Patrick Raymond Jean Battiston (born 12 March 1957) is a French former footballer who played as a defender for the France national team in three World Cups and won

UEFA Euro 1984 The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France from 12 to 27 June 1984. It was the seventh UEFA European Championship, a competition held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. At the time, only eight countries ...

. At club level, he played for

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, Saint-Étienne,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, and

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, winning five

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

titles and one

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

Club career

Born in Amnéville, Moselle, Battiston began his career at lower league club Talange (1966–1973), before he was spotted and purchased by FC Metz (1973–1980). After seven years at that club, he moved to Saint-Etienne (1980–1983) for three years, where they won the 1981 Division 1 title, before moving to

(1983–1987), where they won the 1984, 1985 and 1987 league titles and two

. Battiston then moved on to

(1987–1989), where they won the 1988 league title, before he returned to Bordeaux (1989–1991). His professional career lasted 18 seasons. Twenty-five years after his retirement, he remained in the top ten of players with the most appearances in League 1, occupying the third spot for non-goalkeepers.

International career

Battiston earned 56 caps for his national side, scoring three goals. He represented 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 ...

, 1982 and 1986 World Cups, and helped France to their victory at

1982 World Cup incident

Battiston is particularly remembered for the 1982 FIFA World Cup semi final in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, when

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

faced

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. He came off the bench in the second half, and after ten minutes of play, following a through ball by Platini, Battiston was clear through the German defence racing towards goal. The German goalkeeper, Harald Schumacher, raced towards Battiston as the Frenchman took the shot, missing the goal. Schumacher leapt into the air, twisting his body and colliding with Battiston. In the process Schumacher's hip hit the Frenchman's face. Battiston, clattered, fell to the ground unconscious, with damaged

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

and teeth knocked out, later slipping into a coma. Emergency medics had to administer oxygen on the pitch. Michel Platini later said that he thought that Battiston was dead, because "he had no pulse and looked pale". The Dutch referee Charles Corver did not give a foul, let alone send Schumacher off. Schumacher then proceeded to take the goal-kick and play resumed. After winning the game, the goalkeeper caused more controversy when he was told that Battiston had lost two teeth, and replied: "If that's all that's wrong with him, I'll pay him the crowns." Schumacher later apologised in person to Battiston, and the apology was accepted by Battiston. In his autobiography, ''Anpfiff'', published a couple of years later, Schumacher said the reason he did not go over to check on Battiston's condition was because a number of French players were standing around Battiston and making threatening gestures in his direction.

Private and later life

Battiston's paternal grandfather was Italian from

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

. His uncle Raymond Battiston (born 1924) played for FC Metz between 1945 and 1953. He has two sons. After his retirement, Battiston joined the Bordeaux staff. He has held various positions, including sporting director, youth and reserve team coach and head of the youth academy. Under his leadership, the academy has produced players such as Marouane Chamakh, Rio Mavuba and Marc Planus.

Honours

Saint-Étienne * Division 1: 1980–81 Bordeaux *Division 1: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87 *

: 1985–86 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

: 1986 Monaco *Division 1: 1987–88 France *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

: 1984 Individual * Onze Mondial: 1984, 1986

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battiston, Patrick 1957 births Living people People from Amnéville Footballers from Moselle (department) French men's footballers Men's association football defenders Ligue 1 players FC Metz players AS Saint-Étienne players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players AS Monaco FC players France men's international footballers 1978 FIFA World Cup players 1982 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1984 players 1986 FIFA World Cup players UEFA European Championship–winning players Olympic footballers for France Footballers at the 1976 Summer Olympics European champions for France French sportspeople of Italian descent People of Venetian descent 20th-century French sportsmen