One of the great football playmakers the game has seen.His superb passing , skillful free kicks and decisive scoring instinct made the French international the star and heartbeat of every football team he played for.
- Platini
Platini's ability to read the game was second to none, he was a strong all round player with no shortcomings.For a midfield player he had a terrific goalscoring record amassing 368 goals in a football career spanning 680 games.
Football Info.
Platini's football career began at Nancy,before he moved to St-Etienne where he won his first domestic league championship.The rising star left France to play for Juventus.His greatest success awaited him in Italian football,and in four sparkling seasons he lead the Old Lady to a host of football trophies.Twice winners of Serie A, he also won European Cup and European Super Cup medals along with the Coppa Italia.He also topped the goal scoring charts in Serie A for three seasons.
The French National team came to life under the guidance of Platini in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups,where they twice reached the semi-finals,only to be undone by Germany on both occasions.His finest moment came when he inspired them to a European Championship victory on home soil in 1984.Platini scored a superb free kick in the 2-0 defeat of Spain in the final.In 72 internationals he scored 41 goals.
Top Football Awards
European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or) 1983,1984,1985
World Soccer's Player of the Year 1984,1985
Ordre National Du Merite 1994
Football highlights
Appeared for France in the1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
Juventus paid £1.2 million for him in 1982
Was the leading scorer in the 1984 European Championships in France with 9 goals in 5 games.
Scored a penalty, the only goal of the game against Liverpool in 1985 European Champions Cup final.
Turned down the chance in 1996 to have the new World Cup Stadium named after him .It became the Stade De France.
In January 2007 he became president of UEFA
