Jean-Pierre Papin

Lore & Background

Papin was included in the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest living footballers, published in 2004 for the centenary of the FIFA, signed by Pelé. He was named one of the best European footballers on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the UEFA in 2004. He is famous in particular for his first-time strikes from distance, his overhead kicks, and his volleys, which are known as Papinades. The nickname of JPP was given to him by supporters and journalists.

Trained at Jeumont, Papin signed his first professional contract in 1984 at Valenciennes. Recruited by Brugge, he won the Belgian Cup and went on to be selected for the French team for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Signed by Marseille, he experienced the pinnacle of his career as he won Ligue 1 titles with Marseille in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992; the Coupe de France in 1989; and reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 1991. In 1992, he left Olympique de Marseille for AC Milan in a record transfer; he won Serie A in 1994 and the UEFA Champions League.

He joined Bayern Munich, where he won the UEFA Cup in 1996. He returned to France, to Bordeaux, where he was a finalist in the Coupe de la Ligue in 1997 and 1998 and then ended his professional career at Guingamp. Capped 54 times, and captained 11 times, Papin played in the French team which reached the 1986 World Cup semifinal. France failed to qualify for either the 1988 European Championships or the 1990 World Cup but he was part of the team for the Euro 1992.

Injuries and the emergence of the Zinedine Zidane generation saw his international career come to an end in the mid-1990s. In 1996, after their eight-month-old daughter was shown to have serious cerebral lesions, Jean-Pierre and his wife set up an association 'Neuf de Coeur' (Nine of Hearts; Papin's shirt number was 9) to help others in that situation and, particularly, to find and apply methods to mentally and physically educate such children.

Reader's Guide

Papin was selected for the first time in the French team during the Toulon Tournament in 1985 in Marseille with the number 14, alongside Pascal Baills, Stéphane Paille, Gérald Passi, Franck Sauzée, Vincent Cobos and Jean-Christophe Thomas. The France team won the Toulon Tournament and successively defeated Spain (Jon Andoni Goikoetxea), Romania (Gheorghe Popescu), Ivory Coast (Joël Tiéhi) and England (Martin Allen). Papin finished as the tournament's top scorer.

He earned his first cap in a friendly match against Northern Ireland in February 1986 and appeared at the 1986 World Cup. He scored twice in four games: first during France opening game against Canada (1–0) and then during France's victory against Belgium (4–2), helping France finish third. He did not appear at the 1990 World Cup because France failed to qualify, but during the qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 1992 he finished second top scorer in the Qualifiers of the 1992 European Football Championship with nine goals behind Darko Pančev.

Papin who suffers from the aftermath of an ankle injury cannot prevent France from failing in the first round, despite scoring two goals in three games. The French football team, trained by Gérard Houllier, played in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers but got off to a bad start (2–0 defeat in Bulgaria), but a series of 6 wins against Austria (twice), Finland (twice), Sweden and Israel put them back at the top of the group and in a very favorable position for qualification with three rounds to go.

The French team, undermined by internal quarrels (Marseille-Paris rivalry), however collapsed in the final sprint by conceding a draw in Sweden (1–1 on a defensive error three minutes from the end) and during the two last games played at home, where they only had to beat Israel or not lose against Bulgaria, to score the ticket for the United States. The Blues lost against the weakest team in the group, Israel (2–3 on a goal by Atar 30 seconds from the end of the match), then against Bulgaria (1–2 on a goal by Emil Kostadinov two seconds the end of regulation time), this goal depriving France of participation in the World Cup.

Papin initially said goodbye to the Blues of which he was the captain after the elimination in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, before being convinced by Aimé Jacquet to return.

Did You Know?

• The term 'Papinade' was used to describe powerful volleys from difficult angles.
• Papin was elected as Club Brugge's greatest ever foreign player by supporters in 2008.