Paul Frantz (10 March 1927 – 30 September 2016) was a French
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and manager.
Career
A
physical education
Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
teacher, he never played as a professional, a fact that did not prevent him from earning his 3rd level manager degree – necessary to coach pro teams in France – as
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States.
The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...
in 1958. He was the first manager with no experience as a pro player to do that.
[''L'Alsace'', 15 March 2007] After several spells with amateur teams, he was named manager of
RC Strasbourg in 1964.
He led the Strasbourg team to a good run in the
Inter-Cities Fairs cup in 1964–1965 ousting
AC Milan and
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
before falling to
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
in the quarter-finals. A year later, he led the Strasbourg side to victory in the
Coupe de France, defeating
FC Nantes 1–0.
The following season, he was in charge of
Karlsruher SC and he remains to this date the only French to ever coach a
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
team. Back at Strasbourg in 1968, he occupied several positions including manager of the first team and
director of football until 1976. In 1968 as well, he turned down an offer to be manager of the
National Team.
He also managed
FC Mulhouse
Football Club de Mulhouse (; commonly referred to as FCM or simply Mulhouse) is a Football in France, French association football club based in Mulhouse. The club was founded in 1893 and currently play in the Championnat National 3, the fifth le ...
in 1974.
Impact on training in France
Frantz is also renowned for his talents as a coaching trainer and is considered to be one of the iniators of the "scientific approach" to training in France. He was among the first to emphasize physical training and to introduce the use of
body-building. During the 1970s he was responsible of the formation organized for aspiring pro managers by the
Fédération Française de Football, where he taught the likes of
Aimé Jacquet,
Roger Lemerre and
Guy Roux. In Alsace, he also was influential in
Arsène Wenger's development as a manager. In 2001, he was the recipient of the "''Trophée Georges Boulogne''" to honour his achievements as an educator and trainer.
Death
Frantz died on 30 September 2016, at the age of 89.
References
External links
An interview with ''L'Ami du peuple''A video interview with Alsatic TV''Racingstub'' profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frantz, Paul
1927 births
2016 deaths
Footballers from Bas-Rhin
French men's footballers
Men's association football players not categorized by position
FC Mulhouse players
French football managers
French expatriate football managers
RC Strasbourg Alsace managers
Karlsruher SC managers
Bundesliga managers
Expatriate football managers in West Germany
French expatriate sportspeople in West Germany
20th-century French sportsmen