Youri Djorkaeff
Personal information
Full name	Youri Raffi Djorkaeff
Date of birth	March 9, 1968 (1968-03-09) (age 41)
Place of birth	Lyon, France
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)<[1]
Playing position	Forward/Attacking midfielder
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1984–1989 1989–1990 1990–1995 1995–1996 1996–1999 1999–2002 2002–2004 2004 2005–2006	Grenoble Strasbourg Monaco Paris Saint-Germain Internazionale Kaiserslautern Bolton Wanderers Blackburn Rovers New York Red Bulls[2]	082 (23) 035 (25) 177 (65) 043 (17) 087 (30) 067 (17) 075 (20) 003 0(0) 045 (12)
National team2
1993–2002	France	082 (28)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 December 2006. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 5 April 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Youri Raffi Djorkaeff (born 9 March 1968 in Lyon) is a former French football player who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder. With the French national team, Djorkaeff won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. He is the son of former player Jean Djorkaeff.

[edit] Ancestry

Djorkaeff is mix of Kalmyk and Polish (through his father) and Armenian (through his mother, Mary Ohanian was born in Turkey) origins.^[3]

[edit] Biography

He 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.

In 1996, he signed with Italian giants Internazionale and in 1999, he transferred to Germany and Kaiserslautern. Djorkaeff turned many heads when signing with English club Bolton Wanderers in 2002, but added a lot of class to the team during his two 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 then transferred to Blackburn Rovers for the 2004-05 season, but left the club after playing in only three games. Djorkaeff then signed with the MetroStars of Major League Soccer in February 2005 for $180,000 plus incentives, 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 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 ^[4]. 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 ^[5].

He retired from football on 29 October 2006, after being sidelined in the second leg of the MLS Eastern Conference semi-finals because of an ankle injury^[6].

[edit] Cups and medals

Djorkaeff won the Cup Winners' Cup with Paris Saint-Germain in 1996 and the UEFA Cup with Internazionale in 1998. He accumulated 82 caps and scored 28 goals for France. Other than the two major tournament (the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2000), Djorkaeff also played for his country in UEFA Euro 1996 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

[edit] Personal

Djorkaeff released a singing single called "Vivre dans Ta Lumière", translated to "Living in Your Light" from French.^[7]

[edit] Honours

Djorkaeff was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1998^[8][9]

[edit] Monaco

• Coupe de France: 1991

[edit] Paris Saint-Germain

• UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 1996

[edit] Internazionale

• UEFA Cup: 1998

[edit] France

• FIFA World Cup: 1998

• UEFA European Championship: 2000

^{[10] [11]}

[edit] References

France Squad v • d • e France squad – UEFA Euro 1996 semi-finalists 1 Lama • 2 Angloma • 3 Di Meco • 4 Leboeuf • 5 Blanc • 6 Guérin • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Djorkaeff • 10 Zidane • 11 Loko • 12 Lizarazu • 13 Dugarry • 14 Lamouchi • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Madar • 18 Pedros • 19 Karembeu • 20 Roche • 21 Martins • 22 Martini • Coach: Jacquet v • d • e France squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup Winners (1st Title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Guivarc'h • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Diomède • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Charbonnier • Coach: Jacquet v • d • e France squad – UEFA Euro 2000 Winners (2nd title) 1 Lama • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Blanc • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Deschamps • 8 Desailly • 9 Anelka • 10 Zidane • 11 Pirès • 12 Henry • 13 Wiltord • 14 Micoud • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Ramé • Coach: Lemerre v • d • e France squad – 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (1st Title) 1 Ramé • 2 Sagnol • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Gillet • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly • 9 Anelka • 10 Carrière • 11 Wiltord • 12 Coupet • 13 Silvestre • 14 Née • 15 Bréchet • 16 Dacourt • 17 Marlet • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Karembeu • 20 Camara • 21 Dugarry • 22 Robert • 23 Landreau • Coach: Lemerre v • d • e France squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Ramé • 2 Candela • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Christanval • 6 Djorkaeff • 7 Makélélé • 8 Desailly • 9 Cissé • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Boghossian • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Petit • 18 Leboeuf • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Dugarry • 22 Micoud • 23 Coupet • Coach: Lemerre