Gérard Farison

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Farison as a player (1976)

Gérard Farison (born March 15, 1944 in Terrenoire, now a district of Saint-Étienne ) is a former French football player .

Club career

First years at Saint-Étienne (until 1970)

Although the 175 centimeter tall left-back Farison had found his way to the professional club AS Saint-Étienne as early as 1961 , his breakthrough in the first team was a long time coming. It wasn't until July 5, 1968 that the now 24-year-old received the trust of coach Albert Batteux for the first time and was on the field right from the start with a 3-1 win on this unusually late final matchday of the 1967/68 season. This commitment made him officially part of the French championship team in 1968, even if his teammates had secured the title weeks earlier.

After his debut, he disappeared again from the scene, before he got another chance in August 1969 and from then on was occasionally called up. In 1970 he won the national championship title with the team for the second time in his career.

Breakthrough and series of successes with Saint-Étienne (1970–1977)

At the beginning of the 1970/71 season, Farison ousted Georges Polny, an actor who had been part of the starting eleven for almost a decade, and in this way rose to the top of the list. The now 26-year-old convinced in the following time with a style of play with which he switched to the offensive game and thus acted contrary to the focus on defensive work that was usual a few years earlier. During this time he also made his debut in European competition when he was used on September 30, 1970 in a 1-0 win over Cagliari Calcio .

In the early 1970s, he took part with Saint-Étienne in the fight for the position at the top of the table, but the team was initially unable to build on the successes of previous years. This changed suddenly in 1974 when the team not only became champions, but also made it into the national cup final in 1974 . Farison played in the final against AS Monaco and, thanks to a 2-1 win, held this trophy in his hands for the first time. The following year, the players with the green jerseys claimed the championship, thanks in particular to the best defensive line in the league, including Farison. In addition, they qualified for the cup final in 1975 and thanks to a 2-0 win against RC Lens , this title was also defended.

When Saint-Étienne won the championship for the third time in a row in 1976, it was possible to speak of a series whose basis had been a strong defense this time too. For Farison it was the fifth and last championship title. A particular highlight of his career was his entry into the national championship cup final in 1976 , where the French met FC Bayern Munich , at the same time as winning this trophy . However, five days before the event, he was injured and could only watch when his colleagues lost 1-0.

In the following season 1976/77 the place at the top with table rank five was clearly missed, although the defensive department around the left-back Farison had become even more stable with 36 goals conceded and was not surpassed by any other in the league. At least the team reached the cup final in 1977 , where it looked like a defeat for a long time before the result could be turned into a 2-1 victory in the final minutes. Farison won the cup for the third and last time.

Final years as a professional (1977–1980)

Although he was well past thirty years, the defender remained an indisputable part of the team in the late 1970s. After a disappointing 1977/78 season, winning the title in third place was just missed in both 1979 and 1980. Farison completed on May 27, 1980 in a 2-0 win against the SEC Bastia, his last of a total of 329 first division games (seven goals), as he decided to end his career at the age of 36 at the summer break of 1980.

National team

Farison was already 32 years old when he played a 2-0 win against Poland on April 24, 1976, making his debut in the jersey of the French national team. This friendly game remained the only official meeting between two nations in which he was allowed to participate. Exactly four months later he was also called up for an unofficial game and was able to celebrate a 5-0 win for his country against Borussia Mönchengladbach .

Life after the active time

Even as an active person, Farison had always wanted to move to the warm south of his home country. Immediately after the end of his professional career, he therefore moved to Fréjus on the Mediterranean coast, where he took on a role as a player-coach at a lower-class club and carried it out for some time. In addition, he got a job as a physical education teacher. In 2002 he retired.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Joueur - Gérard FARISON , fff.fr
  2. ↑ [ http://www.anciensverts.com/telex_vert.php?page=interview-gerard-farison-mars2008_telexvert702.php ( Memento of April 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) [Interview] Gérard Farison: "Des souvenirs magnifiques avec l 'ASSE'], anciensverts.com
  3. ↑ a b Toujours verts , liberation.fr
  4. ↑ Farison Gérard , anciensverts.com
  5. ↑ Gérard Farison , asse-stats.com
  6. ↑ 24 août 1976 - France -VfL Borussia Monchengladbach: 5-0 , selectiona.free.fr
personal data
SURNAME Farison, Gerard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Terrenoire , France