Youri Djorkaeff

Youri Raffi Djorkaeff (born 9 March 1968) is a French former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Throughout his club career, he played for teams in France, Italy, Germany, England, and the United States.

At international level, Djorkaeff scored 28 goals in 82 appearances with the France national team between 1993 and 2002. He won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2000, and the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, also taking part at Euro 1996 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He is the son of former player Jean Djorkaeff. On hanging up his boots in 2006 and after having played in France, Italy, Germany, England and the US, Youri devoted himself to social projects, which eventually led him to establish the Youri Djorkaeff Foundation in 2014. He currently holds the position of CEO of the FIFA Foundation, following his appointment in September 2019.

Early life Youri Raffi Djorkaeff was born on 9 March 1968 in Lyon, to a French father of Polish and Kalmyk origin, Jean Djorkaeff, and an Armenian mother, Mary Ohanian.

Club career Djorkaeff started his career in 1984 with French club Grenoble, before moving to RC Strasbourg in 1989, AS Monaco in 1990, and then Paris Saint-Germain in 1995. In 1994, Djorkaeff led Division 1 in goals with 20. He won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with PSG in 1996. In 190 French top-flight matches Djorkaeff scored 73 goals.

In 1996, he signed with Italian club Inter Milan. In his first season, he scored 17 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions, scoring 14 goals in 33 Serie A appearances; with his excellent performances, he helped the club to a third–place finish in Serie A, and also reached the UEFA Cup Final. Inter were defeated in the final by Schalke on penalties following a 1–1 draw on aggregate; Djorkaeff was suspended for the first leg although he was able to net his spot kick in the second leg shootout. During the course of the season, he also scored a memorable goal from a bicycle kick in a 3–1 home win against Roma in the league, on 5 January 1997, which is considered to be one of the greatest goals scored in the club's history. His following season was less successful individually, as he struggled to play well alongside the club's new signing Ronaldo, although collectively Inter finished the season in second place in Serie A and won the UEFA Cup, defeating Lazio 3–0 in the final at the Parc des Princes. In his third and final season with the team, following the signing of Roberto Baggio, he also struggled to find space in the team, and suffered a further loss of form; moreover, the club eventually finished the season in eighth place, outside of all possible European qualifying spots.

In 1999, he transferred to Germany and Kaiserslautern, helping them to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2001.

Djorkaeff turned many heads when signing with English club Bolton Wanderers in 2002, but added a lot of class to the team during his three seasons there, resulting in the creation of an international "dream-team" alongside the tricky Nigerian Jay-Jay Okocha, and former Real Madrid midfielder Iván Campo. He was a member of the squad that reached the final of the 2003–04 League Cup. On 1 July 2006, he was spotted in the crowd with French fans at the FIFA World Cup quarter-final match between France and Brazil after telling Red Bulls officials he left the club to attend to "an unexpected, serious family matter in France." Upon his return, he revealed that the purpose of his departure was to be with his sick mother and downplayed watching the World Cup match.

He retired from professional football on 29 October 2006.

International career Djorkaeff accumulated 82 caps and scored 28 goals for France at senior level between 1993 and 2002. Other than the two major tournaments he won with the national side – the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 – Djorkaeff also played for his country in UEFA Euro 1996 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in Paris, he set-up Zinedine Zidane's second goal from a corner in an eventual 3–0 victory over defending champions Brazil.

Style of play Nicknamed The Snake, due to his ability to get past defenders and bend the ball, An elegant and technically gifted player, he was mainly known for his flair, dribbling skills, and excellent touch on the ball; he was also known for his vision, passing, composure, and class, and possessed a good shot, which enabled him both to score and create goals. He was known for his positional sense and intelligent movement off the ball, as well as his ability to lose his markers with his attacking runs and create space for himself, or provide depth to the team; he was also highly regarded for his accuracy from free kicks and penalties with his right foot. A hard-working player, who was known for his defensive contribution off the ball, as such, his playing style and role has been described as that of a "nine and a half," half-way between that of a midfielder and that of a forward, Moreover, despite his talent and success, he was also accused of being inconsistent at times in the media.

Personal life Djorkaeff and his wife, Sophie, and three children: Sacha, Oan and Angelica. Djorkaeff released a singing single called "Vivre dans Ta Lumière" ("Living in Your Light"). His father, Jean, and younger brother, Micha Djorkaeff, were also professional football players. During his time in England, Djorkaeff opened a football school in Armenia. Djorkaeff currently also runs the Youri Djorkaeff Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing football programs in New York City. Ecuadorian international forward Djorkaeff Reasco was named after him, as was Curaçaoan Tahith Chong.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Djorkaeff goal.

Honours Monaco Coupe de France: 1990–91

France FIFA World Cup: 1998 UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1996 UEFA European Championship top assist provider: 1996 Pirata d'Oro (Inter Milan Player of the Year): 1997 World XI: 1997

Orders Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1998