Jean Tigana Biography

Jean Tigana, born 23 June 1955 in Bamako, is a French-born former professional footballer who used to play in the centre of midfield. He made 52 appearances for the French football team, winning the 1984 European Championship. After finishing his active career, he went on to become a football coach.

His professional career started in 1975 at ST Toulon in Division 2 and in 1978 he transferred to the bigger

. Three years on, Tigana left for Girondins de Bordeaux for around €3.5 million, spending most of his active playing career there.

Tigana won three national championships and three cups with Girondins de Bordeaux. Furthermore, he made it to the semi-finals of both the European Cup in 1985 and the European Cup II in 1987. Near the end of his career, he went on to play two years for Olympique Marseille, winning the national title twice.

Tigana was part of the national team that won the 1984 European Championship, having beaten Spain in the final. With Michel Platini, Luis Fernandez and Alain Giresse, he formed the 'Magic Diamond', which was one of the best midfielders of the French in history.

Having retired from his active playing career, Tigana started working as head coach at Olympique Lyon in 1993. During his second season with the club, he finished second in Division 1. Afterwards, he was head coach of AS Monaco for four seasons.

He was the national champion with the club in 1997 and in the same year the club won the Trophée des Champions. Tigana became coach of Fulham FC in 2000, taking the club from the First Division to the Premier League. He won the UEFA Intertoto Cup with Fulham FC in 2002.

All You Need to Know About Jean Tigana Biography

Jean joined Beşiktaş JK in October 2005 on a one-and-a-half-year contract. It was during that season that Beşiktaş won the Turkish Cup for the first time in eight years. Tigana was appointed as the successor to Laurent Blanc as head coach of Girondins de Bordeaux in May 2010, with effect from the 2010/11 season.

However, after the 0-4 home defeat against FC Sochaux on 7 May 2011, Tigana resigned from his position at Girondins de Bordeaux. In 2012, he was briefly employed by Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua.

Jean Tigana Information

Now that we know the French coach much better, in this section of

Jean Tigana biography

we will share more general information about him such as

Jean Tigana nationality

to let you know him even better.

Jean Tigana Bio

• Full Name: Amadou Jean Tigana

• Nickname: N/A

• Profession: Professional Football Coach

Jean Tigana Physical Stats

• Weight: 65 Kg

• Height: 1.68 m

• Eye Color: Black

• Hair Color: Dark Brown

Jean Tigana Football Information

• Position: Central Midfielder

• Jersey Number: 14

• Professional Debut: 1975

Jean Tigana Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 23 June 1955

• Birth Place: Bamako, French Sudan

• Zodiac Sign: Cancer

• Nationality: French

Now stay tuned to this section of

Jean Tigana biography

as we want to share some info about

Jean Tigana childhood

.

Jean Tigana Early Life

He was born in Mali to a Malian father, Boubou Tigana, and to a French mother, Mauricette Brun. At the age of three, Jean Amadou Tigana arrived in Marseille, France along with his family.

He was introduced to football at the ASPTT Marseille, followed by SO Caillols (a district of Marseille), later joined by Eric Cantona. Before becoming a professional footballer, he also worked as a postman. A technically gifted midfielder, Jean Tigana made his first foray into the French league with Sporting Toulon in 1975.

Olympique Lyonnais

He was scouted by the coach of Olympique Lyonnais Aimé Jacquet in 1978, who called him up and he played his first professional match on 19 July 1978 in Strasbourg (1-0 defeat). He would remain there for three years before leaving to join Girondins de Bordeaux for 2.1 million francs and to reunite with his mentor from Lyon, Aimé Jacquet, in 1981.

Girondins de Bordeaux

With

, he won his first trophies. He made his international debut on 23 May 1980 against the Soviet Union (a 1-0 defeat), and in the 1982 World Cup, he became a starter for the national team, with France reaching the semi-finals only to be knocked out on penalties by Germany.

While at Bordeaux, he managed to win three French league titles (1984, 1985 and 1987), two French Cups (1986 and 1987) and reached the semi-finals of the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1985, facing Juventus of his friend Michel Platini, and also the Cup Winners' Cup in 1987, which he lost to the East German team of Lokomotive Leipzig.

Now stay tuned to this section of Jean Tigana biography as we want to share some info about his playing career at

.

Olympique de Marseille

Then in 1989, he left Bordeaux for Bernard Tapie's Olympique de Marseille and sought new challenges. He went on to win two more French championship titles (1990 and 1991) before putting an end to his football career in a lost European Champion Clubs' Cup final in 1991 against Red Star Belgrade.

The final match of his professional career took place on 2 June 1991, when his team won 4-1 against Rodez.

France National Team

He made his international debut on 23 May 1980 against the Soviet Union (a 1-0 defeat), and in the 1982 World Cup, he became a starter for the national team, with

reaching the semi-finals only to be knocked out on penalties by Germany.

