A few images filmed on the grounds of Sainte-Anne, in Guadeloupe, and the story of the locals were enough to offer the French team one of its greatest defenders. Because no one in Ajaccio had seen the young 19-year-old defender play when he arrived in Corsica. Two years were nonetheless going to be enough for him to become a reference for the libero position and establish himself in the French team.
Voted French player of the year just three years after his arrival in mainland France, Marius Trésor is a true legend of the Blues. In addition to remaining for history the first player of color to captain the French team, Marius Trésor wrote some of the most beautiful pages in the history of the selection, first and foremost the unforgettable drama of Seville.
His teammates at the time were full of praise for him. “Marius, he was unbeatable. It was a lion, it was half of the Black Guard. It was the basis of our team. He was our captain. When I got there, I had eyes like that.” said Michel Platini in the documentary My father, Marius Trésor recently broadcast on La 1ère.
And the younger players were even more impressed by the man who would accumulate 75 caps during his career.
“I am joining the French team, I am 19 years old. I was a little terrible. No playing. But I’m afraid he’ll talk to me. I tell him you, I tell him you, I tell him sir? I see a monument arriving,” engaged Yannick Stopyra while Alain Couriol underlined the importance of Marius Trésor in his eyes.
A pioneering role
“When he was there, I felt like nothing could happen to me. It’s lucky to have had a teammate like that, he whispered. It’s more important for me to have played with a guy like Marius than with Michel Platini. However, Michel Platini is someone important. But I’m not Italian, I’m Guadeloupean. »
And if Marius Trésor left his mark, it is also because of his role as a pioneer for players of color and in particular for the West Indians. “You can’t know. You opened the way for us. It’s thanks to you that we are here”did not hesitate to slip El-Hadi Diouf to him. “It’s a very beautiful story. He succeeded because he deserved to succeed. He can be proud to have participated in the development of the West Indians in French football. It allowed lots of young people to live their dream and lots of players to be great players for the France team,” for his part highlighted Jacques Vendroux, former voice of the Blues on France Inter.
