Manuel Amoros

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  Manuel Amoros was born on the 1st of February 1962, in Nîmes, in the Gard department of southern France. His parents were Spanish, and they had left Spain to escape the regime of Francisco Franco. The boy grew up to wear the shirt of some of French football's biggest clubs and of the national team itself. How many times would he pull on that national shirt? And what titles would follow him from the pitch into a life as a coach on two different continents?

• 2. A Fixture for France

  ›

  Eighty-two caps mark Amoros's career for France, all of them earned playing right-back, the defensive position on the right side of the pitch. He played at the FIFA World Cup finals of 1982 and 1986, and at the UEFA European Championship finals of 1984 and 1992. The 1982 World Cup brought Amoros the FIFA award for Best Young Player, his first mark of individual recognition. In 1984, France won the European Championship outright, with Amoros in the squad. Two years later, at the 1986 World Cup, France finished third. Amoros collected a run of individual honors that same year. They included the Onze d'Argent, the French Player of the Year award, and a place on the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. He also made the FIFA XI in 1986, then the World XI in both 1986 and 1987. Onze Mondial selected him three years running, in 1986, 1987, and 1988. Those international honors ran alongside a separate haul of trophies picked up season after season with his clubs.

• 3. Silverware with Monaco and Marseille

  ›

  Monaco fielded Amoros for two Division 1 championship seasons, in 1981-82 and 1987-88, along with a Coupe de France win in 1984-85. He then moved to Marseille, where the club won three straight Division 1 titles: 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1991-92. Marseille also reached the 1990-91 UEFA Champions League final as runner-up, before winning the tournament outright in 1992-93. Those European nights with Marseille marked his last major trophies as a player. A different kind of appointment reached him years later, away from any club he had played for.

• 4. From the Pitch to the Touchline

  ›

  In June 2010, Amoros took charge of the Comoros Islands national team, coaching the side until that September. He returned to management in January 2012, appointed head coach of Benin's national team. The job had belonged to Edme Codjo, who had led Benin's squad since August 2011, before Amoros took over.