Didier Six (born 21 August 1954) is a French

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player, who most recently worked as manager of the

Guinea national football team The Guinea national football team ( French: '' Équipe de football de Guinée'') represents Guinea in men's international football and is controlled by the Guinean Football Federation. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals, and ...

until October 2021. A gifted but inconsistent winger, Six had a rather nomadic career, playing in five countries. He also played for France in the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

FIFA World Cups, and was also part of the winning team at Euro 84.

Playing career

Six began his playing career at Division 2 side

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, making his debut at the age of 17 in 1972. He helped ''Les Athéniens'' achieve promotion to the top flight in 1975, which was followed by a remarkable season where they finished tenth, and Six finished as the top scorer at the club with 12 goals. After turning down offers from Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Feyenoord, Six decided to join

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

in 1977, where he spent a single season, notably scoring a hattrick against

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. Lens were relegated at the end of 1977-78 and Six would be made the scapegoat. This was followed by two more disappointing years playing for

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, after which his career would become nomadic in the years that followed, playing in Belgium, Germany, England and Turkey. He acquired

Turkish citizenship Turkish nationality law is based primarily on the principle of ''jus sanguinis''. Children who are born to a Turkish mother or a Turkish father (in or out of marriage) are Turkish citizens from birth. The intention to renounce Turkish citizen ...

in order to play as a domestic player at Galatasaray, playing under the name Dündar Siz. There he won the Turkish First League championship in 1987–88 season. He ended his career in 1992 after a two-year spell in the newly re-unified 2.Bundesliga with VfB Leipzig.

International career

Six was first selected for the France national football team by manager

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 France national team from 1976 to 1984, with whom he won the UEFA Euro 1984 on home soil, also reaching ...

whilst still at Valenciennes, making his debut on 27 March 1976 against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, the same game in which

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...

made his debut. He played as a winger and he earned 52

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and scored 13 goals for the

France national football team The France national football team () represents France in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the French Football Federation (FFF; ), the governing body for football in France. It is a member of UEFA in Euro ...

. He played in the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

and the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...

, and was also part of the winning team at Euro 84.

Coaching career

Six was signed by the

Togolese Football Federation The Togolese Football Federation () or FTF is the governing body of football in Togo. In 2006, the Togo national football team participated for first time in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Staff * President: Col.Kossi Gbézondé AKPOVY * 1st Vice ...

as coach for the

Togo national football team The Togo national football team (French language, French: ''Équipe nationale de football du Togo'') represents Togo in international Association football, football and is controlled by the Togolese Football Federation. The national football tea ...

in November 2011. He became manager of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

in January 2015 and was fired in May 2015 following a suspension for poor behaviour during the 2015 COSAFA Cup. In April 2018, he was one of 77 applicants for the vacant Cameroon national team job. He became manager of

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

on 13 September 2019, but left this role in October 2021.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Six, Didier 1954 births Living people Footballers from Lille French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Valenciennes FC players RC Lens players Olympique de Marseille players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players RC Strasbourg Alsace players VfB Stuttgart players FC Mulhouse players Aston Villa F.C. players AS Pierrots Vauban Strasbourg managers FC Metz players Galatasaray S.K. footballers 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players AS Pierrots Vauban Strasbourg players Bundesliga players English Football League players Süper Lig players Belgian Pro League players France men's international footballers 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1984 players UEFA European Championship–winning players European champions for France French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Togo French expatriate sportspeople in Guinea French expatriate sportspeople in Mauritius Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in East Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey French emigrants to Turkey Naturalized citizens of Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany Expatriate football managers in Guinea Expatriate football managers in Togo Expatriate football managers in Mauritius Togo national football team managers 2013 Africa Cup of Nations managers Guinea national football team managers French football managers RC Strasbourg Alsace non-playing staff FCO Strasbourg Koenigshoffen 06 managers French expatriate sportspeople in West Germany 20th-century French sportsmen