He played a major role in France's victory at Euro 1984. The tireless player became a legend in French football during a semi-final against Portugal when, after a long solo run, he gave Michel Platini the assist to the winning goal in the final moments of extra time.

In the same year, he won second place in the Ballon d'Or competition. He then formed the famous Magic Diamond with Michel Platini, Alain Giresse (with whom he was a club partner) and Luis Fernandez.

At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Jean Tigana and the French team finished third in the competition. He decided in 1987 to retire from international football, but a year later the coach (Michel Platini) persuaded him to make one final appearance against Yugoslavia on 19 November 1988 (3-2 defeat).

Jean Tigana Profile

When he was 35 years old, Tigana retired from playing, but he did not leave the world of football, as he embarked on a coaching career. As early as 1993, he signed up with Olympique Lyonnais for two seasons. Following a runner-up finish in the French championship in 1995 behind FC Nantes,

contacted him.

Now stay tuned to this section of

Jean Tigana biography

as we want to share some info about his coaching career at Monaco.

AS Monaco

He was the inspiration for the club, which went on to become French champions in 1997 and made it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1997 against Inter Milan and the Champions League in 1998 against Juventus.

Jean Tigana made use of experienced players such as Fabien Barthez, Emmanuel Petit, Enzo Scifo and Sonny Anderson, without hesitating to introduce young talents such as Philippe Christanval, Willy Sagnol, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet.

He mainly used the 4-4-2 diamond system and focused on technical work during his training sessions, implementing an attacking system that was widely acknowledged. He remained at Monaco for four years before stepping down in January 1999.

Fulham FC

The following year, he crossed the Channel to join

, a London club that was struggling in the second division. Having succeeded in getting the club into the

and keeping it there, partly with the help of a budget financed by billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, he left the club in April 2003.

Besiktas JK

In October 2005, after a year and a half away from the pitch, he signed for

, one of the big three clubs in Turkey. However, on 14 May 2007, having come into conflict with his management, he stepped down as Besiktas' coach and temporarily retired from the world of football.

However, in the spring of 2008, he was tipped, as much as Didier Deschamps, by some pundits, as a possible replacement for Domenech in charge of the French national team after Euro 2008.

Girondins de Bordeaux

Jean-Louis Triaud, the president of Girondins de Bordeaux, officially appointed Jean Tigana as the new coach to succeed Laurent Blanc on 25 May 2010. However, Tigana had no idea that he would have a very difficult season.

In fact, during the friendly matches, his team made a perfect record, defeating great teams such as

or even AS Roma. Following a good pre-season, the Girondins were prepared for a successful season but finally lost their first two matches before beating Paris Saint-Germain (1-2) on the third matchday.

Following multiple setbacks, his position was being questioned by the fans. The elimination of the Girondins in the last 16 of the League Cup further aggravated his situation (1-0 defeat against AS Saint-Étienne).

In the course of the disastrous season, the Girondins suffered a 5-1 defeat against a highly motivated Lorient team; the Girondins had never conceded so many goals since the match against Caennais (5-0) in the 2007/2008 season. Tigana's team lost a week later in the round of 16 of the French Football Cup against Angers (1-0).

On 7 May 2011, he stepped down following Bordeaux's 4-0 defeat against

at the Chaban-Delmas stadium and after a verbal attack on his daughter and was subsequently replaced until the end of the season by Eric Bedouet.

With a 31% win rate, he was the coach who had won the least amount of games for Girondins de Bordeaux in 37 years. On 10 July 2011, he went back over the reasons for his stepping down and explained that the atmosphere within the staff was poisonous and that some players had turned against him after the departure of Michel Pavon. He pointed to Mathieu Chalmé, Marc Planus and Alou Diarra as the main culprits.

Shanghai Shenhua

The website of the Chinese club

and the press announced on 15 December 2011 the official appointment of Nicolas Anelka as a striker from Chelsea and of Jean Tigana as a coach. On his debut match in charge of the Chinese club, they got a 1-1 draw against Jiangsu FC.

Six days later, he suffered his first attack as coach of the Shanghai club when they were defeated 3-2 against Beijing Guoan. His only win was the 1-0 victory against

before they lost their next match against Guangzhou FC.

Following the 1-1 draw against HZ Greentown, the Chinese club then announced his dismissal on 26 April 2012. He was in charge of the club for just five league matches.

SC Toulon

He was appointed general manager of

on 22 February 2021. Now stay tuned to this section of Jean Tigana biography as we want to share some info about his coaching style.

Style of Play

Jean Tigana is one of the French coaches out there with a rather attacking style of play, and we usually see his teams play with either 4-3-3 attacking and 4-4-2 diamond systems of play. On the other hand, in the matches that he needs to have a more cautious playing style, he often goes for the 4-2-3-1.

