Stéphane Paille (27 June 1965 – 27 June 2017) was a French professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played for the
France national team
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area e ...
as well as for various club sides in France, Portugal, Switzerland and Scotland. After he retired from playing he developed a career in football management.
Playing career
Born in
Scionzier,
Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...
, Paille started out with
Sochaux
Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Geography
Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris.
Population
Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''.
Economy
S ...
, with whom he played for seven seasons between 1982 and 1989. He helped the
Montbéliard
Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.
History
Montbéliard is ...
side reach the 1987–88
Coupe de France
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professio ...
final, and was voted French Player of the Year at that season's end. He also earned his eight
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 Ja ...
for France between 1986 and 1989, scoring a single goal for ''les Bleus''.
The rest of Paille's playing career was somewhat nomadic: after leaving Sochaux for
Montpellier HSC
Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC or simply Montpellier, is a French professional football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitanie. The original club was founded in 1919, while the current ...
in 1989, whom he joined with close friend
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 ...
, he spent no more than two seasons at the same club during the next nine years. He joined
Girondins de Bordeaux
Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux ( oc, Girondins de Bordèu) or simply Bordeaux, is a French professional football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The ...
in December 1989, then
FC Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Por ...
in the summer of 1990. Following a two-year spell at
SM Caen between 1991 and 1993, he returned to Bordeaux for a single season. In 1994, he joined
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, ...
, then moved to Swiss side
Servette Geneva in 1995. After one season he returned to France with
FC Mulhouse
Football Club de Mulhouse (; commonly referred to as FCM or simply Mulhouse) is a French association football club based in Mulhouse. The club was founded in 1893 and currently play in the Championnat National 3, the fifth level of French footb ...
. In September 1995 Paille retired after failing a drugs test due to
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...
use. He told
L'Equipe this was due to serious personal problems. He joined Scottish side
Heart of Midlothian in 1996. He was released by the
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
club in May 1997 after failing a drugs test due to his use of
Dinintel.
Coaching and managerial career
Paille then returned to first club Sochaux, where he held a coaching position for three years between 1999 and 2002. He gained his first executive role when he was appointed head coach of
Besançon RC but left in 2004. He was briefly head coach at
Racing Club Paris
Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris.
Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spor ...
in 2005, before being approached by
Angers
Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...
in May 2005. He left the ''Blanc et Noir'' in June 2006.
Death
He died on 27 June 2017, his 52nd birthday.
L'ancien footballeur Stéphane Paille est décédé
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External links
Profile at French federation official site
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paille, Stephane
1965 births
2017 deaths
Association football forwards
French footballers
France international footballers
France youth international footballers
France under-21 international footballers
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players
Montpellier HSC players
FC Girondins de Bordeaux players
FC Porto players
Stade Malherbe Caen players
Olympique Lyonnais players
Servette FC players
FC Mulhouse players
Heart of Midlothian F.C. players
Ligue 1 players
Ligue 2 players
Primeira Liga players
Scottish Premier League players
Swiss Super League players
French expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Portugal
French expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
Expatriate footballers in Scotland
French football managers
Racing Besançon managers
Angers SCO managers
AS Cannes managers
Thonon Evian Grand Genève F.C. managers
Racing Club de France Football managers