Platini recalls Saint-Étienne: "There is a Stéphanois soul"

Michel Platini revisited his Saint-Étienne memories this weekend at a charity golf tournament organized by Christian Lopez and his wife Sylvana for their Vert for ever association. The triple Ballon d’Or winner, 71, spent three seasons at ASSE between 1979 and 1982 before joining Juventus Turin.

The event coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Greens’ European epic, finalists in the European Cup in 1976. Platini was not yet at Saint-Étienne at the time — he was doing his military service — but he says he followed these campaigns closely. “With the entire French military team, we watched Saint-Étienne. It’s not just 1976, it’s also 1975, 1974. Those years are fabulous epics that made all of France dream,” he told the regional newspaper Le Progrès.

It was precisely this winning heritage that convinced him to leave Nancy for Forez. “With Nancy, we played mid-table. At Saint-Étienne, we always played to win,” he explains. Beyond the sporting project, the former number 10 of the French national team says he was seduced by the human fabric of the city. “What I loved was the friendly city, the kindness of people, shopkeepers and the public. I found a warm region that loves football. Behind it all, there is a Stéphanois soul. It was something exciting, I had good times there.”

His record in official competition in the green shirt comes down to a single title, but a significant one: the 1981 French championship, the tenth and so far last triumph for ASSE. “It was my first title in France,” Platini recalls. The club, relegated since, plays in Ligue 2 today.

The mayor of Saint-Étienne, Régis Juanico, present at the event, summed up the bond between the legend and the city in a few words: “Here, he will remain a legend of the Greens.”