Dominique Rocheteau

Lore & Background

Born in Saintes, Charente-Maritime, Rocheteau began his professional career with AS Saint-Étienne. He was a sinuous and incisive outside right nicknamed l'Ange Vert ('The Green Angel'). He played only the last eight minutes of the 1976 European Cup Final, which Saint-Étienne lost 1–0 to Bayern Munich. He won three Division 1 titles (1974–1976) and one Coupe de France with Saint-Étienne. He transferred to Paris Saint-Germain in 1980, winning one Division 1 title (1986) and two Coupes de France (1982–1983). In 1987, he moved to Toulouse FC, playing two seasons before retiring in 1989. His most memorable football moment was his 107th-minute decisive goal in the second leg of the 1975–76 European Cup quarter-final against Dynamo Kyiv.

Reader's Guide

Rocheteau earned 49 caps for France from 1975 to 1986, scoring 15 goals. He played in the 1978, 1982, and 1986 World Cups. At the 1978 World Cup, he played two matches and scored once; France were eliminated in the group stage. In 1982, he played four matches and scored twice, starting in the semi-final defeat against West Germany and converting his penalty in the shoot-out. In 1986, he scored one goal and made four assists; he played four matches, including the quarter-final against Brazil (injured and substituted during extra-time, not partaking in the penalty shootout), but did not play in the semi-final against West Germany. He was part of the UEFA Euro 1984 winning team but missed the final due to injury.

Did You Know?

• Rocheteau grew up in Étaules, Charente-Maritime, where his father and grandfather ran an oyster farm, later taken over by his brother Antony.
• After retirement, he briefly became a sports agent for David Ginola and Reynald Pedros, then headed the National Ethics Committee of the French Football Federation in 2002.
• He has been noted for far-left views and associated with the Ligue communiste révolutionnaire and Lutte Ouvrière.
• In 1995, he played a supporting fictional character in Maurice Pialat's film Le Garçu, starring Gérard Depardieu.