They are former players, journalists, they all wanted, on the antenna of Europe 1, to pay a last tribute to Robert Herbin, deceased at the age of 81 years. The man who was nicknamed the "Sphinx" left his mark on the history of French football with 18 titles won with AS Saint-Etienne, on the field (11) and on the sidelines (7). The best hours of French football in the 1970s, the crowded Champs-Elysées, for the first time in football, after the defeat in the 1976 European Cup final against Bayern Munich.
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Dominique Grimault, journalist and close friend of Robert Herbin.
"The word intellectual is a bit strong, exaggerated. He was a totally different being, in his approach to the job, in his apprehension of life in general. A loner, a loneliness that was somehow are art. After the matches legend, while France vibrated to the rhythm of the Greens, Robby found himself alone, in his house in the heights of Saint-Etienne, with his dogs. He flooded his house with music. But not just any music: Mahler, Wagner and Brel.
Laurent Paganelli, ex-player launched by Robert Herbin at AS Saint-Etienne.
"It was he who launched me in the league. He had known me a week before, he launched me a week later (at only 15 years and 10 months old, Laurent Paganelli is this player the youngest player in history to play a first division game, editor's note. He was missing someone for the head games in training. And in that game, I won my place and he said to me "I'm taking you to the Park , you will see the professional environment and what you have to work ”.
He had this audacity, this peculiarity of wanting to try blows. There was the coach and the man. The coach, his silences wanted to die as much as his words. And when he said something, it was brief, it was short but it resonated. You had to find the solution by yourself. Then there was the Robby who greeted you in his office and told you about everything except football. We loved Brel, Brassens, we talked about all this, he liked my quirky side, he liked to smile with me. Every first class pass I have known in my life is thanks to Robby. I don't even know if I would still be here because of him. "
Jean-François Larios: under the orders of Robert Herbin between 1973 and 1982 at AS Saint-Etienne.
"I arrived in 1973, I was 17 and a half years old, Robby was for me an extraordinary trainer, he showed me a lot of friendship and affection during all these years. He was one of the first trainers to base his training on very hard physical sessions. We arrived with a great physical level for the matches. We adhered to his philosophy. " There was a lot of competition when I got there, but after three months he put me on the professional team. He got me started on the left wing. Little by little I was able to settle down. After we were ready in Bastia, when I came back, he told me "you're going to be the boss in the middle".