In Italy, Youri Djorkaeff will always be remembered for one of the most spectacular goals ever scored in Serie A. It came in January 1997 in the Inter v Roma game, as Djorkaeff was first to react to a miss-hit clearance and scored with a stunning bicycle-kick. Ten years later, one of the greatest talents of the last 20 years is preparing to hang up his boots after spending the twilight of his career in the MLS with the New York/New Jersey Metrostars.
Youri was born into football. His father Jean (nicknamed “Tchouki”) is of Polish and Russian descent and played for Lyon, Marseille and PSG. He also represented France 48 times – with half of those caps coming as captain.
After retiring from international football in 1972, “Tchouki” found Youri a place at Saint Priest – a feeder club for Lyon – where his brothers Micha and Denis had already tried their luck without success. However, a young Youri grabbed the attention of Grenoble and then Racing Strasbourg before Monaco brought him to Ligue 1 where he made his debut on November 10th 1990 against Sochaux.
Djorkaeff became first choice for Monaco and won the French cup, beating Marseille. However, at the end of the season, Arsene Wenger took the job and proved a stumbling block for Djorkaeff who had a poor relationship with the stubborn tactician. Despite reaching the Final of the Cup Winners’ Cup – that they lost to Werder Bremen – Djorkaeff was regularly substituted and accused of not scoring enough.
Moving from striker to trequartista, Youri showed his best and scored 20 goals in the 1993-94 season. On October 13th his efforts were rewarded and he made his international debut against Israel after he was selected by the Bleus boss of the time Gerard Houllier. 30 years after his father’s international debut, another Djorkaeff wore the Blues jersey. France lost the game and missed out on USA ’94, spelling the end for Houllier. However, a Djorkaeff goal handed new boss Aimè Jacquet a debut victory against Italy in Naples. Considered the heir to Eric Cantona, Youri became a key figure in the squad that went on to win World Cup ’98 and Euro 2000.
Djorkaeff moved to PSG after Euro ’96 and then arrived in Italy with Zinedine Zidane. The Inter faithful received the French wizard with enthusiasm hoping that he could be the man to rejuventate the Nerazzurri after so much disappointment. In his very first year in Milan, Inter reached the Final of the UEFA Cup, but lost out to Schalke on penalties. The next season, reinforced by the arrival of Ronaldo, Massimo Moratti’s squad came so close to sealing the Scudetto but were to lose out after the famous clash with Juventus that saw referee Piero Ceccarini fail to give a stonewall penalty for Mark Iuliano’s foul on the Brazilian star. Gigi Simoni’s side had to settle for the UEFA Cup trophy after a 3-0 victory over Lazio in Paris.
The pinnacle of Djorkaeff’s career was without a doubt the two triumphs with the national side in 1998 and 2000. Following that, he moved to the Premiership with Bolton, but his spell was unsuccessful and after a very short stint with Blackburn, he gave in to the lure of America where he continued to play until the ripe age of 38. After over twenty seasons in the game, it’s time for football to say goodbye to one Djorkaeff, but how long will it be before another one arrives on the stage? “We’re a true football family,” Tchouki grinned. “I’ve got nine grandchildren and, although two of them are girls, you could soon be seeing another Djorkaeff on the pitch.”
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