__FORCETOC__ The French Player of the Year is an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

award presented annually by the French magazine ''

France Football ''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusiv ...

'' since 1959. Originally, only French players playing in France were eligible, but from 1996 French players playing abroad were in contention to win the trophy. Since 2001, former winners elect the player of the year.

Winners

Player of the Century

At the end of the 20th century, the magazine also voted on the French Player of the Century, won by

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, ...

Manager of the Year

Every year, the magazine elects the best French

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of the year. The jury is composed of former laureates. *1970:

Albert Batteux Albert Batteux (2 July 1919 – 28 February 2003) was a French football midfielder and a manager. He is the most successful manager in the history of Ligue 1 having won eight domestic titles, twice reaching the European Cup final and a third-p ...

*1970: Mario Zatelli *1971:

Kader Firoud Abdelkader Firoud (October 11, 1919 in Oran, Algeria – April 3, 2005 in Nîmes, France), most commonly known as Kader Firoud, was a French-Algerian professional football midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in associati ...

*1971:

Jean Prouff Jean Prouff (12 September 1919 – 12 February 2008) was a French football midfielder and a manager. Honours As a player Reims * Division 1: 1949 As a coach Standard de Liège * Belgian League: 1963 Rennes * Coupe de France The Coupe ...

*1972:

Jean Snella Jean Snella (9 December 1914 – 20 November 1979) was a French association football midfielder and a manager. He mostly coached AS Saint-Etienne. He also coached France national football team along with José Arribas after the FIFA World Cup ...

*1973: Robert Herbin *1974: Pierre Cahuzac *1975: Georges Huart *1976: Robert Herbin *1977: Pierre Cahuzac *1978:

Gilbert Gress Gilbert Gress (born 17 December 1941) is a French football coach and a former player. He was the mentor of Arsène Wenger. Club career Gress was born in Strasbourg. He began his professional football career in the city of his birth with R ...

*1979: Michel Le Millinaire *1980: René Hauss *1981:

Aimé Jacquet Aimé Étienne Jacquet (born 27 November 1941) is a French former professional Manager (association football), football manager and Football player, player. He was manager of the France national football team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup. B ...

*1982:

Michel Hidalgo Michel François Hidalgo (22 March 1933 – 26 March 2020) was a French professional footballer and manager. He was the head coach of the French national team from 1976 to 1984, with whom he won the UEFA Euro 1984 on home soil, also reaching th ...

*1983: Michel Le Milinaire *1984:

*1985: Jean-Claude Suaudeau *1986:

Guy Roux Guy Marcel Roux (; born 18 October 1938) is a French former football player and manager known for being in charge of AJ Auxerre for more than 40 years and for leading the team to national and worldwide prominence. Managerial career A native of C ...

*1987: Jean Fernández *1988:

*1989:

Gérard Gili Gérard Gili (born 7 August 1952) is a French football manager and former player. Gili's highest profile appointment was as manager of Ivory Coast. He was named as the Ivorians' head coach in January 2008, following the resignation of Ulrich ...

*1990:

Henryk Kasperczak Henryk Wojciech Kasperczak (born 10 July 1946) is a Polish football manager and a former player who most recently managed the Tunisia national football team. As a player, Kasperczak took part in two FIFA World Cups with Poland, achieving third ...

*1991:

Daniel Jeandupeux Daniel Jeandupeux (born 7 February 1949) is a Swiss football manager and retired football forward. Career Born in Saint-Imier, Jeandupeux began playing football for FC La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1972, he joined FC Zürich, where he would win two Sw ...

*1992: Jean-Claude Suaudeau *1993: Jean Fernández *1994: Jean-Claude Suaudeau *1995:

Francis Smerecki Francis Smerecki (25 July 1949 – 7 June 2018) was a French football player and manager. He was of Polish descent. References External links * Profile 1949 births 2018 deaths French footballers Footballers from Le Mans Association f ...

*1996:

*1997:

Jean Tigana Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former footballer and coach. He has played in midfield and managed professional football extensively throughout France, including 52 appearances and one goal for the France national football team ...

*1998:

*1999:

Élie Baup Élie Baup (; born 17 March 1955) is a French football manager and a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His last post was the manager of Ligue 1 side Marseille. Managerial career 1994–2009 As the club manager of Bordeaux, Baup wo ...

*2000: Alex Dupont *2001:

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various na ...

*2002:

Jacques Santini Jacques Jean Claude Santini (born 25 April 1952) is a French former professional footballer and manager. He played for Saint-Étienne during the 1970s, and reached the European Cup final with them in 1976. He has coached the French national tea ...

*2003:

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been manager of the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, E ...

*2004:

Paul Le Guen Paul Joseph Marie Le Guen (, ; born 1 March 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Ligue 2 club Le Havre. During his playing career, Le Guen played as a midfielder, and enjoyed a su ...

*2005:

Claude Puel Claude Jacques Puel (; born 2 September 1961) is a French football manager and former player. He spent his entire playing career with Monaco, before becoming manager of the club, leading them to the league title in his first full season in char ...

*2006:

Pablo Correa Pablo Alejandro Correa Velázquez (born 14 March 1967) is a Uruguayan former football player. After his retirement as a player, he became the head coach of three French football clubs. Playing career Correa started his footballing career as a ...

*2007:

*2008:

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 ...

*2009:

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, and is currently the manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon. He has the nickname ''Le Président'', which was given to him ...

*2010:

*2011:

Rudi Garcia Rudi José Garcia (; ; born 20 February 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr. Early life Rudi Garcia's father, José, was a Spanish expatriate who played ...

*2012:

René Girard René Noël Théophile Girard (; ; 25 December 1923 – 4 November 2015) was a French polymath, historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science whose work belongs to the tradition of philosophical anthropology. Girard was the aut ...

*2013:

*2014:

*2015:

*2016:

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 ...

*2017:

*2018:

*2019:

Christophe Galtier Christophe Galtier (born 23 August 1966) is a French professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. A defender, Galtier was a journeyman professional who spent many of his 15 years as ...

*2020: ''Not awarded due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

'' *2021:

References

{{National Footballer of the Year French football trophies and awards Association football player of the year awards by nationality France Football awards

Winners

Player of the Century

Manager of the Year

See also

References