Former Saint-Etienne defender Gérard Farison is dead

He was the soul of AS Saint-Etienne, of this club which saw him grow and which he never left. Gérard Farison, who died this Wednesday morning of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 77, as the newspaper announced Progress, represented the true values ​​of this club which made the whole of France vibrate during the 1970s.

Born in Terrenoire, a working-class district of Saint-Etienne, one who was not really predestined for a career as a professional footballer, had started in life as a mechanic-gareur (loom trimmer) while evolving in the teams young people from the Greens.

A first professional contract at 23

By dint of will, stubbornness, generosity in effort and tenacity, Gérard Farison signed his first internship contract with the Greens in 1967 at the age of 23, then, finally, his first three-year professional contract. later in 1970.

Its rise will therefore be meteoric. The player, who started his career as a left winger, will quickly be moved to the side. A position to which he will evolve throughout his impressive career.

Package for the 1976 final

Because Gérard Farison, it is not less than 412 matches under the mythical green jersey. Five French championship titles in 1968, 1970, 1974, 1975 and 1977, three French Cups (1974, 1975 and 1977) and above all an extraordinary European epic which will capsize the heart of the whole of France.

Selected only once for the French team against Poland (2-0) on April 24, 1976, Farison did not play the European Champion Clubs’ Cup final a few days later, on May 12, against Bayern Munich (0 -1), victim of an injury shortly before during a Championship match in Nîmes.

At the end of his career, this defender, just as generous on a field as he was discreet in life, joined ES Fréjus as a player-coach in 1980 before retiring as a sports educator at the town hall of Saint- Raphaël in 2002.

To his family, to his relatives, The team offers its deepest condolences.