Michel Platini is one of the greatest players of all time, and is regarded as one of the finest passers in football history, as well as one of the best ever penalty kick and free kick specialists to have played the game. He won the Ballon d’Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, and came seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century vote.
Platini was the star of the France National team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top scorer and best player, and reached the semi-finals of the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. Platini was his country’s record goal scorer until 2007.
During his career, Platini played for the clubs Nancy, Saint-Etienne, and Juventus. Nicknamed Le Roi (The King) for his ability and leadership, he was a prolific goal scorer. In recognition of his contributions, he has been bestowed the National honours of Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur in 1985, Officer of the Order national du Merit in 1994 and Officer of the Legion d’honneur in 1998.
After retirement as a player, Platini was the France national team coach for four years, and was the co-organizer of the 1998 World Cup in France. In 2007, he became the first former player to be elected as the President of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). He also held the positions of chairman of FIFA’s Technical and Development Committee.
Player Profile
A quick, versatile, elegant and intelligent offensive midfield playmaker with a unique ability to read the game and bend the ball from set pieces. He was renowned in particular for his ball control, technical ability, dribbling skills, creativity, range of passing, and vision, despite his lack of notable physical or athletic attributes.
Although he primarily served as a creative midfielder, who operated in a more withdrawn playing role behind the strikers, and who mainly orchestrated attacking plays, provided assists, or created chances for teammates, Platini was also a prolific goal scorer.
Due to his footballing intelligence, movement, and composure in front of goal, as well as his accurate finishing ability with either foot, as well as his head, despite being naturally right-footed, he was known for his ability to create attacking opportunities for himself by playing exchanges with his teammates until he was in a position from which he could receive the ball and score.
Moreover, Platini was known for his discipline on the pitch and in his extensive career, he was never sent off. His life and work are presented through an impressively extensive collection of sporting exhibits, honoured with two Guinness World Records, at the Michel Platini Museum located in the village of Mosfiloti, Cyprus.
International Career
Having first attracted the attention of national team selectors in the Coupe Gambardella tournament, Platini made his first appearance for a French amateur side on September 26, 1973.Platini began his military service in summer 1975. He was assigned to the Joinville battalion. Platini would turn out for the French military team, in addition to representing the French under-23s and the French Olympic team.
He impressed in the Olympic team’s 4–0 win over Romania in Brest, a result made even more impressive by the fact that Romania had fielded a full international side for the Olympic qualifier. Platini’s performance made him a star in France. The away leg of the qualifying tie was a mere formality, France coming away with a 1–1 draw.
Three days after, Platini received his first call-up to the national team for what was coach Michel Hidalgo’s first game in charge, a friendly against Czechoslovakia in Paris on March 27, 1976, and scored his first goal with a trademark free kick in a 2–2 draw.
Montreal 1976 Olympics
Platini was a member of the French football team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Their tournament began on July 19, with a 4–0 win over Mexico. They registered another 4–0 win in their next match against Guatemala, with two goals from Platini. The French team completed the group stage with a draw against Israel, Platini scoring from a penalty.
France progressed to the quarter-final stage, where they faced a full-strength East German team and lost 4–0. On November 16, 1977, with a 3–1 win over Bulgaria, a match in which Platini excelled in the role of playmaker and scored with a strike from 30 yards, France secured qualification for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina for their first appearance in the World Cup finals since 1966.
In the month following the decisive qualifying match, Platini finished third in the voting for the 1977 European Footballer of the Year. Among the international friendlies France played in preparation for the World Cup, their match against Italy in Naples, a 2–2 draw, was particularly significant for Platini as he beat Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff twice from direct free-kicks.
1978 and 1982 World Cups
Platini scored his 3rd (against Bulgaria), 4th (against Republic of Ireland), 6th (against Bulgaria) and 10th (against Argentina) in the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. At the 1978 World Cup, Platini was kept in check by Marco Tardelli’s implacable marking and Italy won 2–1. Drawn in a difficult group with Italy as well as hosts and eventual winners Argentina, France’s loss to the hosts effectively ensured their elimination; France did not survive the first round.
