My grandfather encouraged me to play for Algeria, Luca Zidane says

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Footballer Luca Zidane in action. (FILE/Reuters)

Son of French World Cup-winner and footballing legend Zinedine Zidane, Luca Zidane is guarding the goalposts for Algeria at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.

The 27-year-old kept a clean sheet against Sudan on Wednesday as his team won 3-0 with two goals from former Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez.

Luca, who has played for France at the junior level, said that his grandfather had supported him in switching international allegiance to Algeria.

The decision to switch nationalities by Luca, who chose to avoid comparisons with his father from an early age by opting to play as a goalkeeper, came as a surprise, especially since he made it at the age of 27.

He quickly became Algeria’s first-choice keeper, and his ‌father watched him play against Sudan in Vladimir Petković’s side’s opening game.

“When I think of Algeria, I remember my grandfather. Since childhood, we’ve had this Algerian culture in the family,” Zidane told BeIN Sports France. “I spoke to him before playing for the national team, and he was extremely happy about this step. Every time I receive an international ‌call-up, he calls me and says that I made a great decision and that he is proud of me.”
Father’s support

Luca said that his father also backed his decision and didn’t hesitate in giving me advice for the same.”He supported me. He said to me ‘Be careful, this is your choice. I can give you advice, but in the end, the ‌final decision will be yours’. From the moment the coach and the federation president reached out to me, it was clear that I wanted to go and represent ‌my country. After that, ‍I naturally spoke ⁠with my family, and they were all happy for me,” Luca mentioned.

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Zinedine Zidane won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euros with France playing a central role in both the campaigns. He also won the Champions League with ⁠2002 with Real Madrid and claimed the Ballon d’Or award in 1998.

Luca started his career with Real Madrid in Spain and plays for Granada now.

In his career, he has always worn a shirt bearing the name Luca but decided that his national team jersey would carry the name of Zidane.

“So for me, being able to honour my grandfather by joining the national ‌team is very important,” he said. “The next jersey with the name on it will be for him.”

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