Paris (AFP)

"Inimitable voice", "man of heart" but also crazy literature, the journalist Eugène Saccomano, great commentator of football on Europe 1 and RTL, died Monday at the age of 83 years.

Its two former employers have announced Monday in communiqués, Europe 1 hailing the departure of a "legendary voice", RTL regretting "the Brazilian voice of French football".

"Eugene Saccomano is much more than a voice, it is a divine babble by the magic of which the hearing of a football match on the radio becomes a rare and precious pleasure", wrote Le Figaro in 1999.

"A legend, you will say the most flattering, a great voice of football, rectify connoisseurs (...) the king of the anecdote and scoops," said Christian Ollivier, director of sports on the antenna of RTL. "This great football voice has thrilled millions of fans," added the professional football league on Twitter.

Born in Marseille, Eugène Saccomano started as a journalist with the newspaper Le Provençal before becoming correspondent for Europe 1 in the South. He then joined the Parisian editorial board of radio and then his sports department, which he will take the lead.

Often copied, sometimes caricatured, he launched in 1996 the daily program "Europe Sport" and won in 2000 the grand prize of the media for the best radio program with "The match of Monday". After more than 40 years, the journalist left Europe 1 "without shedding a tear" and had "preferred to pass in the opposite team", RTL, where he had animated "We redo the game".

- Fou of Céline and Giono -

"He received the biggest and covered all the football appointments of the station, also allowing a whole generation of reporters, journalists, to put on crampons ... But Eugene Saccomano was more than that, he was a man of heart that embodied football, loving to share his passion and passion with his friends and listeners ", commented RTL in a statement.

On July 12, 1998, it was notably he who had the pleasure of wining on Europe 1 for the victory of the French team in the final of the World Cup against Brazil. "We are, they are, all together, the whole of France is the world champion of football ... Historical! Unimaginable!", He had exclaimed. "3 to 0, we knocked them out, we knocked them down!"

"He had his flashes, his foolishness, his flights ... What foolishness!", Greeted on Twitter Pascal Praud, who had resumed on iTele (now CNews) the show in which participated Eugene Saccomano in his last years. "What memories!" Eugene left, infinite sadness, thoughts for Francoise, for her children of whom he was so proud, and his grandchildren, whom he cherished so much.

Eugene Saccomano was also crazy about writing. In 1968, at the age of 32, he had published "Bandits à Marseille" successfully adapted for cinema by Jacques Deray in "Borsalino", with Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. He had also devoted works to Céline and Giono.

"A lot of people take me for an idiot, for a dude who only understands football in life, who is a maniac in the press, I am, but I love literature too. it's discovering new books, "he told France Info in 2014.

A resident and former councilor of La Garde-Freinet (Var), Eugène Saccomano died in the Paris region, according to Var-Matin.

© 2019 AFP