Franck Sauzée

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Franck Gaston Henri Sauzée (born 28 October 1965) is a French former professional footballer and manager. Throughout his playing career, he played as either a midfielder or defender, representing the France national team on 39 occasions between 1988 and 1993, scoring nine goals, and captaining the team several times. He achieved great success at club level during the same period, winning the 1993 UEFA Champions League Final and three league titles with Marseille. Later in his career he earned great plaudits for his performances for Scottish club Hibernian, whom Sauzée subsequently managed for a short period. Since ending his active involvement in professional football, Sauzée has worked as a football pundit for French television networks.

Club career

Sochaux

Born in Aubenas, Ardèche, Sauzée began his professional career with Sochaux, and made his league debut as a 17-year-old in a match against FC Rouen in August 1983.<ref name = "j132">Template:Harvnb</ref> The club were relegated to Ligue 2 in 1987, but won promotion back to Ligue 1 the following season.<ref name = "j132"/> Sauzee also played in the 1988 Coupe de France Final, which Sochaux lost on penalties to FC Metz, during that promotion season.<ref name = "j132"/>

Marseille (first spell)

Sauzée was transferred in 1988 to Marseille, where he enjoyed great success. During his first two-year spell, the club won the French league championship in both seasons and the Coupe de France in 1989.<ref name = "j132"/>

Monaco

Sauzée then played for Monaco in one season, 1990–91.<ref name = "j132"/> He helped the club, who were managed by Arsène Wenger, win the Coupe de France for the second time in Sauzée's career.<ref name = "j132"/> In his absence, Marseille reached the 1991 European Cup Final, but lost on penalties to Red Star Belgrade.Template:Citation needed

Marseille (second spell)

Sauzée returned to Marseille in 1991, and continued to enjoy great success. The club won the 1992 league championship and with it entry to the European Cup, a competition that no French club had ever won.<ref name = "j132"/> This was to change, however, as Marseille defeated AC Milan 1–0 in the 1993 UEFA Champions League Final. Sauzée had earlier scored a goal in a key group match against Rangers that helped secure their place in the Final.<ref name = "durrant">Football / European Champions' League: Durrant's strike keeps Rangers in contention Template:Webarchive, The Independent, 8 April 1993.</ref> Sauzée was widely noted at this time for his shooting power from midfield,<ref name = "durrant"/><ref>Just a Sporting Chance, New York Times, 21 April 1993.</ref> a skill that he used with great effect against Marseille's rivals Paris-Saint Germain in a top-of-the-table clash in May 1993.Template:Citation needed

The club's success was largely overshadowed by a match fixing scandal.<ref>Football: Scandal leaves a stain on the white shirt of Marseille, The Independent, 13 July 1993.</ref> Marseille had also won the 1993 league championship, but were stripped of their title after club president Bernard Tapie was found guilty of bribing one of Marseille's opponents.<ref>Match fixing: a history, The Observer, 8 January 2006.</ref> It also meant that Marseille were not allowed to defend the European Cup the following season.<ref name = "j133">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Atalanta

The match fixing scandal at Marseille also had the consequence that the squad started to break up, with Sauzée being transferred to Serie A club Atalanta.<ref name = "j133"/> This spell was unsuccessful, however, as coach Francesco Guidolin was sacked after just 10 games, while Sauzée himself only scored one goal and made 16 appearances.<ref name = "j134">Template:Harvnb</ref> The club eventually finished second bottom of the league and were consequently relegated to Serie B.<ref name = "j134"/>

Hibernian

Despite his success in France he is probably most highly regarded by the supporters of Scottish club Hibernian, for whom he was club captain from 1999 until the end of his playing career in 2002. Under his guidance as captain, Hibernian regained their place in the Scottish Premier League and reached the 2001 Scottish Cup Final. Hibs also finished third in the league in 2001, thereby qualifying for the UEFA Cup.Template:Citation needed He was shortlisted for SPFA Player of the Year in 2001.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sauzée is an Easter Road legend and is known as "Le God" by the Hibs fans,<ref name = "Irvine">Welsh, Irvine. Only one Sauzee, The Guardian, 22 May 2009.</ref> who voted him as their all time cult hero in a Football Focus poll carried out in 2005.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Sauzée particularly enjoyed Edinburgh derby matches against Hearts and was unbeaten in nine derby games as player and manager. (Although Hearts did beat Hibs in a game when Sauzee was absent in May 2000) <ref name = "Irvine"/><ref>Franck Sauzee Record vs Heart of Midlothian, London Hearts Supporters Club</ref> He scored in the 3–0 "Millennium derby" win at Tynecastle, and he also scored a headed goal in a 3–1 win while being knocked unconscious by an opponent's challenge.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