Platini was made captain of the French national side and made the number 10 jersey his own. Platini scored his 17thinternational goals against Republic of Ireland. One of his trademark free-kicks helped France defeat the Netherlands 2–0 in Paris, his 18th goal on November 18, 1981 in a crucial qualifying match for the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He also scored his 21stgoal against Kuwait and 22nd against West Germany in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
France unexpectedly reached the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup where they met West Germany in Seville for what proved to be one of the greatest matches in World Cup history and in a penalty shoot-out West Germany won 5–4.
In 1984, Platini captained France to success in the European Championship on home soil. His individual impact on the tournament was huge with nine of France’s 14 goals in just five games to become the top goal scorer in Euro 1984.
He scored the winner in France’s opening match against Denmark, and scored one “perfect” hat-trick against Belgium as France topped their first-round group with three wins out of three. In the dramatic semi-final in Marseille against Portugal, Platini scored the final goal of the match for a memorable 3–2 win in the last minute of extra time.
In the final against Spain at the Princes Stadium in Paris, Platini opened the scoring with a free kick-goal and a second goal from Bruno Bellone in injury time secured France’s first major title in international football.
1986 World Cup
In the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification matches Platini scored his 36th, 37th and 38th goals against Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia respectively. Later, at the 1986 World Cup, he contributed two important goals. The first was in their 2–0 victory over the defending champions Italy at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City. The second came during the quarter-final match against Brazil in Guadalajara, his 41st on his 31st birthday, which sent the game into a penalty shoot-out. France won 4–3. This goal was to be the last of his international career.
Platini made his last appearance for France on April 29, 1987, in a European Championship qualifier at home to Iceland. In 72 appearances for France from 1976 to 1987, including 49 appearances as captain, Platini scored 41 times, a record for the French national team, which has since only been surpassed by two men: Thierry Henry, after scoring his 42nd and 43rd goals on October 17, 2007, and Olivier Giroud, who scored his 41st and 42nd goals on October 7, 2020.
Platini’s last match came on November 27, 1988, when he came out of retirement for one day to play in an international friendly match representing Kuwait against the Soviet Union. Platini played a total of 21 minutes and completed the rare feat of appearing for more than one country at international level.
Club Career
Michel Francois Platini was born on June 21, 1955 in the Lorraine region as the son of Aldo and Anna. His father was a professional footballer and a long-time director for AS Nancy, the club where Michel started his professional career.
Michel Platini attracted attention at 16, in a Coupe Gambardella tournament match with an impressive display. He then joined his father’s club Nancy in September 1972. He was quick to make a big impression and scored a hat-trick in a match against Wittelsheim. Further outstanding displays earned him a place in the Nancy first team. His season finished on a positive note, and he made his league debut against Nimes on May 3, 1973.
In 1975, Nancy won promotion back to the French first division with Platini scoring 17 goals, a number of which were scored from free-kicks. With Nancy back in League 1, Platini’s military service reduced his availability for matches.
In 1976, Platini signed a two-year contract with Nancy, his first professional contract and won the first major trophy of his playing career, the 1978 French Cup final against Nice and scoring the only goal of the game.
Having set his mind on a transfer to Saint-Etienne, he signed a three-year contract with les Verts. Platini’s three years at Saint-Étienne were a mixed success, the club were unable to surpass the feats that had reached earlier.
Platini won the French league title in 1981 with Les Verts, but was on a losing Saint-Etienne side in two French Cup finals, in 1981 and 1982. He then joined Juventus and inherited the number 10 shirt from the recently departed Liam Brady. They reached the European Cup final, losing to Hamburger SV, but won the Italian Cup, the first of many club honours to follow for Platini in the ensuing seasons.
He won the Series A title with Juventus in 1984 and 1986, the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1984, the 1984 European Super Cup, the European Cup in 1985 and the 1985 Intercontinental Cup. He finished top scorer in Series A for three consecutive seasons, 1982/83, 1983/84, and 1984/85, and won a hat-trick of European Footballer of the Year awards, 1983 through 1985. He was also voted Player of the Year by World Soccer magazine in 1984 and 1985.
