Elected by the magazine France-Football. The award is for the calendar year and not for the season. Apparently since some year in the 90’s any French player is eligible no matter where he plays.
Year Player Club 1963 Yvon DOUIS Monaco 1964 Marcel ARTELESA Monaco 1965 Philippe GONDET Nantes 1966 Philippe GONDET Nantes 1967 Bernard BOSQUIER Saint-Etienne 1968 Bernard BOSQUIER Saint-Etienne 1969 Hervé REVELLI Saint-Etienne 1970 Georges CARNUS Saint-Etienne 1971 Georges CARNUS Saint-Etienne/Olympique de Marseille 1972 Marius TRÉSOR Ajaccio/Olympique de Marseille 1973 Georges BERETA Saint-Etienne 1974 Georges BERETA Saint-Etienne 1975 Jean-Marc GUILLOU Angers/Nice 1976 Michel PLATINI Nancy 1977 Michel PLATINI Nancy 1978 Jean PETIT Monaco 1979 Maxime BOSSIS Nantes 1980 Jean-François LARIOS Saint-Etienne 1981 Maxime BOSSIS Nantes 1982 Alain GIRESSE Girondins de Bordeaux 1983 Alain GIRESSE Girondins de Bordeaux 1984 Jean TIGANA Girondins de Bordeaux 1985 Luis FERNANDEZ Paris Saint-Germain 1986 Manuel AMOROS Monaco 1987 Alain GIRESSE Olympique de Marseille 1988 Stéphane PAILLE Sochaux 1989 Jean-Pierre PAPIN Olympique de Marseille 1990 Laurent BLANC Montpellier 1991 Jean-Pierre PAPIN Olympique de Marseille 1992 Alain ROCHE Paris Saint-Germain 1993 David GINOLA Paris Saint-Germain 1994 Bernard LAMA Paris Saint-Germain 1995 Vincent GUÉRIN Paris Saint-Germain 1996 Didier DESCHAMPS Juventus [ITA] 1997 Lilian THURAM Parma [ITA] 1998 Zinedine ZIDANE Juventus [Ita] 1999 Sylvain WILTORD Girondins de Bordeaux 2000 Thierry HENRY Arsenal [ENG] 2001 Patrick VIEIRA Arsenal [ENG] 2002 Zinedine ZIDANE Real Madrid [SPA] 2003 Thierry HENRY Arsenal [ENG] 2004 Thierry HENRY Arsenal [ENG] 2005 Thierry HENRY Arsenal [ENG] 2006 Thierry HENRY Arsenal [ENG] 2007 Franck RIBERY Bayern München [GER] 2008 Franck RIBERY Bayern München [GER] 2009 Yoann GOURCUFF Bordeaux 2010 Samir NASRI Arsenal [ENG] 2011 Karim BENZEMA Real Madrid [SPA] 2012 Karim BENZEMA Real Madrid [SPA] 2013 Franck RIBERY Bayern München [GER] 2014 Karim BENZEMA Real Madrid [SPA] 2015 Blaise MATUIDI Paris Saint-Germain 2016 Antoine GRIEZMANN Atlético Madrid [SPA] 2017 N'Golo KANTÉ Chelsea [ENG] 2018 Kylian MBAPPÉ Paris Saint-Germain 2019 Kylian MBAPPÉ Paris Saint-Germain´ 2020 not awarded 2021 Karim BENZEMA Real Madrid [SPA] 22/23 Kylian MBAPPÉ Paris Saint-Germain 23/24 Kylian MBAPPÉ Paris Saint-Germain Note: unless otherwise stated all clubs are French.