International career

Sauzée won 39 caps for France between 1988 and 1993, scoring nine goals.<ref name = "france">Template:In langSAUZEE Frank, French Football Federation.</ref> He served as the captain of the national side in nine of those matches,<ref name = "france"/><ref name = "Scots return"/> and played in the 1992 European Championship Finals. He was also part of the France under-21 team that won the 1988 European Championship. What proved to be Sauzée's last match for the France senior team ended in great disappointment, however, as the team were defeated 2–1 by Bulgaria at the Parc des Princes.<ref name = "bulgaria"/> The defeat meant that France failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup,<ref name = "bulgaria">Template:In lang17/11/1993 – Qualification Coupe du Monde, French Football Federation.</ref> despite the side containing other notable players such as Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps and Jean-Pierre Papin.<ref name = "Scots return">Sauzée plans Scots return, Scotland on Sunday, 29 January 2006.</ref>

Managerial career

After the departure of manager Alex McLeish to Rangers in December 2001, Sauzée was appointed manager of Hibernian.<ref name = "appointed">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was only the second non-Scot to manage the club, and the first since 1919. The appointment came as something of a surprise because the Hibs board of directors had only met the previous day to discuss possible replacements for McLeish.<ref name = "appointed"/> Sauzée, who had been suffering from an achilles tendon injury in the weeks beforehand, announced his retirement from playing in an effort to concentrate on his new job.<ref name = "appointed"/><ref name = "no fears">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

His time in charge was unsuccessful. Hibs only won one match in 15,<ref name = "je ne regrette">NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN, Sunday Herald, 11 May 2008.</ref> and none in the 2001–02 Scottish Premier League.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A win for last-placed club St Johnstone apparently prompted his sacking in February 2002, after 69 days as Hibs manager.<ref name = "no fears"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After his sacking, Sauzée stated that he had no fear that Hibs would be relegated.<ref name = "no fears"/> This confidence was justified as Hibs defeated St Johnstone 3–0 in Bobby Williamson's first match in charge,<ref>Murray ends famine, The Guardian, 3 March 2002.</ref> and the club comfortably avoided relegation. The extremely brief nature of his tenure meant that it was not proven whether Sauzée would have been a good manager or not.<ref name = "Irvine"/> Many Hibs fans, including former player Alan Gordon, wrote to The Scotsman newspaper to voice their disapproval of Hibs' treatment of Sauzée.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In September 2011 Ted Brack's There's Only One Sauzée,<ref name = "There's Only One Sauzée">Ted Brack 'There's Only One Sauzée' on Amazon.co.uk 27 September 2011.</ref> a book celebrating Franck Sauzée's time at Hibernian, was published by Black and White Publishing.

Commentator

Sauzée returned to his native France after leaving Hibernian, and has since worked as a football pundit on French television.<ref name = "je ne regrette"/> He initially worked for Canal+, a position he held for six years.<ref name = "je ne regrette"/> Besides providing analysis for televised matches, Sauzée also appeared on a Monday night football talk show.<ref name = "Scots return"/> Sauzée left Canal+ in 2008 to take a similar position with Orange, who had acquired rights to cover Ligue 1 matches.<ref>Template:In langFranck Sauzée quitte Canal+ pour Orange TV, Télé 7 Jours, 1 August 2008.</ref> In the summer of 2012, he returned to Canal+.

Career statistics

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sauzée goal.

citation

CitationClass=web }}</ref>
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	19 November 1988	Partizan Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Template:Fb	2–1	2–3	1990 FIFA World Cup qualiification
2	28 March 1990	Nepstadion, Budapest, Hungary	Template:Fb	3–1	3–1	Friendly
3	20 February 1991	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Template:Fb	1–1	3–1	UEFA 1992 Euro qualifying
4	30 March 1991	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Template:Fb	1–0	5–0	UEFA 1992 Euro qualifying
5				2–0
6	14 August 1991	Stadion Miejski, Poznań, Poland	Template:Fb	1–1	5–1	Friendly
7	28 July 1993	Stade Michel d'Ornano, Caen, France	Template:Fb	1–0	3–1	Friendly
8	22 August 1993	Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden	Template:Fb	1–0	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	13 October 1993	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Template:Fb	1–1	2–3	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Sochaux

• Division 2: 1987–88<ref name = "lequipe"/>
• Coupe de France runner-up: 1987–88<ref name = "lequipe"/>

Marseille

• Division 1: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92<ref name = "lequipe"/>
• Coupe de France: 1988–89<ref name = "lequipe"/>
• UEFA Champions League: 1992–93<ref name = "lequipe"/>

Monaco

• Coupe de France: 1990–91<ref name = "lequipe"/>

Strasbourg

• Coupe de France runner-up: 1994–95<ref name = "lequipe"/>
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1995<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Hibernian

• Scottish First Division: 1998–99
• Scottish Cup runner-up: 2000–01<ref name = "lequipe"/>

France U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1988<ref name = "lequipe"/>

References

Sources

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:FFF player
• Template:UEFA player