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.
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,[10][11] 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.[12][13] 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.[14][15] His following season was less successful individually, as he struggled to play well alongside the club's new signing Ronaldo,[16][17][18] 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.[19] 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.[20][21][22]
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.[23] 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 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.[24] 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.[25]
He retired from professional football on 29 October 2006.
Nicknamed The Snake, due to his ability to get past defenders and bend the ball,[27][28][29] 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.[10][16][21][27][29][30][31][32][33][34][excessive citations] 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.[27][35][36][37][38][39] 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;[29][40] he was also highly regarded for his accuracy from free kicks and penalties with his right foot.[29][35][41][42] A hard-working player, who was known for his defensive contribution off the ball,[10][35] he had the ability to link the defence with the attack or drift out wide in a free role in midfield;[27][29][43] 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,[36] 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.[10][16][20] Moreover, despite his talent and success, he was also accused of being inconsistent at times in the media.[44]
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").[45] His father, Jean, and younger brother, Micha Djorkaeff, were also professional football players.[27]
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.[46]
During his time in England, Djorkaeff opened a football school in Armenia.[28] In April 2007, once he had retired as a player, he became the president of his childhood club in Lyon - Union Generale Armenienne de Decines.[47] Djorkaeff currently also runs the Youri Djorkaeff Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing football programs in New York City.[48]
^"Entreprise SCI Skyfall à Cap-d'Ail (06320)" [Company SCI Skyfall in Cap-d'Ail (06320)]. Figaro Entreprises (in French). 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2020. "Youri Djorkaeff". BFM Business (in French). NextInteractive. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
^ abcdNicola Cecere; Franco Arturi (16 April 1997). "Pagliuca, i sogni dietro la porta" [Pagliuca, the dreams behind the door/goal]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian).
^Piva, Gianni (14 January 1997). "MONSIEUR DJ, IL NUOVO RE" [Mr DJ, the new king]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 20 January 2020.
^ADAMOLI, GESSI (27 August 1998). "Djorkaeff, il piacere del gol" [Djorkaeff, the pleasure of a goal]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 20 January 2020.
^Granello, Licia (22 May 1997). "PAGLIUCA IL MIGLIORE DJORKAEFF NON BASTA" [Pagliuca the best Djorkaeff isn't enough]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2019.
^"Youri Djorkaeff". world-soccer.org. Archived from the original on 20 February 2005. Retrieved 10 April 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Inter.it staff, inter(a t)inter.it (17 November 2006). "F.C. Internazionale Milano". Inter Milan. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
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