Year Trainer Club
1970 Albert Batteux Saint-Etienne
Mario Zatelli Marseille
1971 Abdelkader Firoud Nîmes
Jean Prouff Rennes
1972 Jean Snella Nice
1973 Robert Herbin Saint-Etienne
1974 Pierre Cahuzac Bastia
1975 Georges Huart Metz
1976 Robert Herbin Saint-Etienne
1977 Pierre Cahuzac Bastia
1978 Gilbert Gress Strasbourg
1979 Michel Le Milinaire Laval
1980 René Hauss Sochaux
Jean Vincent Nantes
1981 Aimée Jacquet Bordeaux
1982 Michel Hidalgo French national team
1983 Michel Le Milinaire Laval
1984 Aimée Jacquet Bordeaux
1985 Jean-Claude Suaudeau Nantes
1986 Guy Roux Auxerre
1987 Jean Fernandez Cannes
1988 Guy Roux Auxerre
1989 Gérard Gili Marseille
1990 Henry Kasperczak Montpellier
1991 Daniel Jeandupeux Caen
1992 Jean-Claude Suaudeau Nantes
1993 Luis Fernandez Cannes
1994 Jean-Claude Suaudeau Nantes
1995 Francis Smerecki Guingamp
1996 Guy Roux Auxerre
1997 Jean Tigana Monaco
1998 Aimée Jacquet French national team
1999 Elie Baup Bordeaux
2000 Alex Dupont Sedan
2001 Vahid Halilhodzic Lille
2002 Jacques Santini Lyon
2003 Didier Deschamps Monaco
2004 Paul Le Guen Lyon
2005 Claude Puel Lille
2006 Pablo Correa Nancy
2007 Pablo Correa Nancy
2008 Arsène Wenger Arsenal [ENG]
2009 Laurent Blanc Bordeaux
2010 Didier Deschamps Marseille
2011 Rudi Garcia Lille
2012 René Girard Montpellier
2013 Rudi Garcia Roma [ITA]
2014 Rudi Garcia Roma [ITA]
2015 Laurent Blanc PSG
2016 Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid [SPA]
2017 Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid [SPA]
2018 Didier Deschamps French national team
2019 Christophe Galtier Lille
2020 not awarded
2021 Christophe Galtier Lille/Nice
NB: for players in French first division.
Year Player Country Club
1968 Salif Keita Mali Saint-Etienne
1969 Roger Magnusson Sweden Marseille
1970 Josip Skoblar Yugoslavia Marseille
1971 Josip Skoblar Yugoslavia Marseille
1972 Leif Eriksson Sweden Nice
1973 Hugo Bargas Argentina Nantes
1974 Carlos Bianchi Argentina Reims
1975 Osvaldo Piazza Argentina Saint-Etienne
1976 Ivan Curkovic Yugoslavia Saint-Etienne
1977 Mustapha Dahleb Algeria PSG
1978 Johny Rep Netherlands Bastia
1979 Nenad Bjekovic Yugoslavia Nice
1980 Delio Onnis Argentina Tours
1981 Umberto Barberis Switzerland Monaco
Andrzej Szarmach Poland Auxerre
1982 Umberto Barberis Switzerland Monaco
Andrzej Szarmach Poland Auxerre
1983 Safet Susic Yugoslavia PSG
1984 Vahid Halilhodzic Yugoslavia Nantes
1985 Vahid Halilhodzic Yugoslavia Nantes
1986 Jorge Burruchaga Argentina Nantes
1987 Enzo Francescoli Uruguay Matra Racing Paris
1988 Glenn Hoddle England Monaco
1989 Klaus Allofs Germany Bordeaux
1990 Enzo Scifo Belgium Auxerre
1991 George Weah Liberia Monaco
1992 Lubomir Moravcik Slovakia Saint-Etienne
1993 Alen Boksic Croatia Marseille
1994 Japhet N'Doram Chad Nantes
1995 Rai Brazil PSG
1996 Sonny Anderson Brazil Monaco
1997 Rai Brazil PSG
1998 Marco Simone Italy PSG
1999 Shabani Nonda Burundi Rennes
2000 Marco Simone Italy Monaco
2001 Pedro Miguel Pauleta Portugal Bordeaux
2002 Pedro Miguel Pauleta Portugal Bordeaux
2003 Didier Drogba Ivory Coast Marseille
2004 Juninho Brazil Lyon
2005 Juninho Brazil Lyon
2006 Juninho Brazil Lyon
2007 Johan Elmander Sweden Toulouse
2008 Fernando Cavenaghi Argentina Bordeaux
NB: for players in French first division.
