The former coach Michel Hidalgo, who led the French national football team to the first major title in his history by crowning the 1984 European Cup finals, is buried today, wearing the Marseille club clothes, according to what his family announced.
"He will be buried in his great departure, a Marseille suit," said Monique, Hidalgo's wife who died last Thursday at the age of 87 in his home in Marseille, and thanked the fans who held a sign saying "Thank you Hidalgo" in front of "Velodrome".
She continued in the statement: "Thank you once again for your affection towards Michel. He deserves it because he loved the club of Marseille and the city of Marseille so much that he never left it."
Hidalgo is buried in private ceremonies that are absent from the masses due to strict health measures, fearing the spread of the new Corona virus that affects France and the whole world.
Hidalgo, of Hispanic descent, left after suffering years of illness, according to his family, Radio France Info, last Thursday.
Hidalgo spent eight years at the head of technical management for the "roosters", culminating in the European Cup 1984 with a generation that was the most prominent in the history of the French team, and included names such as Michel Platini, Alain Gerais and Jean Tigana.
France won the title at home by defeating Spain 2-0 in the final.
This title was the first major coronation for the team, which later added other titles, notably the World Cup twice (1998 and 2018), and the 2000 European Cup.
Two years before the first coronation, Hidalgo led the team to the 1982 World Cup Spain semi-finals, losing to West Germany on penalties.
In his career as a player, Hidalgo defended the colors of Rennes in the 1950s, and reached with him the final of the first edition of the European Champions League Cup (currently the Champions League), where he lost to Real Madrid 3-4. He also won two titles in the French League and the local cup competition with Monaco in the early sixties.
Hidalgo was the first sports director to Marseille in the era of former club president Bernard Taby between 1986 and 1991, where he played an influential role in the renaissance of the team and laid the foundations that led him to be the first and last French team to win the European Champions League title in 1993 at the expense of Milan, Italy.