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Youri Djorkaeff
Youri Djorkaeff 2011.jpg
Djorkaeff in 2011.
Personal information
Full name Youri Raffi Djorkaeff
Date of birth (1968-03-09) 9 March 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.77 m
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1984–1989 Grenoble 82 (23)
1989–1990 Strasbourg 35 (25)
1990–1995 Monaco 155 (59)
1995–1996 Paris Saint-Germain 35 (13)
1996–1999 Inter Milan 87 (30)
1999–2002 Kaiserslautern 55 (14)
2002–2004 Bolton Wanderers 75 (20)
2004 Blackburn Rovers 3 (0)
2005–2006 New York Red Bulls 45 (12)
Total 584 (196)
National team
1993 France B 2 (3)
1993–2002 France 82 (28)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  France
FIFA World Cup
Winner 1998 France
UEFA European Championship
Winner 2000 Belgium & Netherlands
FIFA Confederations Cup
Winner 2001 South Korea & Japan
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

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, United Kingdom 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

Djorkaeff was born in Lyon, to a French father of Polish and Kalmyk origin, Jean Djorkaeff, and an Armenian mother, Mary Ohanian, in Lyon.

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 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, in which Inter were defeated by Schalke on penalties following a 1–1 draw on aggregate, although Djorkaeff was able to net his spot kick. 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. He then transferred to Blackburn Rovers but left the club after playing in only three games.

Djorkaeff then signed with the MetroStars of Major League Soccer in February 2005, turning down higher paid offers from other countries. He became the first French player to play in MLS and ended the season as the team's MVP with ten goals and seven assists in league play.

Youri Djorkaeff takes a corner (cropped)
Djorkaeff playing for New York Red Bulls in 2006

Djorkaeff announced from the beginning that he would hang-up his boots at the end of 2006 season, and played for the re-branded New York Red Bulls. 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, Djorkaeff was a talented playmaker, who usually played as an attacking midfielder, although he was also capable of playing in deeper positions in midfield on occasion – namely as a central midfielder –, or in more attacking roles, as a creative second striker, or even as an outright striker, while he often featured in a wide role on the left flank at international level. 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, he had the ability to link the defence with the attack or drift out wide in a free role in midfield; 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, which from a tactical standpoint, however, occasionally made it difficult for managers to find the right position for him on the pitch that best suited his capabilities. Moreover, despite his talent and success, he was also accused of being inconsistent at times in the media.

Personal life

Djorkaeff has a wife, Sophie, and three children: Sacha, Oan and Angelica. Djorkaeff released a singing single called "Vivre dans Ta Lumière", translated to "Living in Your Light" from French. His father, Jean, and younger brother, Micha Djorkaeff, were also professional football players.

On 15 November 2012 Djorkaeff hosted Phone-a-thon for Armenian charity held in Europe. The Phoneathon benefits the construction of community centres in villages throughout Nagorno Karabakh and comprehensive agricultural development in Armenia's Tavush Region. In addition, a part of the proceeds will be dedicated to providing urgent aid to the Syrian-Armenian community.

During his time in England, Djorkaeff opened a football school in Armenia. After retiring, he became the president of his childhood club in Lyon, Union Generale Armenienne de Decines, in April 2007. Djorkaeff currently also runs the Youri Djorkaeff Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing football programs in New York City.

