It would be easy to define Tigana as the 'water-carrier' of *that* midfield and his tally of one goal in 52 international appearances makes it an easy conclusion to draw. Tigana did a lot more of the defensive work for the team, but it was as a unit that the midfield four were so successful. He was a spoke in a wheel more than just a spoiler in the way the role has become defined in the modern era.
We could draw on some moments of magic from those swashbuckling French sides of the early 80's for some video footage, but thought we'd pick this instead.
On January 18, 1986, the wheels came off for defending Ligue 1 champions Girondins de Bordeaux. Having been on a poor run at the end of 1985, the ageing side, which contained such iconic names as Tigana, Giresse and Battiston, were humbled by a youthful Monaco team and a four goal blast by Bernard Genghini. The result remains Monaco's biggest ever win and Les Girondins heaviest defeat.
Bordeaux managed to galvanise themselves after such an obvious low and went on to finish third, before reclaiming the title in 86-87. However the result highlighted the effects of time on some of France's star players and perhaps signified the end of an era.
Happy birthday Jean. Sorry for this....
