Many believe that Zinedine Zidane was the best footballer of his generation.
They all remember the two goals that he scored as France won the World Cup for the first time in 1998 or the volley that he struck in the white of Real Madrid during the 2002 Champions League final.
However, it all started for Zizou in Southern France and Cannes, who signed the midfielder as a 16-year-old in 1989. He would go on to make his debut against Nantes in the same year, but would only make two appearances before the end of that campaign.
It was during the 1990-91 season that Zidane started to become a regular in the Cannes starting lineup, although it took him until 23 years ago today to score his first goal in senior football.
Again in a match against Nantes, Zidane was released by a pass that split the opposition's defence. From there, he committed the goalkeeper, before lifting the ball into an unguarded net. It was a goal that helped Les Dragons Rouges to secure a 2-1 victory.
Rumour has it that Zidane was rewarded for his maiden strike at the time by Cannes chairman Alain Pedretti, who presented the youngster with a car.
Zidane would leave Cannes a year later to join Bordeaux, before going on to win numerous trophies with Juventus and Madrid prior to his retirement in the summer of 2006.
Liam Apicella
