Albert Batteux is one of the legends of French football, an eight-time champion coach, two-time European Cup finalist, and former coach of the national team that finished 3rd in the 1958 World Cup!
As reported by Peuple-Vert.fr, Albert Batteux passed away on February 28, 2003. He is one of the greatest figures in French football history. Before leading AS Saint-Etienne to three consecutive French championships in 1968, 1969, and 1970, as well as winning the French Cup in 1968 and 1970 with the formidable striker Hervé Revelli, Batteux became the ultimate reference as a coach.
Originally from Reims and a midfielder for the Champagne club in the 1940s, Albert Batteux won the French championship in 1949 before ending his career at the age of 31 due to an injury. He played a pivotal role in making Stade de Reims the first major club in France, recruiting Raymond Kopa after a match against Angers.
The achievements of Batteux’s Reims team were exceptional, with five French championship victories in 1953, 1955, 1958, 1960, and 1962, along with a French Cup win in 1958. They also won the Latin Cup in 1953 and reached the finals of the newly established European Cup, losing to Real Madrid with Kopa in 1956 and 1959.
Albert Batteux led the French national team to the semi-finals of the 1958 World Cup, where they lost to Brazil but secured third place against West Germany. Just Fontaine scored a record 13 goals in that tournament, and Raymond Kopa, a talented player in the French team, was later awarded the Ballon d’Or.
Selected by ASSE to coach the team in 1976, Albert Batteux left his mark on the club, even though he did not lead them to European success. It was Robert Herbin, with innovative methods, who guided AS Saint-Etienne to two European Cup finals in 1976, which they unfortunately lost to Bayern Munich.
