He started out as a half-defensive, went on to score on goal and ended his Liberian career. Robert Herbin was an intelligent and versatile footballer. A lover of the game. A captain. And even a coach-player for a historic evening.
Geoffroy-Guichard, June 3, 1975. ASSE welcomes Troyes for the 38th day of the championship. The Greens lead 4-1. There are 12 minutes to go when Robert Herbin shows up at the penalty spot. He’s been on the other side of the fence for three years, coaching the Greens. But for this last match of the season which counts for butter – Saint-Etienne being already champion -, he decided to put the crampons back on.
“It was like his jubilee” smiles Dominique Rocheteau. Historical. At this level, not one coach had done it before, none had done it after. He lacked ground. He wants to give himself one last little pleasure. His 74th goal in 383 1st Division games. “We were all in agreement, if there was a penalty, to leave it to Roby,” said Christian Sarramagna. He was bowing out. It happened in the most beautiful way. “
“He has always had this player side,” confirms Dominique Rocheteau. When I became a coach, I remember that he enjoyed playing games with us. Soccer was a real passion for him. “
That was Robert Herbin. A football lover who will have completed his football career at the age of 33 (May 27, 1972), probably a little too early for his taste. But his knee was hurting him and he couldn’t say no to Roger Rocher when he offered to be Albert Batteux’s successor.
Five champion titles and three French cups
On the ground, Roby will still have benefited well. He is the kid from the Nice Cavigal recruited by Pierre Garonnaire. He signed his first professional contract on July 2, 1957, began, ironically, against the OGC Nice, three months later, on September 29. “1957 was the first year I went to see ASSE games,” recalls Roland Romeyer. Roby was a very great player. From the head, he was super strong. For 90 minutes, he was also one of the runners. “
Then, everything goes on even if the first titles of glory will come later: a French Cup first in 1962 then the championship in 1964. It quickly becomes essential. In the 4-2-4 dear to Jean Snella, half defensive, his reading of the game and his athleticism are marvelous.
Its versatility too. “He had a fairly developed tactical sense. It fits all patterns, says Sarramagna. He had that facility, that intelligence. Roby can do it all. Including scoring goals, often with a header, an area in which he excels. During the 1965/1966 season, he registered 26 in a more advanced position alongside the artist Rachid Mekhloufi.
Captain’s armband
The duo wreaks havoc, Roby even signs a quintuplet in Cannes. “Huge”, exclaims Sarramagna, still admiring more than 50 years later. He tells us an anecdote. “It was one of my first games. I was not yet 19 years old. We faced OM (2-1 victory, October 18, 1970). Herbin, who was a pure right-hander, had scored from the left and I, a pure left-hander, from the right. “
Roby is so versatile that he will end his career in central defense with the captain’s armband. A way to complete the circle of his first life in Green.
In 1969, Albert Batteux associated it with Bernard Bosquier. Brilliant idea. The Stéphanois overthrow Bayern Munich in the round of 16 of the European Cup, are crowned champions of France. They will be again the following year. A fourth straight title (67, 68, 69, 70) for Robert Herbin who changed caps two years later. “In terms of strategy, he already understood everything. He was predestined for a coaching career, “concludes Sarramagna.
Player, he was very hard and demanding with himself before being with his teammates. His behavior was very professional. He was an example for all of us.
Christian Sarramagna