Bernard Genghini

A graceful left-footed attacking midfielder, Bernard Genghini was one of the elegant secondary lights of France’s golden midfield generation. Less commanding than Platini and less relentless than Tigana, he offered vision, passing quality, set-piece precision and a natural ability to connect midfield with the final third. At Sochaux and Monaco, he showed real creative weight and an excellent scoring return for a midfielder, while with France he belonged to the famous carré magique era and contributed at the 1982 World Cup, Euro 1984 and the 1986 World Cup. Technically refined and tactically intelligent, he was not always the man who owned the stage, but he often improved the rhythm of the play around him. A classy creator, slightly overshadowed by giants, but far too good to be treated as background music.