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Michel Platini

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Michel Platini (June 21, 1955, Jœuf, Département Meurthe-et-Moselle) is a former French football player, regarded as one of the most elegant midfielders of his generation and possibly the greatest French footballer of all time. Furthermore, he is acknowledged as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. 



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Biography

Michel Platini is of Italian descent; his grandfather Francesco had earlier immigrated from Italy in search of fortune in France. Platini started his career as a teenager at French club AS Nancy-Lorraine before moving on to Saint-Etienne, where he won the league title in 1981. In 1982 he moved to Italian club side Juventus, scoring an astonishing 68 goals in 147 league games as a midfielder, and was Serie A's top goalscorer three years in a row.  Platini helped the club win two league titles, the Italian Cup, the European Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup.


Platini captained the French national team to European Championship honours in 1984, becoming the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals: the opening score of the tournament against Denmark, hat-tricks against Belgium and Yugoslavia, a last-minute winner against Portugal in the epic semi-final in Marseilles, and a free-kick against Spain in the final in Paris.


Platini was one of the greatest passers of the ball in the 1980s, and, despite nominally being a midfielder, was also an outstanding goalscorer. Platini was an integral part of the "carré magique" that included Alain Giresse, Luis Fernandez and Jean Tigana. This group of four sumptiously talented players formed the heart of the France team throughout the 1980s and nearly brought success in 1982 and 1986 to go along with the European Championship of 1984. In the words of Bobby Charlton, "he could thread the ball through the eye of a needle as well as finish."  Platini was also a master of the free kick, which he practised using a row of dummies during training.


He was voted European footballer of the year (Ballon d'Or) an unprecedented three times in succession, in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Platini was also voted World Soccer Player of the Year in 1984 and 1985.


Platini was, together with François-Cyrille Grange, the lighter of the Olympic Flame at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. He was also the head of the organizing committee for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, held in France. Platini has continued to climb the UEFA and FIFA football administration hierarchies and is presently (2006) chairman of the FIFA Technical and Development Committee.






Teams






Honours


Decorations

Michel Platini was appointed as "Chevalier" (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 1985 and became "Officier" (Officer) in 1988.



Club honours



International honours


72 matches, 41 goals, captain 49 times. 
French all-time top goalscorer



Managerial career




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