AS Joeuf (France),
Nancy-Lorraine (France), St. Etienne (France), Juventus (Italy)
Honours
Juventus (1982-87)
Italian Cup, 1983
Italian League, 1984 & 1986
European Cup-Winners Cup, 1984
European Super Cup, 1984
European Cup, 1985
World Club Cup, 1985
Individual
World Player of the Year, 1984 & 1985
European Footballer of the Year, 1983, 1984 & 1985
Leading goalscorer, 1984 European Championships
Three times leading Italian League goalscorer
Voted France's premier sports personality, 1997
Voted Juventus' greatest-ever player, 1997
Manager
European Championships, 1992
Biography
Michel Platini (June 21, 1955, Jœuf, Département Meurthe-et-Moselle)
is a former French football player, widely regarded as one of
the most elegant midfielders of his generation.
Born in Lorraine by Italian descent, his father Aldo Platini and
his wife were Italian cooker, Platini started at French club
Nancy-Lorraine before moving on to Saint-Etienne, where he won
the league title in 1981. In 1982 he moved to Italian club side
Juventus, scoring 68 goals in 147 league games as a midfielder,
and being Serie A's top goalscorer three years in a row. Platini
helped the club win two league titles, the Italian Cup, the
European Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup.
Platini captained the French national team to European
Championship honours in 1984, becoming the top scorer of the
tournament with 9 goals.
Platini was one of the greatest passers of the ball in the
history of the game, and, despite nominally a midfielder, also
an outstanding goalscorer. In the words of Bobby Charlton, "he
could thread the ball through the eye of a needle as well as
finish." Platini was also a master of the free kick, which he
practised using a row of dummies during training.
He was voted European footballer of the year (Ballon d'or) an
unprecedented three times in succession, in 1983, 1984 and 1985.
Platini was also voted World Soccer Player of the Year in 1984
and 1985.
Platini was, together with François-Cyrille Grange, the lighter
of the Olympic Flame at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville,
France. He was also the head of the organizing committee for the
1998 World Cup, held in France.