Upon signing for Bordeaux, when he was asked in a press conference what style of play he would impose on his team, Jean Tigana was quick to point out: "A game that is rather attacking. In fact, this team has been successful with this style of play. You can evolve without denying your philosophy of play, I often win by playing like that. But I'm not a magician, what's most important for a coach is to get 100% out of his squad. I will surely work in a different way to what has been done before."

Reception

In the world of football, Jean Tigana is a reference. He was an exceptional player. That of a guy capable of covering miles of ground at a time, but not just that... He was a fine and technical midfielder for the French team in the 1980s and subsequently coached several French teams. Jean Tigana is also known for his pleasant but above all professional nature, he never stopped doing what he was best at. Many pundits consider him one of the best central midfielders in the history of French football.

Jean Tigana outside Football

He became FIFA players' agent in 1998, where he worked with his associate Richard Bettoni. Having been implicated in several cases by the French justice system, Tigana abandoned his role as an agent and his licence was definitively withdrawn by the French Football Federation and FIFA in 2006.

While still a footballer in Bordeaux, Jean Tigana became the owner of a wine estate in the Haut Médoc in 1987. The 24 hectares of vines have enabled him to produce quality wine, the "Cru Bourgeois Bibian-Tigana". The winner of the Euro 1984, who was managing director of a company specialised in wine (L3V), then sold his Château Bibian to buy another wine estate: the Dona Tigana, near Cassis.

When asked where did his love for wine came from in an interview, he answered:

“First it was an investment. Then it became a passion. Because there is no profitability. I work a lot in real estate, it has nothing to do with that. But I enjoy it. Actually, I've worked in the opposite way to a lot of people. I have earned more money abroad. I worked in England, Turkey, China and I made investments in France. Normally, people earn in France, then leave to avoid paying the wealth tax, and I do the opposite! That makes me laugh every time, but that's how it is! I couldn't see myself living outside the country just for tax reasons.”

He is also an investor and builder. He purchased land in Sénas, near Arles, and in Le Pontet, near Avignon. He has established commercial zones there, with "Simply Market" supermarkets to give them a boost. He rents or resells commercial surfaces. McDonald's, Picard and Car Wash in Le Pontet, where he bought and demolished an old factory. He intends to expand there, with a 2,400 square metre property project.

Jean Tigana Personal Life

In this section of Jean Tigana biography, we will take a deeper look into his personal life and share some information about things like

Jean Tigana life story

and

Jean Tigana religion

, stay tuned.

Family, Children and Relationships

Jean Tigana has been married to his wife for many years and the couple has a daughter, who is at the time of writing this article 26 years old.

In May 2011, while Tigana was head coach of the Girondins de Bordeaux team, he stepped down as head coach after a defeat against Sochaux, with Tigana announcing at the press conference that the reason behind his resignation was the verbal abuse of his 16-year-old daughter, in the stands.

"It was a terrible night for the club and for me. My daughter was attacked in the stands. She was already having problems at school... So I have decided to stop my career with the Girondins de Bordeaux", he added. He later described the attack on a 16-year-old girl as "dramatic" and totally at odds with the values of sport.

Philanthropy

Tigana has been part of many charitable projects during his career. After the end of his time with Fulham FC, when he did not work at any other coaching job for two years, according to Jean Tigana, he was working with charities in Africa and France.

Legal Issues

In 2004, the chairman of the Fulham FC club Mohamed Al Fayed accused Jean Tigana of working dishonestly and financially benefitting from some signings he had made while he was coach of the club and then fired him. However, the judge was in favour of the former French star footballer and said that there are no evidence that Tigana had done anything wrong.

Jean Tigana Career Statistics

In this section of Jean Tigana biography, we will take a look at his career stats on the international and club level.

Club

Having started his career with the Toulon club in 1975, he played a total of 544 matches and scored 38 goals until his retirement while playing for Olympique Marseille in 1991. He has spent the majority of his career at Girondins Bordeaux, playing 292 matches over eight seasons.

International

For eight years between 1980 and 1988, Tigana was part of the French national team, where he participated in major tournaments, playing a total of 52 matches and scoring one goal.

Managerial

Jean Tigana has a win ratio of 48.95 percent having won 257, drawn 127 and defeated 141 times in a total of 525 matches he had coached his teams during his coaching career. His best win ratio was the 54.12 percent he achieved while working as the head coach of the AS Monaco team.

Jean Tigana Honors

As a player, Tigana managed to win the French Division 1 on no less than 5 occasions with Girondins Bordeaux and Olympique Marseille. He has also won the Coupe de France.

With the French national team, Tigana was able to win the 1984 UEFA European Championship and finished the 1986 World Cup in third place.

As a coach, he has been able to clinch French Division 1, Trophée des Champions, English Football League First Division, UEFA Intertoto Cup, Turkish Cup and Turkish Super Cup.

The list of his personal awards includes the Division 1 Rookie of the Year, French Player of the Year, Onze d'Argent, UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament, FIFA World Cup All-Star Team, French Division 1 Manager of the Year, French Manager of the Year and some others.

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