Jean Varraud
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jean Philippe Varraud[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 May 1919 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint-Étienne[1] | ||
| Date of death | 24 June 2006 (aged 87) | ||
| Place of death | Cannes, France[1] | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1937–1939 | Saint-Étienne | ||
| 1943–1944 | Cannes | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jean Philippe Varraud (10 May 1919 – 24 June 2006) was a French footballer and scout.[3]
Playing and coaching career
[edit]Varraud played as a footballer for Saint-Étienne,[4] and made two appearances during the 1937–38 season, with his debut coming in a 5–0 win against Toulouse during October 1937.[2] Afterwards, he played for AS Cannes, including their 2–1 loss to Bordeaux in the 1943–44 Championnat de France Amateur final.[4] During World War II, he helped his former Saint-Étienne teammates Ignace Tax and Ferenc Odry by temporarily taking them in following their return from the war.[5]
He later worked as a youth coach at Cannes, from the 1950s until 1980,[4] helping develop players like future French internationals Vincent Estève and Charly Loubet during the 1960s, and Bernard Casoni, Yves Bertucci, Michel Dussuyer, Jean-Louis Garcia, Johan Micoud and Guy Sporn during the 1970s.[4]
Scouting career
[edit]Starting in the 1980s, Varraud worked as a scout for Cannes for two decades, helping to establish the club's identification programs and develop its youth academy.[4]
In 1986,[6] while working as a scout for Cannes, he spotted a 15-year-old Zinedine Zidane at the CREPS in Aix-en-Provence.[7] Varraud recommended him to manager Jean Fernandez, who later gave him his French Division 1 debut in May 1989 against FC Nantes.[8][9] Shortly after Zidane joined Cannes, Varraud was tasked with helping him channel his anger to focus more on the match itself, and ended up putting Zidane on cleaning duty during his first weeks as a punishment for punching an opponent who had mocked his background.[10] Zidane would go on to be considered one of the best footballers of all time,[11] and later credited Varraud as the person who most influenced his development in football,[8] describing him as a second father.[12]
During his time as a scout for Cannes, he also discovered Peter Luccin, Pascal Bedrossian, and Gilles Hampartzoumian.[4]
Death
[edit]Varraud died in Cannes on 24 June 2006, at the age of 87,[1] following a battle with cancer.[13] Zidane attended his funeral.[8]
Following Zidane's headbutt during the 2006 FIFA World Cup final, internet rumours started circulating that it was triggered by Marco Materazzi gloating about Varraud's death.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "VARRAUD Jean Philippe – Fichier des décès" [Varraud, Jean Philippe – Death records]. deces.matchid.io (in French). Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ a b "Jean Varraud Milieu de l'ASSE – ASSE Stats tous sur l'AS Saint-Étienne" [Jean Varraud with ASSE]. www.asse-stats.com (in French). 25 April 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ "Zidane, étoile d'or dans le ciel Bleu" [Zidane, a golden star in the blue sky]. Inside FIFA. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f "Souvenir Jean Varraud: Zidane de retour à Cannes" [Jean Varraud Memorial: Zidane returns to Cannes]. France Info (in French). France Télévisions. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ "Biographie of Ignace Tax" [Biography Ignace Tax]. www.asse-live.com (in French). Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ^ "« Même Platini doutait de Zidane »" ["Even Platini doubted Zidane"]. ladepeche.fr (in French). 24 December 1998. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ Collin, Jean-Christophe (7 July 2017). "Zidane, les années de la rue Mimont" [Zidane, the years on the Mimont Street]. L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ a b c Ortego, Enrique (7 January 2016). "Los 'ilustres maestros' de Zidane" [The 'illustrious teachers' of Zidane]. Marca.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ Sinnott, John (12 June 2006). "Zidane swansong". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ Hussey, Andrew (3 April 2004). "ZZ top". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ Stevenson, Jonathan (5 July 2006). "Zidane's lasting legacy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
- ^ "Photos: Zidane rend hommage à l'homme qui l'a repéré" [Photos: Zidane pays tribute to the man who discovered him]. Gala (in French). 9 June 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ a b "The most dramatic and memorable exit of all time". Magill. 12 July 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2026.