team’s successful playoff campaign, but he only played thirteen games in his first season on the more sensible flight and left for Eibar the following summer. He has already played 50 games as a first-choice goalkeeper.
Théo may not be the last Zidane to make his name at Real Madrid either. The youngest of the 4 children is Elyaz, who is now 17 years old and has been playing for Los Blancos for ten years.
He can play as a left-back or centre-back and has inspired many with his progression so far, earning call-ups to form the France youth squad for the U17, U18 and U19 groups. times and scoring two goals in the process.
He is currently betting on former Real Madrid player Álvaro Arbeloa, who coaches the Juvenil A, he is far away from the first team squad but continues to impress the club’s coaches.
Earlier this year, this earned him a call-up to train with the first team in a drill session under Carlo Ancelotti. Although Elyaz has not returned to this scene and his position is well filled, he awaits the arrival of Fran García in the summer. , he can still hope that one day he will be able to continue with Theo, Luca and Enzo in the first team of Real Madrid, just like Zineline.