Youri Djorkaeff

Youri Raffi Djorkaeff (born 9 March 1968) is a French former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward.

Youri Djorkaeff
Djorkaeff in 2011
Personal information
Full name Youri Raffi Djorkaeff[1]
Date of birth (1968-03-09) 9 March 1968[2]
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s) 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[4] 3 (0)
2005–2006 New York Red Bulls[5] 45 (12)
Total 584 (196)
National team
1993 France B 2 (3)
1993–2002 France 82 (28)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

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 French 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,[6] to a French father of Polish and Kalmyk origin, Jean Djorkaeff, and an Armenian mother, Mary Ohanian,[7] in Lyon.[8]

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,[9][10] 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.[11][12] 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.[13][14] His following season was less successful individually, as he struggled to play well alongside the club's new signing Ronaldo,[15][16][17] 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.[18] 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.[19][20][21]

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.[22] 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.

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.[23] 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.[24]

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.[25]

Style of play

Nicknamed The Snake, due to his ability to get past defenders and bend the ball,[26][27][28] 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.[9][15][20][26][28][29][30][31][32][33] 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.[26][34][35][36][37][38] 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;[28][39] he was also highly regarded for his accuracy from free kicks and penalties with his right foot.[28][34][40][41] A hard-working player, who was known for his defensive contribution off the ball,[9][34] he had the ability to link the defence with the attack or drift out wide in a free role in midfield;[26][28][42] 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,[35] 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.[9][15][19] Moreover, despite his talent and success, he was also accused of being inconsistent at times in the media.[43]

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.[44] His father, Jean, and younger brother, Micha Djorkaeff, were also professional football players.[26]

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.[45]

During his time in England, Djorkaeff opened a football school in Armenia.[27] After retiring, he became the president of his childhood club in Lyon, Union Generale Armenienne de Decines, in April 2007.[46] Djorkaeff currently also runs the Youri Djorkaeff Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing football programs in New York City.[47]

Career statistics

Club
Sources:[48][49][50]
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 30----30
1985–86 600----60
1986–87 264----264
1987–88 1981+----208
1988–89 251131----2812
1989–90 3000----30
Total 82234100008624
Strasbourg 1989–90 Division 2 2821----2821
1990–91 7400----74
Total 35250000003525
Monaco 1990–91 Division 1 20561----266
1991–92 35950--714710
1992–93 321122--413814
1993–94 352020--1134823
1994–95 33141030--3714
Total 155591633022519667
Paris Saint-Germain 1995–96 Division 1 35132210844619
Inter Milan 1996–97 Serie A 331461--1024917
1997–98 29840--90428
1998–99 25864--523614
Total 87301650024412739
Kaiserslautern 1999–2000 Bundesliga 25111000523113
2000–01 263200072355
2001–02 4000----40
Total 551430001247018
Bolton Wanderers 2001–02 Premier League 124201000154
2002–03 367101000387
2003–04 2792051003410
Total 75205071--8721
Blackburn Rovers 2004–05 Premier League 3000000030[51]
MetroStars /
New York Red Bulls		 2005 Major League
Soccer		 241021----2611
2006 21210----222
Total 45123100004813
Career total 5721964512916617692226

International
France national team[52]
YearAppsGoals
199310
199453
199575
1996125
199763
1998183
199993
2000114
200172
200260
Total8228

International goals
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1.16 February 1994San Paolo Stadium, Naples, Italy Italy1–01–0Friendly
2.22 March 1994Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France Chile2–13–1
3.29 May 1994National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan Japan1–04–1Kirin Cup
4.16 August 1995Parc des Princes, Paris, France Poland1–11–1UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
5.6 September 1995Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, Auxerre, France Azerbaijan2–010–0
6.9–0
7.11 October 1995Stadionul Steaua (1974), Bucharest, Romania Romania2–03–1
8.15 November 1995Stade Michel d'Ornano, Caen, France Israel2–0
9.24 January 1996Parc des Princes, Paris, France Portugal1–13–2Friendly
10.2–2
11.15 June 1996Elland Road, Leeds, England Spain1–01–1UEFA Euro 1996
12.31 August 1996Parc des Princes, Paris, France Mexico2–02–0Friendly
13.9 October 1996 Turkey3–04–0
14.2 April 1997 Sweden1–01–0
15.11 June 1997 Italy2–12–21997 Tournoi de France
16.12 November 1997Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France Scotland2–1Friendly
17.29 May 1998Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco Morocco2–22–21998 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
18.24 June 1998Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France Denmark1–02–11998 FIFA World Cup
19.14 November 1998Stade de France, Paris, France Andorra2–02–0UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
20.20 January 1999Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France Morocco1–01–0Friendly
21.8 September 1999Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Aremania Armenia1–13–2UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
22.9 October 1999Stade de France, Paris, France Iceland2–1
23.4 June 2000Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco Japan2–22–22000 King Hassan II International Cup Tournament
24.6 June 2000 Morocco2–05–1
25.16 June 2000Jan Breydel Stadium, Brugge, Belgium Czech Republic2–12–1UEFA Euro 2000
26.25 June 2000 Spain
27.25 April 2001Stade de France, Paris, France Portugal4–04–0Friendly
28.30 May 2001Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu, South Korea South Korea5–02001 FIFA Confederations Cup

Honours

Monaco[53]

Paris Saint-Germain[53]

Inter Milan[53]

Bolton Wanderers

France[53]

Individual

Orders

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Bibliography
  • Youri Djorkaeff, Snake, Paris, Grasset and Fasquelle, 2006, ISBN 22-46695-71-6. (in French)[1]
  1. "Snake (French Edition) (French): Paperback – by Youri Djorkaeff". Amazon. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
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