Didier Six
Birth date21 August 1954 (age 72)[1]
Birth placeLille,[1] Nord, France
Height1.77 m[1]
PositionLeft winger
Years 11972–1977
Years 21977–1978
Years 31978–1980
Years 41980
Years 51981
Years 61981–1983
Years 71983–1984
Years 81984–1985
Years 91985–1986
Years 101986
Years 111987
Years 121987–1988
Years 131988–1989
Years 141989–1990
Years 151990–1992
Clubs 1Valenciennes
Clubs 2Lens
Clubs 3Marseille
Clubs 4Cercle Brugge
Clubs 5Strasbourg
Clubs 6VfB Stuttgart
Clubs 7Mulhouse
Clubs 8Aston Villa
Clubs 9Metz
Clubs 10Strasbourg
Clubs 11Valenciennes
Clubs 12Galatasaray
Clubs 13Stade Vallauris
Clubs 14ASPV Strasbourg
Clubs 15VfB Leipzig
Caps 1154
Caps 229
Caps 366
Caps 412
Caps 519
Caps 659
Caps 731
Caps 815
Caps 932
Caps 1014
Caps 1110
Caps 1222
Caps 139
Caps 1419
Caps 1512
Totalcaps503
Goals 153
Goals 213
Goals 314
Goals 47
Goals 51
Goals 623
Goals 712
Goals 82
Goals 93
Goals 102
Goals 114
Goals 122
Goals 131
Goals 143
Goals 151
Totalgoals141
Nationalyears 11976–1984
Nationalteam 1France
Nationalcaps 152
Nationalgoals 113
Manageryears 11992–1993
Managerclubs 1Strasbourg B
Manageryears 21997–1998
Managerclubs 2Strasbourg Koenigshoffen
Manageryears 32004
Managerclubs 3Audun-le-Tiche
Manageryears 42011–2014
Managerclubs 4Togo
Manageryears 52015
Managerclubs 5Mauritius

Didier Six (born 21 August 1954) is a French football manager and former player, who most recently worked as manager of the Guinea national football team until October 2021.[2]

A gifted but inconsistent winger, Six had a rather nomadic career, playing in five countries. He also played for France in the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups, and was also part of the winning team at Euro 84.

Playing career

Six began his playing career at Division 2 side Valenciennes, making his debut at the age of 17 in 1972. He helped Les Athéniens achieve promotion to the top flight in 1975, which was followed by a remarkable season where they finished tenth, and Six finished as the top scorer at the club with 12 goals.

After turning down offers from Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Feyenoord, Six decided to join Lens in 1977, where he spent a single season, notably scoring a hattrick against Lazio in the UEFA Cup. Lens were relegated at the end of 1977-78 and Six would be made the scapegoat. This was followed by two more disappointing years playing for Marseille, after which his career would become nomadic in the years that followed, playing in Belgium, Germany, England and Turkey.

On 6 October 1984, the 30-year-old made his Aston Villa debut under Graham Turner in a 3-0 home win over previously unbeaten Manchester United.[3]

He acquired Turkish citizenship in order to play as a domestic player at Galatasaray, playing under the name Dündar Siz.[4] There he won the Turkish First League championship in 1987–88 season.

He ended his career in 1992 after a two-year spell in the newly re-unified 2.Bundesliga with VfB Leipzig.

International career

Six was first selected for the France national football team by manager Michel Hidalgo whilst still at Valenciennes, making his debut on 27 March 1976 against Czechoslovakia, the same game in which Michel Platini made his debut.

He played as a winger and he earned 52 caps and scored 13 goals for the France national football team. He played in the 1978 FIFA World Cup and the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and was also part of the winning team at Euro 84.[5]

Coaching career

Six was signed by the Togolese Football Federation as coach for the Togo national football team in November 2011.[6]

He became manager of Mauritius in January 2015 and was fired in May 2015 following a suspension for poor behaviour during the 2015 COSAFA Cup.[7][8][9]

In April 2018, he was one of 77 applicants for the vacant Cameroon national team job.[10]

He became manager of Guinea on 13 September 2019, but left this role in October 2021.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Didier Six" (in French). L'Équipe. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Frenchman Six replaced as Guinea coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  3. ^ https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/didier-six
  4. ^ "Galatasaray-PSG : quand le Français Didier Six devenait Dündar Siz" (in French). CNEWS. October 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  5. ^ "Fédération Française de Football". www.fff.fr. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  6. ^ "Togo: Didier Six named as new Togo coach". StarAfrica.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  7. ^ Sport, Yasine Mohabuth BBC & Mauritius. "Mauritius appoint Didier Six as new coach". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  8. ^ Sport, Mark Gleeson BBC & Rustenburg. "Mauritius coach Didier Six banned from Cosafa Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  9. ^ "Didier Six n'est plus l'entraîneur du Club M" (in French). Le Mauricien. 25 May 2015.
  10. ^ Oluwashina Okeleji (23 April 2018). "77 applicants for vacant Cameroon coaching position". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Didier Six: Guinea appoint Frenchman as national team coach". BBC. 13 September 2019.