Jean-Pierre Papin

Who is Jean-Pierre Papin?

Jean-Pierre Papin is a former French professional football player who was European Footballer of the Year in 1991.

Papin achieved his greatest success while playing for Olympique Marseille between 1986 and 1992. He later played for AC Milan, FC Bayern Munich, Bordeaux, Guingamp, JS Saint-Pierroise and US Cap-Ferret. Papin also played 54 times for the French national team. After a short time as manager of French clubs, he joined the local amateur club AS Facture-Biganos Boïen as a player in 2009, aged 45.

He was famous for his volley shots that his fans nicknamed "Papinades" from his name.

In 1996, after their eight-month-old daughter Emily was shown to have serious cerebral lesions, Jean-Pierre and his wife, Florence, set up an association "Neuf de Coeur" to help others in that situation and, particularly, to find and apply methods to mentally and physically educate such children.

Although Papin played only 31 matches for Club Bruges, he was elected as its best foreign player by the supporters in April 2008.