Jean Tigana was one of the figures of the French team. Alongside Michel Platini, Alain Giresse or Luis Fernandez, he was one of the members of the Magic Carré who bore the Blues to the title of European champion in 1984, the first title in the history of the team of France, and disputed two World Cup semi-finals, including the Seville tragedy.
While he chained the titles of champions of France, first with Bordeaux (1984, 1985, 1987) then in Marseille (1990, 1991), he compiled 52 selections before between 1980 and 1988. The native of Bamako did not know Not the same success as a coach. Launched by Jean-Michel Aulas at the head of Olympique Lyonnais, he certainly picked up a title of champion of France in 1997 on the bench of Monaco and led during three Fulham seasons, allowing the club of Mohamed al-Fayed to go back to the first .r League.
Jean Tigana victim of racism?
But in 2004, Jean Tigana experienced the biggest disillusionment of his coach career. While he was expected to succeed Jacques Santini at the head of the French team, the French Football Federation preferred him … Raymond Domenech. If he benefited from the support of Michel Platini, Aimé Jacquet, then national technical director, favored an internal solution and therefore set his sights on the hopes coach.
For the interested party, however, its skin color is not unrelated to the choice of FFF. “I insist on this. I was in relation to my trial with Al-Fayed (owner of Fulham, his former club, editor's note)-Tigana was innocent-(…) and also, from what the environment said to me, in reason for my color ”, He had entrusted in an interview to France Football, adding that Claude Simonet (the president of the FFF at the time), during a meal organized for the farewells of Jean-Claude Darmon, “Said a very important person in French football, and whom I have known for over thirty years:” Now there are too many blacks in the French team, we cannot put a black coach in addition. »»
His name was again quoted in 2008 when Raymond Domenech was on the hot seat but Estelle Denis' companion managed to keep her post despite the failure of the euro. His beautiful story with the French team was over.