The 1985 European Cup final against Liverpool at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels should have been the crowning moment of Platini’s Juventus career, but was instead overshadowed by the Heysel Stadium disaster in which 39 people died, and 600 more were injured. Platini scored the only goal of the match from a penalty kick.
In the 1985 Intercontinental Cup final against Argentine’s juniors, Platini scored from a penalty during regulation time, also having another goal disallowed, and later assisted the equalizer; he subsequently netted the match-winning penalty and was named Man of the Match. Following the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Platini spent another season at Juventus before retiring from football in June 1987.
Coach, Manager and Administrator
Platini was named coach of the French national side on November 1, 1988, replacing Henri Michel. The focus of the team shifted to qualifying for the 1992 European Championship and France excelled winning all eight of their group matches.
After a record 19-match unbeaten run, Platini was named Manager of the Year by the World Soccer Awards. But a string of uninspiring performances, followed by France’s first-round elimination from the 1992 European Championships, led Platini to step down as coach.
Platini along with Fernand Sastre, were heads of the organizing committee for the 1998 FIFA World Cup held in France. He served on the UEFA Technical Development Committee from 1988 to 1990. He has been a member of the UEFA Executive Committee and European member of the FIFA Executive Committee since 2002.
He continued to climb the ranks of UEFA and FIFA football administration and in 2006, became a chairman of the FIFA Technical and Development Committee, while also being vice-president of the French Football Federation.
Platini contested for the UEFA presidency in 2007 and defeated Lennart Johansson, who held the post for the previous 16 years, by 27 votes to 23. Among his more contentious claims is that international transfer of players under 18 is in fact a form of illegal “child trafficking.”On February 18, 2009, Platini told the members of the European Parliament, “Paying a child to kick a ball is not that different from paying a child to work [...] in a factory,”
Individual Player Honours
Some of his honours include: French Player of the Year in 1976 and 1977; L’Equipe French Champion of Champions in 1977 and 1984; FIFA XI in 1979; FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 1982 and 1986; Ballon d’Or: 1983, 1984, 1985; Guerin Sportivo All-Star Team: 1983, 1984; Guerin d’Oro in 1983/84; IOC European Footballer of the Season in 1983/84 and 1984/85; UEFA European Championship Player of the Tournament in 1984; UEFA European Championship Top Scorer in 1984; UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament in 1984; European Cup Top Scorer in 1984/85 ;World Soccer Player of the Year in 1984 and 1985; Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player of the Match Award in 1985; FIFA World Cup All-Time Team in 1994; Super Onze d’Or in 1995; Planete Foot’s 50 Best Player of All Time in 1996; Venerdi’s 100 Magnificent in 1997; World Team of the 20th Century in 1998; French Player of the Century in 1999; RSSSF French National Team of All Time in 1999; Placar’s 100 Players of the Century in 1999 (#8); Guerin’Sportivo’s50 Greatest Players of the Century in 1999 (#9); France Football Player of the Century in 1999 (#5); World Soccer’s 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time in 1999 (#5); FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002; Golden Foot in 2004; FIFA 100 in 2004; UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll in 2004 (#9); Placar’s 100 World Cup Stars in 2005 (#19); AFS Top-100 Players of All-Time in 2007 (#13); English Football Hall of Fame in 2008 (voted All-Time Greatest European Footballer; Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2011; World Hall of Fame of Soccer in 2011; Globe Soccer Awards Player Career Award in 2012; Juventus Greatest XI of All Time in 2017; Ballon d’Or Dream Team (Bronze) in 2020; IFFHS All-time Men’s B Dream Team in 2021; IFFHS All-time Europe Men’s Dream Team in 2021.
(The author is an Associate Professor, International Scholar, winner of Presidential Awards and multiple National Accolades for Academic pursuits. He possesses a PhD, MPhil, and double MSc. His email is [email protected])