Ligue 1 pays tribute to Éric Roy, former Brest manager who died at 58 from pancreatic cancer

A minute’s applause opened the first matchday of the 2026-2027 Ligue 1 season on Friday evening at Stade Vélodrome and across all nine matches of the weekend, in tribute to Éric Roy. The former Stade Brestois manager passed away on June 17 at the age of 58 following pancreatic cancer.

A respected figure in French football, Roy achieved the remarkable feat of qualifying Brest for the Ligue des Champions in 2024, capping three seasons at the helm of the Breton club (2023-2026) during which he compiled 60 victories, 32 draws and 51 defeats. This achievement earned him the UNFP Trophy for best manager in 2024, the only individual honour in a record that his peers felt fell short of his true value.

Before taking a managerial position, Roy left his mark on Ligue 1 as a defensive midfielder. Trained at Nice, he wore the colours of Lyon from 1993 to 1996, then Marseille from 1996 to 1999, surpassing one hundred matches each time. With Lyon, he finished as runner-up in Division 1 in 1995, behind FC Nantes; with Marseille, he came agonisingly close to the title in 1999, just one point behind Girondins de Bordeaux.

A tall player at 1.88 m with a powerful shot, he regularly scored four to five goals per season and sometimes took penalties. He remains notably associated with Marseille’s legendary comeback under Rolland Courbis against Montpellier in August 1998 (5-4): he entered the history of that match by equalising with a volley finish from a Fabrizio Ravanelli assist, before Laurent Blanc sealed victory from the penalty spot.

After Marseille, Roy continued his career at Sunderland, Troyes, Rayo Vallecano, then returned to Nice for two seasons before retiring in 2004.