Year Player Club
1973 Marc Berdoll Angers
1974 Dominique Bathenay Saint-Etienne
1975 Dominique Rocheteau Saint-Etienne
1976 Didier Six Valenciennes
1977 Bernard Lacombe Lyon
1978 Léonard Specht Strasbourg
1979 Didier Christophe Monaco
1980 Jean Castaneda Saint-Etienne
Jean Tigana Lyon
1981 Bruno Bellone Monaco
1982 Jean-Marc Ferreri Auxerre
1983 Pascal Olmeta Bastia
1984 Basile Boli Auxerre
1985 Fabien Debotte Nantes
1986 Gérald Passi Marseille
1987 Eric Cantona Auxerre
1988 Christian Pérez PSG
1989 Didier Deschamps Marseille
1990 Emmanuel Petit Monaco
1991 François Calderaro Metz
1992 Gérald Baticle Auxerre
1993 Zinédine Zidane Bordeaux
1994 Florian Maurice Lyon
1995 Patrick Vieira Cannes
1996 Thierry Henry Monaco
1997 David Trezeguet Monaco
1998 Nicolas Anelka Arsenal
1999 William Gallas Marseille
2000 Philippe Mexès Auxerre
2001 Djibril Cissé Auxerre
2002 Olivier Kapo Auxerre
2003 Sébastien Squillaci Monaco
2004 Franck Ribéry Metz
2005 Yohann Pelé Le Mans
+ Julien Faubert Bordeaux
2006 Karim Benzema Lyon
2007 Steve Mandanda Marseille
2008 Yoann Gourcuff Bordeaux
NB: for players in French second division. Year Player Club 1969 Daniel Horlaville Quevilly 1970 Bernard Guignedoux Paris Saint-Germain 1971 René Riéfa Avignon 1972 Gérard Tonnel Troyes 1973 Paul Imiela Amiens 1974 Yvon Delestre Châteauroux 1975 Jean-Paul Pottier Caen 1976 Jean-Paul Bouffandeau Caen 1977 Jacky Manic Tours 1978 Jean-Paul Delahaye Epinal 1979 Antoine Trivino Gueugnon 1980 Michel Albaladejo Orléans 1981 Frédéric Dobraje Thonon 1982 Jean-MGodart Noeux-les-Mines 1983 Philippe Tibeuf Guingamp 1984 Pascal Théault Caen 1985 François Lemasson Red Star 1986 Abedi Pelé Niort [Ghana] 1987 Philippe Prieur Caen 1988 Eugène N'Goy Kabongo Lyon [Zaïre] 1989 Youri Djorkaeff Grenoble 1990 Didier Monczuk Strasbourg 1991 Jean-Pierre Orts Rouen 1992 Frédéric Johansen Mulhouse 1993 Jocelyn Gourvennec Rennes 1994 Stéphane Guivarc'h Guingamp 1995 Tony Cascarino Marseille [Ireland] 1996 Franck Priou Martigues 1997 Samuel Lobé Lille 1998 Jérôme Alonzo Saint-Etienne 1999 Claude Michel Guingamp 2000 Francileudo Santos Sochaux [Brazil] 2001 Alexander Vencel Le Havre [Slovakia] 2002 Daniel Cousin Le Mans 2003 Baky Koné Lorient [Ivory Coast] 2004 Laurent Dufresne Nancy 2005 Karim Ziani Lorient [Algeria] 2006 Jean-Michek Lesage Le Havre 2007 Guillaume Hoarau Le Havre 2008 Grégory Thil Boulogne
