Thierry Gilardi facts for kids

Thierry Gilardi was a famous French sports commentator. He was born on July 26, 1958, and passed away on March 25, 2008. He was well-known for his exciting commentary on football matches.

About Thierry Gilardi

Thierry Gilardi was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. His family had roots in Italy. From a young age, Thierry loved sports. He started reading the sports newspaper L'Équipe when he was just six years old.

He was especially passionate about Rugby Union. He began playing rugby at age 11. He played for the Saint-Germain-en-Laye rugby school. He continued playing the sport until he was 28 years old.

Thierry was married and had three children. Besides his work as a journalist, he also helped lead a rugby club. In the early 1990s, he was the president of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye rugby club. Later, from 1997, he became the vice-president of the Stade Français rugby club.

Thierry's Career Journey

Thierry Gilardi studied at a special school called the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris. He started his career in journalism in 1982. He had an internship at France Inter, a radio station. He later worked on football programs there.

Even though he loved rugby, he often worked on football shows. He once said, "Football is my job; rugby is my passion." He was happy to cover any sport.

From 1987 until he passed away, Thierry was a very busy person in French television. He commented on games, presented shows, and edited many sports programs. He also worked behind the scenes. He was in charge of sports programs at a French TV channel called Canal+. He was the head of football from 1997 to 1999. Then, he became the main editor for sports from 1999 to 2001.

In 2005, he moved to another big TV channel, TF1. There, he took over presenting the Sunday show Téléfoot. He also became the main commentator for important matches. These included games in the UEFA Champions League and all matches for the French national football team. He also commentated on the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He worked alongside Jean-Michel Larqué for these big events.

From September 2005 to June 2006, he also co-hosted a morning show called LCI Morning. In 2007, he went back to commentating on rugby. He covered matches for the Rugby World Cup on TF1. He also worked on a show called Télérugby.

You might have also heard his voice in video games! He was a commentator for the FIFA football video games. These games are made by Electronic Arts.

His last football match for TF1 was on March 4, 2008. It was a Champions League game between Olympique Lyonnais and Manchester United. His very last TV show was Téléfoot on March 23, 2008.

Thierry's Passing

On March 24, 2008, Thierry Gilardi felt unwell after having dinner with friends. He had a heart attack at his home. Paramedics tried to help him and took him to the hospital. Sadly, his health got much worse during the day.

Thierry Gilardi passed away at around 4 p.m. on March 25, 2008. He was 49 years old. This happened just one day before he was supposed to commentate on a friendly football match between France and England.

The sports world in France was very sad. Players wore black armbands and held a minute of silence to remember him. Franck Ribéry, a French football player, even showed a tribute to Thierry after scoring a goal. He received a yellow card for taking off his shirt to show his message.

Jean-Michel Larqué, who was a good friend of Thierry, was too upset to commentate on the match.

Thierry Gilardi's funeral was held on March 31, 2008. Many famous sports and TV personalities attended to say goodbye. He was buried in the cemetery of Montfort-l'Amaury.