Michel Hidalgo

Michel Hidalgo

Personal information
Full name	Michel Hidalgo
Date of birth	22 March 1933 (1933-03-22) (age 78)
Place of birth	Leffrinckoucke, France
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
	US Normande
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1952–1954	Le Havre
1954–1957	Reims
1957–1966	Monaco
National team
1962	France	1	(0)
Teams managed
	Monaco (2nd team)
	Menton (player-coach)
	Monaco (2nd team)
	Directeur Technique régional (Sud-Ouest)
	France (assistant coach)
1976–1984	France
1982–1986	Directeur Technique National
1986–1991	Marseille (manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Michel Hidalgo (born 22 March 1933 in Leffrinckoucke in Nord, France) was a French football player and manager of the French national team.

Biography

Hidalgo grew up in Normandy, where he started playing football. He was named after Mexican patriot Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. He was champion of Normandie Juniors in 1952 with US Normande, before signing up to Le Havre's books for two seasons, later playing for Reims, with whom he played and scored a goal in the 1956 UEFA Champions League final 4–3 defeat by Real Madrid.

Under the wing of Rocher, who signed him for Monaco, he won two Ligue 1 titles and two national cup titles. Between 1964 and 1970, he presided the UNFP, a players' syndicate.

On 27 March 1976, he was appointed national team coach, replacing Stefan Kovacs and during a time when France were having difficulty in major tournaments. Included in his side was Michel Platini, who helped the side turn a new page in their book and get back to winning ways. In the 1982 FIFA World Cup he got to the semi-finals, where he lost to the German side on penalties. In 1984 he won the European Football Championship beating Spain.

After his victory, he passed the reins over to Henri Michel and got a job as the Technical Director, where he remained until 1986, afterwards choosing a managerial position at Marseille. He is considered an idol among the Marseille supporters

He strayed from the limelight after 1991, taking a sidelining role as a football pundit on "Demain, c'est foot", a football show on TMC Monte Carlo.

Playing career

• US Normande
• 1952–1954 : Le Havre AC
• 1954–1957 : Stade de Reims
• 1957–1966 : AS Monaco

Honours as player

• Champion de France : 1955 with Reims, 1961 & 1963 with AS Monaco
• Vice-champion of France : 1964 with AS Monaco
• Winner of Coupe de France : 1960 & 1963 with AS Monaco
• Finalist of the European Cup 1956 with Stade de Reims
• 1 cap for France in 1962

Managerial career

• AS Monaco (reserves)
• RC Menton (player-manager)
• AS Monaco (reserves)
• Directeur Technique régionale (South-West)
• (co-coaching) France A
• 1976–1984 : France A
• 1982–1986 : Directeur Technique National
• 1986–1991 : (manager) Olympique de Marseille

Managerial honours

• European Champion: 1984 with France
• FIFA World Cup: 4th place in 1982 with France

References

• (French) French Football Federation Profile

Preceded by Jupp Derwall

UEFA European Football Championship Winning Coach 1984

Succeeded by Rinus Michels

Persondata
Name	Hidalgo, Michel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	22 March 1933
Place of birth	Leffrinckoucke, France
Date of death
Place of death