AS Saint-Etienne has decided to rename its headquarters and training center at the Etrat (Loire) “Robert-Herbin sports center” in tribute to the legendary player and coach of the club, who died at the age of 81 years / AFP / Archives
AS Saint-Etienne announced Tuesday that it has decided to rename its headquarters and training center at Etrat (Loire) “Robert-Herbin sports center” in tribute to the legendary player and coach of the club, who died on Monday evening in the age of 81.
Herbin had arrived at ASSE in the summer of 1957, coming from the Nice Cavigal, the day after the first of ten French championship titles for the Forézien club.
With the Greens, he won the other nine, five as a player and four as a coach, but also six French cups, three in each role.
Earlier in the morning on Tuesday, Bernard Caïazzo and Roland Romeyer, the two shareholders of AS Saint-Etienne, expressed “their immense sadness”, after the disappearance of the man who will remain the emblematic coach of the epic of the Greens in 1976.
“We will forever remember a great international player but even more of an exceptional coach who knew how to restore pride in our football at a time when we were at the bottom of the wave”, reacted Mr. Caïazzo , Chairman of the ASSE Supervisory Board.
“He convinced us that the impossible in football did not exist,” said Roland Romeyer, chairman of the board.
“This is how ASSE overthrew the biggest clubs in Europe in the 1970s. His greatest achievement was to federate an entire city and an entire country behind a team. In 1976, the year of the fabulous epic, France was green. He had an incredible charisma and strength, ”continued the leader.
“It allowed ASSE with Roger Rocher (president) and Pierre Garonnaire (recruiter) to be a pioneer in many fields, supervision of opponents, video analysis, plane travel”, added Mr. Romeyer evoking “the most great club coaches ”, named“ life ambassador ”in 2013 for the club’s 80th birthday.
Finally, the current general manager of AS Saint-Etienne, Claude Puel regretted “deeply not having had the privilege of meeting him, exchanging with him and showing him all (his) respect”.
“He opened me to football, I was born in the Pays de l’Ovalie, a kid following the green epic and vibrant like everyone else with the exploits of its actors,” said the technician, a native of Castres, 58 years old .