The coach who gave Zidane the nickname “Zizou” has died. He had an affair with a rich heiress
Rolland Courbis, former French coach, died at the age of 72. In 1992, he brought Zinedine Zidane (53 years old) to Bordeaux. He was the first to believe in him and develop his talent.
Rolland Courbis coached at Bordeaux PHOTO Facebook
“You could tell it was going to be great“, Roland Courbis described Zinedine Zidane, whom he nicknamed “Zizou”. He was the first to call it that, in Bordeaux in 1992, and he was the one who brought it there.
A former footballer and coach, Courbis was a charismatic figure in French football who later became a prominent commentator. It was his family who reported him missing. As a defender, he was part of the Marseille team that won the championship and the French Cup in 1972, before returning to the club in the late 1990s as a coach.
During his career, he also won two titles and a French Cup with Monaco. As a coach, he played in a number of periods in France and Algeria: Bordeaux, Lens, Montpellier and USM Algiers. In the 1980s, Courbis had a relationship with Ljuba Rizzoli, a wealthy heiress and widow of entrepreneur Andrea Rizzoli.
“Zizou” remembered the late coach on social media: “I just found out that Rolland has passed away. I'm sad, very emotional… It meant a lot to me as a coach and on a human level“.