NB: for trainers in French second division. Year Trainer Club 1969 Paco Matéo Pierrots Strasbourg 1970 Edmond Boulle Montélinar 1971 Roger Quenolle Poissy 1972 René Dereuddre Le Mans 1973 Yves Cros Malakoff 1974 Jacques Sucré Martigues 1975 Michel Le Millinaire Laval 1976 Casimir Novotarski Gueugnon 1977 Jacques Sucré Martigues 1978 Alain De Martigny Brest 1979 Guy Roux Auxerre 1980 Jacky Lemée Orléans 1981 Gérard Houllier Noeux-les-Mines 1982 Jean-Pierre Carayon Thonon 1983 Léonce Lavagne Alès 1984 Pierre Mankowski Caen 1985 Christian Gourcuff Lorient 1986 Léonce Lavagne Alès 1987 Pierre Mankowski Caen 1988 Pierre Mankowski Caen 1989 Paul Orsatti Martigues 1990 Robert Dewilder Mulhouse 1991 Alain Laurier Istres 1992 René Exbrayat Bastia 1993 Denis Goavec Saint-Brieuc 1994 Roland Gransart Gueugnon 1995 Denis Troch Laval 1996 Thierry Froger Le Mans 1997 Christian Gourcuff Lorient 1998 Alain Perrin Troyes 1999 Vahid Halilhodzic Lille 2000 Angel Marcos Niort 2001 Denis Troch Amiens 2002 Erik Mombaerts Toulouse 2003 Philippe Hinschberger Niort 2004 Thierry Froger Gueugnon 2005 Christian Gourcuff Lorient 2006 Rudi Garcia Dijon 2007 Didier Ollé-Nicole Clermont 2008 Jean-Louis Garcia Angers
Year Referee 1971 Robert Wurtz 1972 Robert Heliès 1973 Robert Frauciel 1974 Robert Wurtz 1975 Robert Wurtz 1976 Georges Konrath 1977 Robert Wurtz 1978 Robert Wurtz 1979 Michel Vautrot 1980 Michel Vautrot 1981 Michel Vautrot 1982 Michel Vautrot 1983 Michel Vautrot 1984 Michel Vautrot 1985 Joël Quiniou 1986 Michel Vautrot 1987 Michel Vautrot 1988 Michel Vautrot 1989 Michel Vautrot 1990 Gérard Biguet 1991 Gérard Biguet 1992 Alain Sars 1993 Alain Sars 1994 Joël Quiniou 1995 Marc Batta 1996 Alain Sars 1997 Gilles Veissière 1998 Marc Batta 1999 Stéphane Bré 2000 Gilles Veissière 2001 Stéphane Bré 2002 Bertrand Layec 2003 Bertrand Layec 2004 Eric Poulat 2005 Eric Poulat 2006 Eric Poulat 2007 Bertrand Layec 2008 Stéphane Lannoy
Award for the most regular player of the season.
