Bruno Germain is not only the father of Valère Germain. This former French international (a cap in 1987), who is celebrating his 66th birthday, is a notable player for Bernard Tapie’s OM. Revealed at AS Nancy-Lorraine then moved to Matra Racing, Bruno Germain only stayed a few months at Sporting Toulon in 1988. Time to give the fans the finger! The PhocĂ©ens jumped at the opportunity and recruited the defensive midfielder, who would be the leader of a three-time French champion team, in 1989, 1990 and 1991.
Father Germain left his mark on the minds of Stade VĂ©lodrome regulars with his exemplary combativeness in the midfield but also with important goals, such as against PSG in February 1989. His omnipresence on the pitch allowed Chris Waddle, Enzo Francescoli or Abedi PelĂ© to put on a show and Jean-Pierre Papin to pile up the goals. The 31-year-old from OrlĂ©an was paired with Laurent Fournier in the middle in the final of the 1991 Champion Clubs’ Cup against Red Star Belgrade, for a defeat on penalties in Bari (0-0, tab: 5-3).
During the off-season, Bernard Tapie decided to shake up his midfield because Didier Deschamps returned from a good season on loan to the Girondins de Bordeaux. He sets up an XXL exchange with PSG, while the rivalry between the two clubs has barely been created. The thirty-year-olds Bruno Germain and Bernard Pardo (13 selections in EDF) as well as Laurent Fournier, 26 years old, serve as bargaining chips for the recruitment of Jocelyn Angloma, a phenomenon at the right-back position for several years.
Bruno Germain returns as PSG captain
The colossus Bruno Germain – who was given the nickname “Popeye”! – quickly becomes the captain of the Parisians. “I returned to Marseille a few months later as captain of PSG. We go 0-0. I score a goal with a header which is refused for an offside which did not exist. In any other stadium I would have moaned, but this was at the Vélodrome. As I had a Marseille heart, I didn’t say anything, I simply sat back”he tells Provence. He will return with pleasure to OM in 1994-1995, in D2.
If Pardo, seriously injured in a knee the year before, was no longer fit for football and played six matches with PSG for the last season of his career, Fournier, a tireless defensive midfielder, became a French international (3 caps in 1992) and an emblematic player for Paris SG until 1998. He was the 1994 French champion and won the 1996 Cup Winners’ Cup against Rapid Vienne (1-0, goal by Bruno N’Gotty), being associated with Daniel Bravo and Vincent GuĂ©rin in the middle.
