Biography
Djorkaeff was born to a Kalmyk-Polish father and an Armenian mother in Lyon.
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. 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.
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.
Read more about this topic: Youri Djorkaeff
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