Didier Roustan (born 10 October 1957) is a French sports journalist who has presented and commentated for multiple French football channels, and currently works for

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...

television channel. In 1984, he was the temporary main presenter of the French football programme ''

Téléfoot ''Téléfoot'' is a French football programme produced by TF1 Production for TF1. The programme was created by Pierre Cangioni in 1977 to show French Division 1 highlights. Téléfoot now covers France international matches, European club ...

'', during which time he commentated on

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

's victory at

UEFA Euro 1984 The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France from 12 to 27 June 1984. It was the seventh UEFA European Championship, a competition held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. At the time, only eight countries ...

Personal life

Didier Roustan was born in

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (french: link=no, Afrique-Équatoriale française), or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are ...

(now

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

). His mother is from

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, and worked for

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

. Roustan grew up in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

, France.

Career

Roustan played youth football for

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 3, ...

, but was suspended at the age of 17 after an altercation with a trainer. At the age of 18, Roustan joined

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is par ...

for an

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

. He was chosen for the role by

Georges de Caunes Louis Georges Gustave de Caunes (26 April 1919 – 28 June 2004), professionally known as Georges de Caunes, was a French television and radio presenter, journalist, writer and producer whose career spanned over six decades in French language telev ...

. His internship was for three months, but Roustan stayed at TF1 for 13 and a half years. At the age of 21, he featured on TF1 football programme ''

''. In 1979, Roustan commentated on a match between

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, making him the youngest Frenchman to commentate on a France senior team match. Roustan was the temporary presenter of ''Téléfoot'' in June 1984, before being replaced by

Thierry Roland Thierry José Roland (; 4 August 1937 – 16 June 2012) was a French sports commentator who was France's leading football commentator for 59 years. He began his career as a radio journalist for the ORTF when he was just 16 years old. Roland then ...

. Roustan is remembered for his commentary at

, which was won by France. In 1989, Roustan joined

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

, where he worked on the 52-minute programme ''Mag Max''. Roustan left TF1 in 1989 after a disagreement with TF1 shareholder and

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

president

Bernard Tapie Bernard Roger Tapie (; 26 January 1943 – 3 October 2021) was a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Minister of City Affairs in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy. Life and career Tapie was bor ...

about TF1's coverage of Marseille matches. After deciding to go travelling for three years, Roustan later joined

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...

in 1993. He worked on a France 2 sports betting programme with

Basile Boli Basile Boli (born 2 January 1967) is a Ivorian-born French former professional footballer who played as a defender, and a current television sports presenter. He spent the majority of his career with Auxerre and Marseille before ending his ca ...

Emmanuel Petit Emmanuel Laurent Petit (born 22 September 1970) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder at club level for Arsenal, Barcelona, Monaco, and Chelsea. He represented France at international level in two FIFA ...

and

Louise Ekland Louise Ekland (born 22 July 1978) is a British television presenter active on the French media. After presenting on France Télévisions, BFM TV and the M6 Group, she joined France 3 in 2017. Television career From 2005 to 2006, Louise Ekland p ...

. From 2004 to 2006, Roustan worked as a commentator for ''Foot!'',

TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...

's football programme. He commentated on

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

, and French national football matches. Roustan also worked as a radio commentator for RTL for many years, before leaving the station in 2019. He now works for

. Roustan said that fellow sports journalist

Jean Raynal Jean Raynal (18 August 1929 – January 2015) was a French sports journalist, who worked for Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française and TF1. He commentated on football, rugby, basketball, and the Olympic Games. He was nicknamed ''M ...

was his inspiration. Roustan is nicknamed ''

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

'', as he is sceptical of the role of money in football. Aside from commentating and presenting, Roustan set up a monthly football magazine called ''United Colours of Football'' in 1993. In 1995, he helped to set up International Association of Professional Footballers, the first world union of footballers, working alongside

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

and

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

. Roustan suggested to Cantona and Maradona that each of them should contribute $7,000 to support the new union, and the union started with 48 members including Cantona, Maradona, and

Gianluca Vialli Gianluca Vialli (; born 9 July 1964) is an Italian former football manager and player who played as a striker. Since retiring, he has gone into management, punditry and worked previously as a commentator for Sky Sport Italia. He is currently ...

. In 1997, Roustan organised an International Association of Professional Footballers charity match between Europe and Rest of the World. The match featured Cantona, Maradona,

René Higuita José René Higuita Zapata (; born 27 August 1966) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was nicknamed ''El Loco'' ("The Madman") for his high-risk ' sweeper-keeper' playing style and his flair for the dram ...

Gus Poyet Gustavo Augusto Poyet Domínguez (; born 15 November 1967) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former footballer. He is currently the head coach of the Greece national football team. Poyet played as a midfielder and began his caree ...

Rubén Sosa Ruben Sosa Ardaiz (born 25 April 1966) is a Uruguayan former professional football forward. He was a member of the Uruguay national team and a plethora of clubs around the world. Club career Born in Montevideo, Sosa started his career in Danu ...

, and

Giovane Élber Élber de Souza (born 23 July 1972), commonly known as Giovane Élber, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer in various clubs, Élber's career was mostly spent in Germany, where he repres ...

. The union ended in 1998, in part due to the recreation of FIFPro. Roustan also created the ''Foot Citoyen'' social project, which was supported by

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...

. Some charity events for ''Foot Citoyen'' were attended by

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...

. Roustan also runs a blog and weekly podcast called ''Roustan Foot''.

Honours

In 2015, Roustan was awarded a ''Prix de la Carriere'' (lifetime achievement award) by the .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roustan, Didier French sports journalists 1957 births Sportspeople from Brazzaville Sportspeople from Cannes French television presenters Living people Central African Republic expatriate sportspeople in France French people of Martiniquais descent