Alain Giresse, the sad end

Alain Giresse has known everything or almost everything among the Girondins. Landed in the early 1970s, the midfielder had long had to be content to fight for the maintenance. But the arrival of Claude Bez at the head of the club at the Scapulaire was going to change the face of Bordeaux and his captain. The club was going to chain the titles and Alain Giresse becoming one of the best players in the world, second in the Ballon d'Or in 1982.

However, in 1986, after sixteen years at the club, Alain Giresse decided to leave Bordeaux to sign at Olympique de Marseille. Consequence of deep disagreements with Bordeaux leaders. “” Tapie had called me before the World Cup. I declined, at the end of the discussions. Then there have been disputes, clumsiness with the leaders, in short, situations that I did not accept, he said in a long interview to So Foot. I contacted OM to tell them that I came if they still wanted me. It was simple…. »»

And if the arrivals in the summer of José Touré, Jean-Marc Ferreri and Philippe Vercruysse, who represented the next generation in the French team, had Alain Giresse tick, the evil was deeper.

“I was wondering if Bordeaux did not intend to make it the next generation of the following season. There was that, and also other things….he blown. Why justify me? I will not go into details. What is I embarking in what if suddenly I'm talking about today? You will never have the end of the story. I remained faithful to this club which played the maintenance, and there, I did not bear that we question my morality or my way of behaving in certain situations. »»

Alain Giresse attacked on his return to Lescure

The European champion alongside Michel Platini or Jean Tigana was not long to regret his decision. “I would never have imagined leaving Bordeaux. The day I decided to go, I said to myself right after: 'But what did I do?' At home, I swung everything outside, the table, everything, he said. My wife said, 'But in what state you are?' She called Bez, but did not answer. It is said that I gave in to the sirens of Tapie. No. »»

And his return to Lescure in the sky and white jersey was even more painful. Consequently consequence of a violent tackle of Gernot Rohr. “That I am the victim of a former teammate, it is especially not very glorious for him. But it was not a surprise: in the match program, at number 8 – the one I wore at OM, there was not my name, just dotted lines. A caricaturist had drawn on Marseille 8 on a stretcher with the broken leg. The message was clear… ”, he remembered.