Michel Hidalgo

Michel Hidalgo

Personal information
Date of birth	(1933-03-22) 22 March 1933
Place of birth	Leffrinckoucke, France
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	US Normande
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1952–1954	Le Havre
1954–1957	Reims
1957–1966	Monaco
International career
1962	France	1	(0)
Managerial career
	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 (Director of football)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michel Hidalgo (French pronunciation: ​[mi.ʃɛl i.dal.go]; born 22 March 1933) is a French former football player and manager. He was the coach of the French national team from 1976 to 1984.

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 European Cup 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 March 27 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

• French Division 1 : 1955 with Reims, 1961 & 1963 with AS Monaco
• Vice-French Division 1 : 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

• UEFA European Championship: 1984 with France
• FIFA World Cup: 4th place in 1982 with France
• Named French Manager of the Year in 1982
• Named World Soccer Magazine World Manager of the Year in 1984

References

• French Football Federation Profile (French)

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Jupp Derwall	UEFA European Championship Winning Coach 1984	Succeeded by Rinus Michels