Manuel Amoros

Manuel Amoros

Personal information
Full name	Manuel Amoros
Date of birth	February 1, 1962 (1962-02-01)
Place of birth	Nimes, [France]]
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Right-back
Club information
Current club	Benin
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1980–1989	Monaco	287	(1)
1989–1993	Marseille	98	(2)
1993–1995	Lyon	66	(3)
1995–1996	Marseille	16	(0)
National team
1982–1992	France	82	(1)
Teams managed
2010–2012	Comoros
2012	Benin
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of February 18, 2012. † Appearances (Goals).

Manuel Amoros (born February 1, 1962 in Nimes) is a retired football defender from France with Valencian ancestry. He was capped 82 times (one goal) for the France national football team, and played in the Euro Cup finals of 1984 and 1992, and the World Cup finals in 1982 and 1986.

Amoros played most of his career for AS Monaco in the French first division. He missed his penalty in the 1991 European Cup Final for Marseille and subsequently Red Star Belgrade won the match 5–3 on penalties.

It was his stints with the tricolor during the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups in which he stood out. In the 1982 World Cup semifinal against West Germany, Amoros' crossbar-hitting 30-yard shot in the 89th minute sent chills to the spines of many a West German fan.^{[citation needed]} In the penalty shoot-out he converted his kick before France bowed out.

In the 1984 European Championships held in France, Amoros showed an egregious side of him. During the inaugural game against Denmark, the French back was harshly tackled by Danish midfielder Jesper Olsen. As the referee went searching for the yellow card to book the offender, Amoros quickly jumped on his feet and head-butted his tackler on the forehead in front of a stunned ref who also yanked a red card out of his pocket to send Amoros off. He was banned for three games. However, in the final against Spain, national coach Michel Hidalgo took him on as a sub in a game that Les Bleus won by 2–0 at Le Parc des Princes.

In the 1986 World Cup the 24-year-old Amoros was overshadowed by the likes of Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Harald Schumacher, Emilio Butragueño, Gary Lineker and Enzo Scifo, who took center stage. However, he was voted best right-back by the international press and had a field day of a game against Brazil in the quarterfinals.

On June 16, 2010, The former OM player (89 to 93) has been appointed national team manager for the Comoros Islands. [1]

Ex-France defender Manuel Amoros was on Thursday named new coach of Benin, replacing Edme Codjo, who had been in charge since August. [[2]]

Honours

• European Championship: 1984
• Ligue 1: 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992
• French Cup: 1985
• UEFA Champions League: 1993

References

• French Football Federation Profile (French)

Preceded by Luis Fernandez

France national football team captain 1988-1992

Succeeded by Jean Pierre Papin