Platini in the present tense
Friday, 05 March 2004
By Mark Chaplin
Now a member of the UEFA Executive Committee as well as the FIFA Executive Committee, Michel Platini's role in modern football is arguably even more significant than his role as a player with AS Nancy-Lorraine, AS Saint-Etienne, Juventus FC and France.
Brilliant career
One of the most sumptuously gifted players ever to showcase their skills in Europe, the 48-year-old can look back on a marvellous playing career which saw him win the UEFA European Championship with France, the European Champion Clubs' Cup with Juventus, and the Ballon d'Or for three consecutive years - 1983, 1984 and 1985. He shared his views on this season's UEFA Champions League with uefa.com.
uefa.com: Would you like to play in modern football?
Michel Platini: I think that I was very happy to be playing football 15 years ago.
uefa.com: Which teams and players are impressing you in this season's Champions League?
Platini: There are four or five teams that can go on and win the Champions League - sides like Real Madrid [CF], Juventus [FC], [AC] Milan, Manchester United [FC] and Arsenal [FC]. They are perhaps the strongest teams. As regards the top players, we see them in their championships and in the European competition matches on Wednesdays - people like [Pavel] Nedved and [Zinedine] Zidane.
uefa.com: What do you feel when you see a player like Zinedine Zidane?
Platini: That I should buy a ticket to go and see the match and watch him. You know, there are not many like that these days. I played alongside a lot of great players - people like [Zbigniew] Boniek, [Alain] Giresse, [Jean] Tigana and Paolo Rossi, who were the Zinedine Zidanes of their age. But any player would like to play alongside Zidane, because players like him feel and think football like we hear music.
uefa.com: Can the French teams - AS Monaco FC and Olympique Lyonnais - go on and win the Champions League?
Platini: We'd like to think so, but it will be difficult for them. I think it's good that they've got past the opening round, it's the first time [a French team] has done that for some time. I think that both matches - Lyon against Real Sociedad [de Fútbol] and Monaco against [FC] Lokomotiv Moskva - can be won by the French teams. After that, they will come up against the big clubs. The fact the matches are now knockout means it is easier to win a match. But I don't think the French teams can reach the final or win [the Champions League].
uefa.com: Is there a role in the modern game for a No10, a playmaker like you were?
Platini: No, no. Today we give more emphasis to playing on the wings - teams play with four at the back, four in midfield, and two on the flanks. There are two central midfield players who win the ball and use it, and a centre-forward up front, with perhaps a No9 and a half, or No10, who is no longer a playmaker but a second attacker. There is no longer a place for the player who organises [the team's play], because coaches have taken them out of teams. It's a shame.
Property of www.uefa.com
Friday, 05 March 2004
By Mark Chaplin
Now a member of the UEFA Executive Committee as well as the FIFA Executive Committee, Michel Platini's role in modern football is arguably even more significant than his role as a player with AS Nancy-Lorraine, AS Saint-Etienne, Juventus FC and France.
Brilliant career
One of the most sumptuously gifted players ever to showcase their skills in Europe, the 48-year-old can look back on a marvellous playing career which saw him win the UEFA European Championship with France, the European Champion Clubs' Cup with Juventus, and the Ballon d'Or for three consecutive years - 1983, 1984 and 1985. He shared his views on this season's UEFA Champions League with uefa.com.
uefa.com: Would you like to play in modern football?
Michel Platini: I think that I was very happy to be playing football 15 years ago.
uefa.com: Which teams and players are impressing you in this season's Champions League?
Platini: There are four or five teams that can go on and win the Champions League - sides like Real Madrid [CF], Juventus [FC], [AC] Milan, Manchester United [FC] and Arsenal [FC]. They are perhaps the strongest teams. As regards the top players, we see them in their championships and in the European competition matches on Wednesdays - people like [Pavel] Nedved and [Zinedine] Zidane.
uefa.com: What do you feel when you see a player like Zinedine Zidane?
Platini: That I should buy a ticket to go and see the match and watch him. You know, there are not many like that these days. I played alongside a lot of great players - people like [Zbigniew] Boniek, [Alain] Giresse, [Jean] Tigana and Paolo Rossi, who were the Zinedine Zidanes of their age. But any player would like to play alongside Zidane, because players like him feel and think football like we hear music.
uefa.com: Can the French teams - AS Monaco FC and Olympique Lyonnais - go on and win the Champions League?
Platini: We'd like to think so, but it will be difficult for them. I think it's good that they've got past the opening round, it's the first time [a French team] has done that for some time. I think that both matches - Lyon against Real Sociedad [de Fútbol] and Monaco against [FC] Lokomotiv Moskva - can be won by the French teams. After that, they will come up against the big clubs. The fact the matches are now knockout means it is easier to win a match. But I don't think the French teams can reach the final or win [the Champions League].
uefa.com: Is there a role in the modern game for a No10, a playmaker like you were?
Platini: No, no. Today we give more emphasis to playing on the wings - teams play with four at the back, four in midfield, and two on the flanks. There are two central midfield players who win the ball and use it, and a centre-forward up front, with perhaps a No9 and a half, or No10, who is no longer a playmaker but a second attacker. There is no longer a place for the player who organises [the team's play], because coaches have taken them out of teams. It's a shame.
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