Michel Platini

Michel François Platini born 21 June 1955 is a French football administrator and former player and manager Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time Platini won the Ballon dOr three times in a row in 1983 1984 and 1985 and came seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century vote In recognition of his achievements he was named a Chevalier of the Légion dhonneur in 1985 and became an Officier in 1998 As the president of UEFA in 2015 he was banned from involvement in football under FIFAs organisation over ethics violations The ban will last until 2023 During his career Platini played for the clubs Nancy SaintÉtienne and Juventus Nicknamed Le Roi The King for his ability and leadership he was a prolific goalscorer he won the Serie A capocannoniere award three consecutive times between 1983 and 1985 and was the top scorer of Juventuss victorious 198485 European Cup campaign Platini was a key player 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 semifinals of the 1982 and 1986 World Cups Together with midfielders Alain Giresse Luis Fernández and Jean Tigana he formed the carré magique magic square of the French team in the 1980s Platini was his countrys record goalscorer until 2007 and held the record for most goals 9 scored in the European Championship until being surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021 despite only appearing in the victorious 1984 edition Following his retirement as a player Platini was the France national team coach for four years and was the coorganizer 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 FIFAs Technical and Development Committee and vicepresident of the French Football Federation Born in Jœuf in the Lorraine region Platini is the son of Aldo and Anna née Piccinelli both of Italian ancestry Annas family has its roots in the province of Belluno while Aldos father Francesco Platini was an immigrant from Agrate Conturbia in the province of Novara and settled in France shortly after the end of the First World War Aldo was a professional footballer and a longtime director for AS Nancy the club where Michel started his professional career After performing poorly in the final of a 1969 young footballers competition Michel Platini attracted attention at 16 years of age in a Coupe Gambardella tournament match with an impressive display for Jœuf juniors against a Metz junior side Platini was called up for a trial with Metz but missed out on the opportunity due to injury and was not immediately invited back after the Metz coach moved to another club He returned to regional league football with Jœuf Another trial at Metz went horribly wrong when a breathing test on a spirometer caused Platini to faint The doctors verdict on Platinis breathing difficulties and weak heart ended any hopes Platini had of playing for his boyhood favorites He then joined the reserve side of his fathers club Nancy in September 1972 and became friends with team goalkeeper JeanMichel Moutier Source Article Michel Platini from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30