Season Player Points Club
1956/57 Kees Rijvers NED 117 Saint-Etienne
1957/58 Maurice Lafont 139 Nîmes
1958/59 Jules Sbroglia 158 Angers/Lyon
1959/60 Raymond Kopa 169 Reims
1960/61 Pierre Bernard 154 Sedan/Nîmes
Khennane Mahi ALG/F 154 Rennes
1961/62 André Lerond 155 Stade Français
1962/63 Daniel Charles-Alfred 161 Nîmes
1963/64 Rachid Mekloufi ALG/F 146 Saint-Etienne
1964/65 Robert Herbin 143 Saint-Etienne
1965/66 Rachid Mekloufi ALG/F 161 Saint-Etienne
Roger Lemerre 161 Sedan
1966/67 Rachid Mekloufi ALG/F 153 Saint-Etienne
1967/68 Roger Lemerre 165 Sedan
1968/69 Roger Lemerre 147 Sedan
1969/70 Bernard Bosquier 146 Saint-Etienne
Mohamed Salem ALG 146 Sedan
1970/71 Pavel Kouba CZE 160 Angoulème
1971/72 Robert Herbin 164 Saint-Etienne
1972/73 Henri Michel 160 Nantes
1973/74 Jean-Marc Guillou 157 Angers
1974/75 Jean-Marc Guillou 157 Angers
Ignacio Prieto CHL 157 Lille
1975/76 Dominique Baratelli 159 Nice
1976/77 Raymond Kéruzoré 168 Laval
Daniel Leclercq 168 Lens
1977/78 Maxime Bossis 153 Nantes
1978/79 André Rey 157 Metz
1979/80 Pierrick Hiard 157 Bastia
1980/81 Dominique Dropsy 151 Strasbourg
1981/82 Pierrick Hiard 157 Bastia
1982/83 Maxime Bossis 153 Nantes
1983/84 Pascal Olmeta 155 Bastia
1984/85 Ruben Umpierrez URU 159 Nancy
1985/86 Luis Fernandez 151 Paris Saint-Germain
1986/87 Bruno Martini 146 Auxerre
1987/88 Bernard Pardo 156 Toulon
1988/89 Basile Boli 145 Auxerre
1989/90 Jean-Luc Ettori 142 Monaco
1990/91 Bruno Martini 142 Auxerre
1991/92 Fabien Piveteau 148 Le Havre
1992/93 Jean-Pierre Cyprien 135 Saint-Etienne
1993/94 Franck Durix 143 Cannes
1994/95 Jean-Guy Walleme 138 Lens
1995/96 Sonny Anderson BRA 3.79 Monaco
1996/97 Ali Benarbia ALG/F 3.80 Monaco
1997/98 Vikash Dhorasoo MAUR 3.94 Le Havre
1998/99 Nestor Fabri ARG 3.77 Nantes
1999/00 Marcelo Gallardo ARG 4.04 Monaco
2000/01 Pascal Cygan 3.76 Lille
2001/02 Philippe Mexès 3.90 Auxerre
2002/03 Ludovic Giuly 3.86 Monaco
2003/04 Vikash Dhorasoo 3.73 Lyon
2004/05 "Cris" BRA 3.61 Lyon
2005/06 Franck Ribéry ? Marseille
2006/07 "Cris" BRA 3.63 Lyon
2007/08 Karim Benzema 6.27 Lyon
Award for the most regular goal keeper of the season.
Season Keeper Points Club 1992/93 Luc Borelli 137 Toulon 1993/94 Fabien Piveteau 144 Le Havre 1994/95 Christophe Revault 146 Le Havre 1995/96 Christophe Revault 3.82 Le Havre 1996/97 Christophe Revault 3.92 Le Havre 1997/98 Fabien Barthez 3.57 Monaco 1998/99 Alexander Vencel SVK 3.83 Strasbourg 1999/00 Bernard Lama 3.70 Paris Saint-Germain 2000/01 Farid Mondragón COL 3.73 Metz 2001/02 Ulrich Ramé 3.68 Bordeaux 2002/03 Mickaël Landreau 3.64 Nantes 2003/04 Petr Cech CZE 3.56 Rennes 2004/05 Stéphane Cassard 3.58 Strasbourg 2005/06 Yohann Pelé ? Le Mans 2006/07 Jérémie Janot 3.67 Saint-Etienne 2007/08 Hugo Loris 6.17 Nice
The French magazine France-Football consulted 34 former "French Footballer of the Year" (1963-99)
or "Etoile d'Or" (1958-62) to elect the French Player of the Century, the French Trainer of
the Century and the French Team of the Century.
All former winners have voted except Jean-François Larios which was impossible to reach.
France Football journalist Gérard Ernault has voted.
Each of the 34 voters choose 5 players: 5 points for the 1st place, 4 points for 2nd,
3 points for 3rd, 2 points for 4th and 1 point for 5th.
