Franck Sauzée

Franck Sauzée deserves better than being filed away as a solid French midfielder, because the peak version had far more range than that. Strong, elegant and technically assured, he could play as a central midfielder, deeper organiser or advanced support player, mixing physical presence with passing quality and a superb long range strike. Marseille was his grand stage: the great early nineties side, domestic power, European nights and the 1993 Champions League triumph, where his authority fitted naturally among bigger personalities. He was not Vieira’s athletic monster profile, nor Platini’s creative genius, but he occupied a rich middle ground: leadership, ball progression, shooting, tactical maturity and competitive bite. Later, at Hibernian, he became a cult figure in a very different football world, proof that class can travel if the legs and brain agree. Sauzée was an underrated all round midfielder, polished, forceful and much more than a useful piece