Jacques, Aimee

Emé Jacquet was born in the village of Sel-sous-Cousan . He began his career at a local amateur football club, combining training with work in a factory. In 1959, the young midfielder was spotted by agents of the country's leading, at that time, Saint-Etienne club. By signing his first professional contract with this club in 1961 , over the 11 years of his career, Jacques won five league titles and three French Cups with Saint-Etienne . Emé Jacquet also twice went on the field in a T-shirt of the national team . In 1973, Jacques moved to Lyon , where he completed his playing career three years later.

Having switched to coaching, Jacques achieved the greatest success at the club level with Bordeaux , having won three championships and two French Cups together with the Girondins and successfully speaking in European competitions. After Bordeaux , Aimee Jacquet led the more modest Montpellier and Nancy .

In 1992, Jacques was appointed assistant Gerard Houlier in the French team . After the failure of the national team in the qualifying round for the 1994 World Cup and the resignation of Gerard Houlier on December 17, 1993, Aime Jacquet became the acting head coach of the “three-color”, and when the national team held a series of successful friendly matches, he was approved in office.

Continuing to call on experienced football players such as Eric Cantona , David Ginola , Paul Le Guen , Jean-Pierre Papin in the qualifying tournament for the 1996 European Championship, Jacques drove a younger team to England : Zinedine Zidane , Yuri Dzhorkaeff , Christian Karamboe , Lilian Thuram . At the championship, the French reached the semifinals, losing in the penalty shootout of the Czech national team .

On August 9, 1996, the French Football Federation extended the contract to Aimee Jacquet to the 1998 World Cup . The coach decided to say goodbye to many experienced players, which caused dissatisfaction of the fans and criticism from the press.

In May 1998, instead of a list of 22 players to participate in the World Cup, Jacques presented 28 names and again provoked disapproval among the French print media.

Nevertheless, the cohesion of the team, the will to win and, of course, the support of their native stands helped the “blue” for the first time in their history to become world champions , on July 12, 1998, Brazil scored sensationally 3-0 in the final, the midfielders attracted by the balls Jacques in the national team - Zinedine Zidane and Emmanuel Petit .

After the World Cup , according to a previously announced decision, Aimee Jacquet left the post of head coach, becoming the technical director of the French team . In this post, he worked until 2006 .

As a player

Saint Etienne

• Champion of France 1963/64, 1966/67, 1967/68, 1968/69, 1969/70
• French Cup Winner 1962, 1968, 1970

As a trainer

Bordeaux

• Champion of France 1983/84, 1984/85, 1986/87
• French Cup Winner 1986, 1987

France national team

• World Champion 1998

• Profile on the site of the French Football Federation