Acting
Jun 20, 1955
Joeuf, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France
Michel Platini
Acting
Biography
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 d'Or 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 Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1985 and became an Officer in 1998. As the president of UEFA in 2015 he was banned from involvement in football under FIFA's organisation, over ethics violations. The ban lasted until 2023. During his career, Platini played for the clubs Nancy, Saint-Étienne, 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 Juventus's victorious 1984–85 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 semi-finals 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 country's record goalscorer until 2007, and held the record for most goals scored (9) in the European Championship until being surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2021, despite only appearing in the 1984 tournament. Following his retirement as a player, Platini was the France national team coach from 1988 to 1992, and was the co-organizer 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 FIFA's Technical and Development Committee and vice-president of the French Football Federation. Michel François Platini was born on 21 June 1955 in Jœuf, Meurthe-et-Moselle, the son of Aldo and Anna (née Piccinelli), both of Italian ancestry. Anna's family has its roots in the province of Belluno, while Aldo's 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 long-time 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 doctor's verdict on Platini's breathing difficulties and weak heart ended any hopes Platini had of playing for his boyhood favorites. He then joined the reserve side of his father's club Nancy in September 1972, and became friends with team goalkeeper Jean-Michel Moutier. ... Source: Article "Michel Platini" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Feature Films (27)
How can a few crucial minutes in a football match change the life of an entire family? How do the "men in black" feel when they are attacked by supporters? Kill the Referee unveils the lives of several professional football referees at the EURO 2008 championship; amongst them, the English referee Howard Webb, who provoked incredible controversy when he gave a penalty to Austria just before the end of the match with Poland, and the Italian Roberto Rosetti, who refereed the final.
The Referees
In 1975 Dynamo Kyiv became the first Soviet team to win a major European trophy. The team’s rapid rise was remarkable and attributed to one man: Valeri Vasilievich Lobanovskyi. His technique as a manager is now a legend - not least for his imposing a fitness regime so brutal that his players looked upon the matches themselves as relaxing.
Lobanovskiy Forever
55 years ago, on October 1 1968, the first brand advertising spot appeared on the French television screen. Over the next three decades, thousands of creative little films would seduce and build our collective memory. Kitschy or cult spots, humor, slogans, music, stars, gimmicks, grand spectacle or sex appeal: during its golden age, how did advertising convince? Thierry Ardisson has brought together almost 400 advertising clips to relive the era of the conquest of minds and wallets.
L'Âge d'or de la pub
1986 FIFA World Cup Official Film. Mexico had just recovered from a devastating earthquake, but the nation put on a great tournament and Argentina, inspired by Maradona, justified "favourite" status. Eighty-six minutes of football magic from numerous world stars, including Diego Maradona, Gary Lineker, Michel Platini, Socrates, Rummenigge, Sanchez, Laudrup and many others. Michael Caine narrates this, the official FIFA coverage.
Hero
Television & Series (5)
Le Grand Échiquier is a French variety television program created and presented by Jacques Chancel. It aired at 8:30 pm on the first channel of the ORTF from January 12, 1972 to July 12, 1972, then on the second color channel of the ORTF from September 1972 to December 1974, and finally on Antenne 2 from January 1975 to December 21, 1989. The program returned to France 2 on December 20, 2018 and is hosted by Anne-Sophie Lapix.
Le Grand Échiquier
From power struggles to global politics, an exploration of FIFA reveals the organization's checkered history — and what it takes to host a World Cup.
FIFA Uncovered
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
Apostrophes
A journey into the story of Michel Platini, a legend of world football, told by Platini himself and by his most illustrious teammates and opponents.
