| Fullname | Jean Philippe Varraud[1] |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 10 May 1919 |
| Birth place | Saint-Étienne[1] |
| Death date | 24 June 2006 (aged 87) |
| Death place | Cannes, France[1] |
| Height | 1.76m[2] |
| Position | Midfielder |
| Years 1 | 1937–1939 |
| Clubs 1 | Saint-Étienne |
| Caps 1 | 1+ |
| Goals 1 | 0+ |
| Years 2 | 1943–1944 |
| Clubs 2 | Cannes |
Jean Philippe Varraud (10 May 1919 – 24 June 2006) was a French professional footballer and scout.[3]
Playing and coaching career
Varraud played as a footballer for Saint-Étienne,[4] and made two appearances during the 1937–38 season, with his debut coming in a 5–0 win against Toulouse during October 1937.[2][5] Afterwards, he joined AS Cannes, and played in the 1943–44 Championnat de France Amateur final, where they lost 2–1 to Bordeaux.[4] During World War II, he helped his former Saint-Étienne teammates Ignace Tax and Ferenc Odry by temporarily taking them in following their return from the war.[5][6]
During the 1950s, Varraud became a youth coach at Cannes, where he worked until 1980.[4] While working as a youth coach, he helped develop future French internationals Vincent Estève and Charly Loubet during the 1960s, and players like Guy Sporn, Michel Dussuyer, Bernard Casoni, Jean-Louis Garcia, Yves Bertucci, and Johan Micoud during the 1970s.[4]
Scouting career
Varraud started to work for Cannes as a scout during the 1980s. He worked there for 20 years, and helped to both establish the team's first identification programs and develop the club's youth academy.[4]
In 1986,[7] while working as a scout for Cannes, he spotted a 15-year-old Zinedine Zidane at the CREPS in Aix-en-Provence.[8] Varraud recommended him to manager Jean Fernandez, who later gave him his French Division 1 debut in May 1989 against FC Nantes.[9][10] Shortly after Zidane joined Cannes, Varraud was tasked with helping him channel his anger to focus more on the match itself, and ended up putting Zidane on cleaning duty during his first weeks as a punishment for punching an opponent who had mocked his background.[11] Later on, Zidane would credit Varraud as the person who most influenced his development in football,[9] and described him as a second father.[12]
During his time as a scout for Cannes, he also discovered Peter Luccin, Pascal Bedrossian, and Gilles Hampartzoumian.[4]
Death
Varraud died in Cannes on 24 June 2006, at the age of 87,[1] following a battle with cancer.[5] Zidane attended his funeral.[9]
References
- ^ "VARRAUD Jean Philippe – Fichier des décès". deces.matchid.io. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ "Jean Varraud Milieu de l'ASSE – ASSE Stats tous sur l'AS Saint-Étienne" (in French). www.asse-stats.com. 25 April 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ "Zidane, étoile d'or dans le ciel Bleu" [Zidane, a golden star in the blue sky]. Inside FIFA. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ "Souvenir Jean Varraud: Zidane de retour à Cannes" (in fr-FR). France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
Jean Varraud Memorial: Zidane returns to Cannes
- ^ "La fiche complète de l'ancien Vert Jean VARRAUD" (in French). www.anciensverts.com. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ "Biographie Ignace TAX". www.asse-live.com. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ^ "« Même Platini doutait de Zidane »" ["Even Platini doubted Zidane"] (in French). ladepeche.fr. 24 December 1998. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ Collin, Jean-Christophe (7 July 2017). "Zidane, les années de la rue Mimont" [Zidane, the years on the Mimont Street] (in French). L'Équipe. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ Ortego, Enrique (7 January 2016). "Los 'ilustres maestros' de Zidane" [The 'illustrious teachers' of Zidane] (in Spanish). Marca.com. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ Sinnott, John (12 June 2006). "Zidane swansong". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ Hussey, Andrew (3 April 2004). "ZZ top". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ^ "Photos: Zidane rend hommage à l'homme qui l'a repéré" [Photos: Zidane pays tribute to the man who discovered him] (in French). Gala. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2026.