Aimé Jacquet facts for kids
Jacquet in 2005
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aimé Étienne Jacquet | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 November 1941 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sail-sous-Couzan, France | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 1958–1960 | Sail-sous-Couzan | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 1960–1973 | Saint-Étienne | 192 | (23) | ||||||||||
| 1973–1975 | Lyon | 22 | (2) | ||||||||||
| Total | 214 | (25) | |||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||
| 1968 | France | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||
| 1976–1980 | Lyon | ||||||||||||
| 1980–1989 | Bordeaux | ||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Montpellier | ||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Nancy | ||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | France (assistant) | ||||||||||||
| 1993–1998 | France | ||||||||||||
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Honours
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Aimé Étienne Jacquet (born 27 November 1941) is a French former professional football player and manager. He is famous for coaching the French national team to win the 1998 FIFA World Cup. This was France's first ever World Cup title, and it happened in their home country.
Contents
Aimé Jacquet's Life and Career
Aimé Jacquet was born in Sail-sous-Couzan, a town in France. He started playing football as an amateur for his local club, US Couzan. At the same time, he worked in a factory.
Playing Days
A famous club called Saint-Étienne noticed his talent. He joined them in 1960. Saint-Étienne, also known as Les Verts (The Greens), was one of the best clubs at that time. During his 11 years there, Jacquet helped them win five league titles and three French Cups.
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He also played a couple of times for the French national team, known as Les Bleus (The Blues). However, the national team wasn't very strong back then, so his international playing career didn't last long. In 1973, he moved to a rival club, Lyon, where he finished his playing career.
Becoming a Football Manager
After retiring as a player, Jacquet became a football manager. He managed several clubs across France. He had a very successful time managing Bordeaux in the 1980s. He led them to win three league titles and two French Cups. They also reached the semi-finals of European competitions twice.
After leaving Bordeaux, he managed other teams like Montpellier and Nancy. In 1991, he joined the National Technical Department for French football.
Managing the National Team
In 1992, Jacquet became the assistant manager for the French national team. The team faced a big challenge when they failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. After this, Jacquet was made the temporary manager.
He led the team in some friendly matches, including a win against Italy. Because of these good results, he became the permanent manager.
At first, Jacquet chose Eric Cantona as the team captain and main playmaker. Cantona was playing very well at the time. However, an incident in January 1995 led to Cantona being suspended from international matches for a year.
This suspension forced Jacquet to make big changes. He brought in younger players like Zinedine Zidane and others. He decided not to bring back older stars like Cantona, Jean-Pierre Papin, and David Ginola. Jacquet's new team successfully qualified for the Euro 96.
In Euro 96, Les Bleus reached the semi-finals. This showed everyone that the team could succeed without their famous veteran players. Jacquet believed in the new players who had brought them so far.
The 1998 World Cup Victory
After Euro 96, Jacquet continued to prepare his team. He focused on a strong defensive strategy. Some people in the media and fans criticized his methods, calling them old-fashioned.
In June 1997, during a tournament called Le Tournoi, some fans even shouted for him to resign. The French team finished third in that tournament, which added to the criticism.
The media's doubts about Jacquet grew even stronger just before the 1998 World Cup. He announced a list of 28 players instead of the final 22. A major sports newspaper even wrote that he was not the right person to lead France to victory.
However, everything changed when the World Cup began. Jacquet's team might not have been the flashiest, but they were a very strong and organized team. They overcame injuries, expulsions, and suspensions.
On 12 July 1998, France played Brazil in the Final. Jacquet had noticed that Brazil's defense was weak during corner kicks. He told his players about this, and Zinedine Zidane scored two goals from corner kicks. France won the final 3–0, becoming World Cup champions for the first time!
After this amazing victory, Jacquet announced he was stepping down as manager. He explained that the pressure and criticism he faced had been too much. He then became the technical director for French football in August 1998, a role he held until he retired in December 2006.
Honors
As a player
Saint-Étienne
- Division 2: 1962–63
- Division 1: 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70
- Trophée des Champions: 1967, 1968, 1969
- Coupe de France: 1967–68, 1969–70
As a manager
Bordeaux
- Division 1: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87
- Coupe de France: 1985–86, 1986–87
- Trophée des Champions: 1986
France
Individual Awards
- French Manager of the Year: 1981, 1984, 1998
- French Manager of the Century
- IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 1998
- Onze d'Or Coach of the Year: 1998
Orders
Images for kids
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Jacquet (top row, second left) with the AS Saint-Étienne Le Championnat winning team of 1968.
See also
In Spanish: Aimé Jacquet para niños