Ecuador forward Djorkaeff Reasco was named after Djorkaeff.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Grenoble 1984–85 Division 2 3 0 0 0 – – 3 0
1985–86 6 0 0 0 – – 6 0
1986–87 26 4 0 0 – – 26 4
1987–88 19 8 1 0 – – 20 8
1988–89 25 11 3 1 – – 28 12
1989–90 3 0 0 0 – – 3 0
Total 82 23 4 1 0 0 0 0 86 24
Strasbourg 1989–90 Division 2 28 21 2 0 – – 30 21
1990–91 7 4 0 0 – – 7 4
Total 35 25 2 0 0 0 0 0 37 25
Monaco 1990–91 Division 1 20 5 6 1 – – 26 6
1991–92 35 9 5 0 – 7 1 47 10
1992–93 32 11 2 2 – 4 1 38 14
1993–94 35 20 2 0 – 11 3 48 23
1994–95 33 14 1 0 3 0 – 37 14
Total 155 59 16 3 3 0 22 5 196 67
Paris Saint-Germain 1995–96 Division 1 35 13 2 2 1 0 8 4 46 19
Inter Milan 1996–97 Serie A 33 14 6 1 – 10 2 49 17
1997–98 29 8 4 0 – 9 0 42 8
1998–99 25 8 6 4 – 5 2 36 14
Total 87 30 16 5 0 0 24 4 127 39
Kaiserslautern 1999–2000 Bundesliga 25 11 1 0 0 0 5 2 31 13
2000–01 26 3 2 0 0 0 7 2 35 5
2001–02 4 0 0 0 – – 4 0
Total 55 14 3 0 0 0 12 4 70 18
Bolton Wanderers 2001–02 Premier League 12 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 15 4
2002–03 36 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 38 7
2003–04 27 9 2 0 5 1 0 0 34 10
Total 75 20 5 0 7 1 - - 87 21
Blackburn Rovers 2004–05 Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
MetroStars /
New York Red Bulls		 2005 Major League
Soccer		 24 10 2 1 – – 26 11
2006 21 2 1 0 – – 22 2
Total 45 12 3 1 0 0 0 0 48 13
Career total 572 196 47 12 9 1 66 17 694 226

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
France 1993 1 0
1994 5 3
1995 7 5
1996 12 5
1997 6 3
1998 18 3
1999 9 3
2000 11 4
2001 7 2
2002 6 0
Total 82 28
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Djorkaeff goal.
List of international goals scored by Youri Djorkaeff
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 February 1994 San Paolo Stadium, Naples, Italy  Italy 1–0 1–0 Exhibition game
2 22 March 1994 Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France  Chile 2–1 3–1 Friendly
3 29 May 1994 National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan  Japan 1–0 4–1 Kirin Cup
4 16 August 1995 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  Poland 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
5 6 September 1995 Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre, France  Azerbaijan 2–0 10–0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
6 9–0
7 11 October 1995 Stadionul Steaua (1974), Bucharest, Romania  Romania 2–0 3–1 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
8 15 November 1995 Stade Michel d'Ornano, Caen, France  Israel 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
9 24 January 1996 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  Portugal 1–1 3–2 Friendly
10 2–2
11 15 June 1996 Elland Road, Leeds, England  Spain 1–0 1–1 UEFA Euro 1996
12 31 August 1996 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  Mexico 2–0 2–0 Friendly
13 9 October 1996 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  Turkey 3–0 4–0 Friendly
14 2 April 1997 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  Sweden 1–0 1–0 Friendly
15 11 June 1997 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  Italy 2–1 2–2 1997 Tournoi de France
16 12 November 1997 Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France  Scotland 2–1 2–1 Friendly
17 29 May 1998 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco  Morocco 2–2 2–2 1998 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
18 24 June 1998 Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France  Denmark 1–0 2–1 1998 FIFA World Cup
19 14 November 1998 Stade de France, Paris, France  Andorra 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
20 20 January 1999 Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France  Morocco 1–0 1–0 Friendly
21 8 September 1999 Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia  Armenia 1–1 3–2 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
22 9 October 1999 Stade de France, Paris, France  Iceland 2–1 3–2 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
23 4 June 2000 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco  Japan 2–2 2–2 2000 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
24 6 June 2000  Morocco 2–0 5–1 2000 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
25 16 June 2000 Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium  Czech Republic 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2000
26 25 June 2000 Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium  Spain 2–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2000
27 25 April 2001 Stade de France, Paris, France  Portugal 4–0 4–0 Friendly
28 30 May 2001 Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu, South Korea  South Korea 4–0 5–0 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup

Honours

Monaco

Paris Saint-Germain

Inter Milan

Bolton Wanderers

France

Individual

  • Division 1 top scorer: 1993–94
  • UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1996
  • Pirata d'Oro (Inter Milan Player of the Year): 1997
  • FIFA XI: 1997

Orders

  • Knight of the Legion of Honour: 1998

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Youri Djorkaeff para niños

  • List of leading goalscorers for the France national football team
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