Aimé Étienne Jacquet (French pronunciation: [eme ʒakɛ]; born 27 November 1941) is a French former professional football player and manager. He was the manager of the France national team from 1993 until 1998.

He managed France to victory in the 1998 FIFA World Cup as the host nation, stepping down from his position immediately after the tournament.

Early life

Jacquet was born in Sail-sous-Couzan, Loire.[2] He began his career as an amateur player for his local club, US Couzan, while working in a factory.

Playing career

Jacquet as a player with Saint-Étienne in 1970

Scouted by Saint-Étienne, he joined Les Verts in 1960. One of the most successful clubs of the time, Saint-Étienne, won an impressive five league titles and three French Cups in his 11 years with the club. He also played for the French national team, playing two games in 1968. In 1973, he left Saint-Étienne for regional rivals Olympique Lyonnais, where he ended his career as a player.[citation needed]

Managerial career

Jacquet pursued a solid managerial career for several clubs in France and gained an impressive list of accolades, most notably for Bordeaux during the 1980s, leading them to three league titles, two French Cups, two European semi-finals and one-quarter-final. Dismissed by President Claude Bez in 1989, he left Bordeaux to hone his managerial skills with more modest teams like Montpellier,[3] and Nancy.[4][5][6][7]

In 1991, he accepted a position with the National Technical Department (DTN, Direction Technique Nationale).[8][9][10]

In 1992, he was appointed the assistant to then national team manager Gérard Houllier.[9]

France national team

After the France national team was knocked out of qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, finishing third of the group behind Sweden and Bulgaria, Jacquet was made the manager of the national team, but only provisionally.[11] After a promising series of friendly matches including a victory over Italy, his provisional status was upgraded to permanent.[citation needed]

Jacquet initially selected Eric Cantona as captain and made him the team's playmaker. Cantona was successfully establishing his career in the FA Premier League and was playing some of the best football of his career, but notoriously kicked a Crystal Palace fan in January 1995, which earned him a year-long suspension from all international matches.[12][13]

As Cantona was the key playmaker, Jacquet was forced to make major changes to the team in the wake of his suspension. Jacquet revamped the squad with some new blood and built it around Zinedine Zidane and other younger players while dropping Cantona, Jean-Pierre Papin, and David Ginola. Jacquet succeeded in helping France qualify for the Euro 96.[14][15][16]

Making it all the way to the semi-finals, Les Bleus managed to show they could survive without veterans such as Papin, Cantona, or Ginola. Jacquet himself stated that the team had done well without Cantona, and that he wanted to keep faith with the players who had taken them this far.[17]

1998 World Cup triumph

Jacquet in 1998.

In the months that followed the Euro 96, Jacquet honed his team's skills in a series of friendly matches. He adopted a very defensive strategy. The press began to criticize the team manager, calling his methods "paleolithic".[citation needed] [citation needed]

In June 1997 at Le Tournoi, cries of "Resign!" could be heard from the crowd as the French team finished third behind England and Brazil, only coming out ahead of Italy by virtue of goal difference. The media also continued to criticize Jacquet.[citation needed]

The media's distrust of Jacquet reached fever pitch in May 1998 when, instead of a list of 22 players meant to play in the World Cup, Jacquet gave a list of 28 players, causing the sports daily L'Équipe to write an editorial arguing that Jacquet was not the right man to lead the French team to victory.[citation needed]

A display at the Musée National du Sport, featuring a France 1998 jersey with Jacquet's name and a match ball used during the 1998 FIFA World Cup final.

However, all that changed when the team kicked off their 1998 FIFA World Cup campaign in the group stage. It was clear that though Jacquet's team was far from being the most flamboyant in the French team history, it was a perfectly well-oiled machine that neither injury, nor expulsions, nor suspensions, managed to stop. Advancing through the group stage with a perfect record, France faced a challenging path in the knockout phase. After overcoming Paraguay with a golden goal in the round of 16 and defeating Italy in a tense quarter-final penalty shootout, the hosts maintained their momentum by rallying to beat Croatia in the semi-finals. Driven by a resilient defense and the tactical discipline instilled by Jacquet, the team secured their place in the final, where they would face defending champion Brazil.

