THE 21st CENTURY ONLINE AWARDS NOMINEES FOR BEST FOOTBALL [SOCCER PLAYER] OF THE DECADE [CENTURY].

Amadou Jean Tigana

Date of birth - 23 June 1955 (age 65)

Place of birth - Bamako, French Sudan

Height - 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)

Position(s) - Central midfielder

[central midfielder, defensive midfielder] - france.

Amadou Jean Tigana (born 23 June 1955) is a French former footballer.

He has played in midfield and managed professional football extensively throughout France, including 52 appearances and one goal for the France national football team during the 1980s. He most recently coached Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai Shenhua. In his prime, he was a tireless central midfielder, renowned as one of the best midfielders in the world during the 1980s. Tigana was born in Bamako, French Sudan (now Mali) to a Malian father and a French mother. He represented France, and as an international Tigana joined Michel Platini, Luis Fernandez and Alain Giresse in what was termed "the Magic Square" (le Carré Magique) – one of the greatest midfield foursomes of all time. He was part of the French national football team that won UEFA Euro 1984 on home soil, defeating Spain in the final. Tigana's single international goal came against Hungary in the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals, in which France managed a third-place finish. Tigana was a world-class box-to boxmidfielder, who usually played in the centre, and who was noted for his great movement, teamwork, pace and tireless stamina. Although Tigana was mainly responsible for his team's defensive duties, he also often ventured forward to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. His work ethic and expansive range of passing, from both long and short range, made him an excellent distributor, which combined with his close control and simplistic yet efficient dribbling technique, made him a world–class midfielder. He was also well known for his contributions in the more advanced areas of the pitch, due to his ability to spot and execute defense splitting passes.

Curtesy The Caffe Fashion Blog Global "&" Universal.