One vote with two fith places. The former winners cannot voted for themselves.
After each player points, between brackets is the number of votes for every place.
Fench Player of the Century
---------------------------
1. Michel PLATINI 143 pts (22 - 5 - 4 - 0 - 1)
2. Zinédine ZIDANE 121 ( 9 -11 - 9 - 2 - 1)
3. Raymond KOPA 88 ( 3 -11 - 9 - 1 - 0)
4. Laurent BLANC 28 ( 0 - 3 - 1 - 5 - 3)
5. Just FONTAINE 22 ( 0 - 0 - 2 - 3 -10)
6. Marius TRESOR 17 ( 0 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 3)
7. Alain GIRESSE 15 ( 0 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 0)
8. Jean-Pierre PAPIN 12 ( 0 - 0 - 2 - 2 - 2)
9. Didier DESCHAMPS 9 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 4 - 1)
10. Eric CANTONA 8 ( 0 - 0 - 1 - 2 - 1)
11. Manuel AMOROS 7 ( 0 - 0 - 1 - 1 - 2)
12. Larbi BEN BAREK 6 ( 0 - 1 - 0 - 1 - 0)
13. Robert JONQUET 6 ( 0 - 0 - 2 - 0 - 0)
14. Marcel DESAILLY 5 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 1)
15. Maxime BOSSIS 4 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 2 - 0)
16. Roger PIANTONI 3 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 1)
17. Jean BARATTE 2 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0)
18. Fabien BARTHEZ 2 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 2)
19. Julien DARUI 2 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0)
20. Bernard LAMA 2 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 2)
21. Roger MARCHE 2 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0)
22. Joseph UJLAKI 2 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 1 - 0)
23. Patrick BATTISTON 1 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1)
24. David GINOLA 1 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1)
25. Thierry HENRY 1 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1)
26. Etienne MATTLER 1 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1)
27. Jean TIGANA 1 ( 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 1)
--- --------------------
511 pts (34 -34 -34- 34- 35)
French Trainer of the Century
-----------------------------
1. Aimé JACQUET 136 pts [France 1993-98]
2. Albert BATTEUX 72 [Reims, Saint-Etienne, France 1955-62]
3. Michel HIDALGO 65 [France 1976-84]
4. Arsène WENGER 59 [Monaco]
5. Guy ROUX 39 [Auxerre]
6. José ARRIBAS 30 [Nantes, France 1966]
7. Jean SNELLA 27 [Saint-Etienne]
8. Jean-Claude SUAUDEAU 23 [Nantes, France 1966]
9. Luis FERNANDEZ 16 [Paris SG]
9. Robert HERBIN 16 [Saint-Etienne]
11. Lucien LEDUC 11 [Monaco]
12. Roger LEMERRE 10 [France 1998- ]
13. Pierre PIBAROT 7 [Racing Club Paris, France ca 1950]
14. Gaston BARREAU 2 [France 1930-50]
French Team of the Century
--------------------------
1. FRANCE 1998-2000 163 pts
2. FRANCE 1982-1986 102
3. SAINT-ETIENNE 1974-1977 68
4. MARSEILLE 1989-1993 64
5. REIMS 1955-1960 36
6. FRANCE 1958 35
7. PARIS SG 1993-1997 21
8. BORDEAUX 1984-1987 10
9. SAINT-ETIENNE 1967-1970 5
9. NANTES 1979-1983 5
11. AUXERRE 1993-1996 4
Thanks to Roberto Di Maggio
Prepared and maintained by Erik Garin and José Luis Pierrend for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Authors: Erik Garin
(garinerik@hispeed.ch)
and José Luis Pierrend
(josepie@hotmail.com)
Last updated: 14 Jan 2025
(C) Copyright Erik Garin,
José Luis Pierrend and RSSSF 1999/2025
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the authors. All rights reserved.