On 12 July 1998, France soundly beat Brazil 3–0 in the final, to become world champion for the first time in its history. Crucial to the win, Jacquet identified Brazil's defensive fragility at set-pieces, which allowed Zidane to capitalize by nodding two goals from corner kicks.[18]

Following the victory, Jacquet announced that he was leaving his position as manager of the France national team due to previous pressures and criticisms against him.[19] He then became technical director of French football in August 1998, a position which he held until his retirement in December 2006.[20]

Career statistics

Club

Jacquet (top row, second left) with AS Saint-Étienne, the Division 1 winning team of 1968.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[21][citation needed]
Club Season League Coupe de France Continental Other[n 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Saint-Étienne 1960–61 Division 1 2100––21
1961–62 0000––00
1962–63 Division 2 2100000021
1963–64 Division 1 2020–2060
1964–65 300000–30
1965–66 27210––282
1966–67 36520––385
1967–68 353604100454
1968–69 313402010383
1969–70 234813010355
1970–71 0000000000
1971–72 210000–21
1972–73 29341––334
Total 19223272914023226
Lyon 1973–74 Division 1 152113000193
1974–75 700010–80
Total 222114000273
Career total 214252831314025929

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[22]
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 196820
Total20

Managerial

Source:[21][23][citation needed]
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Lyon February 1976 July 1980 183654276035.52
Bordeaux July 1980 February 1989 42221911588051.90
Montpellier July 1989 February 1990 257513028.00
Nancy July 1990 July 1991 40121117030.00
France 17 December 1993 29 July 1998 5334163064.15
Total 723337189197046.61

Honours

As a player

Saint-Étienne

As a manager

Bordeaux

France

Individual

Orders

References

  1. 1 2 "Décret du 13 juillet 1998 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 13 July 1998 on promotion and appointment]. Official Journal of the French Republic (in French). 1998 (161). 14 July 1998. PREX9801876D. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Aimé Jacquet". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  3. ↑ Chaillié, Arnaud (27 November 2022). "Aimé Jacquet : que devient le sélectionneur de l'Équipe de France 1998 ?". www.programme-tv.net.
  4. ↑ Média, Prisma. "Aimé Jacquet - La biographie de Aimé Jacquet avec Voici.fr". Voici.fr.
  5. ↑ Chaillié, Arnaud (27 November 2022). "Aimé Jacquet : que devient le sélectionneur de l'Équipe de France 1998 ?". www.programme-tv.net.
  6. ↑ "Nancy : Sylvain Matrisciano, nouveau patron du centre de formation". Foot National. 13 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "Aimé Jacquet a 80 ans !". Orange Actualités. 27 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "Aimé Jacquet apprécie "le courage" de Gérard Houllier". Gentside Sport. 22 September 2010.
  9. 1 2 "ANG - Jacquet défend Houllier - Goal.com". 24 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "Entretien avec Aimé Jacquet, directeur technique national du football français". Le Monde.fr. 21 November 2002 – via Le Monde.
  11. ↑ Caffin, Vanessa (2006). Génération Zidane 1994-2006. Solar. ISBN 9782263042522.
  12. ↑ Thomsen, Ian (27 January 1995). "French Star's 'Stain' on English Soccer". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  13. ↑ Haylett, Trevor (28 January 1995). "Cantona banned until summer The Cantona Affair: France strip United playmaker of captaincy and will not consider him for internationals until next season". The Independent. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  14. ↑ Hodgson, Guy (11 June 1996). "Dugarry makes the difference". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  15. ↑ Hodgson, Guy (17 June 1996). "Euro '96: Clemente short of firepower". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  16. ↑ Hodgson, Guy (19 June 1996). "France banish the ghost of Bulgaria to reach last eight". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  17. ↑ FourFourTwo Great Footballers: Eric Cantona 198.
  18. ↑ "Classic Football: France 1998". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2006.. FIFA. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "Jacquet to become France technical director". ESPN Soccernet. 17 July 1998. Archived from the original on 17 April 1999. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  20. ↑ "Aimé JACQUET" (in French). French Football Federation. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  21. 1 2 "Aimé Jacquet" (in French). Pari-Et-Gagne.com. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  22. ↑ "Jacquet, Aimé". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  23. ↑ "French National Team coaches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  24. 1 2 Garin, Erik; Pierrend, José Luis (8 January 2015). "France – Footballer of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  25. ↑ "FORMER RESULTS". IFFHS.de. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "Décret du 31 décembre 2006 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 31 December 2006 on promotion and appointment]. Official Journal of the French Republic (in French). 2007 (1). 2 January 2007. PREX0609790D. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimé_Jacquet