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.jpg) Herbin in 1979 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1939-03-30)30 March 1939 | ||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||
| Date of death | 27 April 2020(2020-04-27) (aged 81) | ||
| Place of death | Saint-Étienne, France | ||
| Position(s) | Defender,midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1950-1957 | Cavigal Nice | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1957–1972 | Saint-Étienne | 412 | (88) |
| 1975 | Saint-Étienne | 1 | (1) |
| Total | 413 | (89) | |
| International career | |||
| 1957 | France U18 | ||
| 1960–1968 | France | 23 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1972–1983 | Saint-Étienne | ||
| 1983–1985 | Lyon | ||
| 1985–1986 | Al-Nassr | ||
| 1986–1987 | Strasbourg | ||
| 1987–1990 | Saint-Étienne | ||
| 1991–1995 | Red Star | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Herbin (30 March 1939 – 27 April 2020) was a Frenchfootballer andmanager, who represented theFrance national team 23 times.[1] Known as "theSphinx" due to his reserved personality, Herbin was aone-club man as a player forAS Saint-Étienne, and also later managedles Verts for eleven years.[2]
He won fiveLigue 1 titles as a player and four as a manager, and his Saint-Étienne team lost the1976 European Cup Final toFC Bayern Munich atHampden Park. For both his playing and managerial career, he is considered one of the most important figures in the history of French football.[3][4]
Herbin was born on 30 March 1939 inParis.[4] He had an older brother and two sisters, and his father, whose name was also Robert, was a professionalmusician who played thetrombone.[5] Theclassical music that surrounded Herbin as a child would become a lifelong passion.[6]
In 1947, when Herbin was aged 8, his father accepted a role in the newly foundedOpéra de Nice, and the family thus moved toNice. He first began playing football there in a local parish team, before at the age of 11 following in the footsteps of his older brother, whose footballing talents had been noticed first, by committing to play for Cavigal Nice.[5]
Working his way through the youth ranks at Cavigal Nice, by 1956-57 Herbin had become the captain of the club's youth side, who finished second in the Southeast youth league behindOGC Nice, and would also be selected for theFrance under-18 side.[5]
In the summer of 1957, Herbin had a trial with OGC Nice, one of the best teams in France at the time, but would instead have his head turned by reigningFrench championsSaint-Étienne.[5]
Herbin moved from Cavigal Nice to Saint-Étienne at age 18, for 2.5 millionFrench francs (around €3,800 in 2020).[6] He made his debut on 29 September 1957 against OGC Nice,[7] and quickly established himself as a starting player in theDivision 1 side, playing as acentral defender. During the 1962-63 season, which his side spent inDivision 2 having been relegated the season prior, Herbin finished as Saint-Étienne's top scorer, netting 16 times forlesVerts as they bounced back to the top flight.[8][9] The following season, with the emergence of the4-2-4 which required greater mobility from bothcentral midfielders, coachJean Snella decided to move Herbin into midfield, where his stamina and ability to win back possession could greatly help his side.[7] He continued playing in this position for the rest of the 1960s, forming formidable midfield duos alongsideRené Ferrier and laterRachid Mekhloufi.
Herbin's force of character made him one of the pillars, as captain, of the Saint-Étienne side that would win four consecutive French championships between 1967 and 1970.[10] He only ever suffered one serious injury in his career, a knee injury obtained at the1966 World Cup, which left some lasting effects, including limiting his game time.[7]
During the 1969-70 season, Saint-Étienne managerAlbert Batteux moved Herbin back into the centre of defence due to concerns regarding his central defenders' aerial play. The move was a success, with Herbin forming a strong partnership alongsideBernard Bosquier, andGilbert Gress, Herbin's teammate withFrance, would later say of the move: "In the 1960s, Roby [a nickname for Herbin] was a midfielder who had been converted into a centre-back. He was concerned with passing the ball out neatly. It was at a time when, in France, if you made a sideways pass, you'd get booed from the terraces. You had to move the ball forward! [...] Roby had very good technique and was very good in the air, which made him alibero likeBeckenbauer."[11]
On the 31 March 1971, Herbin was selected as part of a team made up of players from Saint-Étienne andMarseille, the two strongest French sides at the time, to face Brazilian sideSantos, featuring their star playerPelé, in afriendly match in front of 30,000 spectators at theStade Yves-du-Manoir inColombes. The combined French side came out 3-1 victors, in what would be the high point of Herbin's playing career.[12]
In the spring of 1972, Batteux, whose relationship with Saint-Étienne ownerRoger Rocher had become strained due to the sale of two important players to rivals Marseille the previous season,[13] and he announced his intention to step down at the end of the season. He suggested Herbin as his successor, in keeping with the tradition of continuity and co-optation present at the club at the time. Although he was likely still capable of playing on for several more seasons at the highest level, Herbin, who had obtained his coaching qualifications two years prior, decided to accept the managerial position, retiring during the 1972 offseason at the age of 33.[14] He would, however, lace up his boots one last time on the final matchday of the 1974-75 season, when, with his team having already mathematically secured their position as champions of France, he selected himself to play at centre-back in a home fixture againstTroyes on June 3, 1975. His side won 5-1, with Herbin himself, at the request of his players, taking and scoring the penalty that would be Saint-Étienne's fifth goal in the match. This appearances earns him the rare distinction of being one of the only player-managers to have been crowned French champion.[15]
In total, Herbin made 509 appearances at club level, all as a starter in the green of Saint-Étienne.[16]
While still at Cavigal Nice, Herbin featured in theFrance under-18 side that finished joint third in the1957 UEFA European Under-18 Championship.[5]
Following the end of his third season in professional football, Herbin made his debut for theFrance national team on 6 July 1960 againstYugoslavia in the semi-final of the firstEuropean Championship.[1] At theParc des Princes, he started in central defence alongsideJean-Jacques Marcel, with his side ultimately losing 4-5, and ultimately finishing fourth in the competition.[17]
Herbin's first win with the national team came during his third cap on 27 February 1963, a 5-2 victory overEngland in1964 Euros qualification. Havingfailed to qualify forthe previous year's World Cup, the French team began a long dry spell that would limit both the international careers and reputations of that entire generation of French footballers, including Herbin. During this period, he scored his first goal forLes Bleus in his sixth appearance for the national team, a long-distance strike in a 3-1 win overBulgaria, again in 1964 Euros qualification.
Herbin took part in the1966 World Cup in England, in which France disappointed, going out in thegroup stage with two losses againstUruguay and eventual winners England, and a draw againstMexico. During France's match against England, he suffered a serious knee injury from a strong tackle by midfielderNobby Stiles, which would affect the rest of his career.[16]
His final international appearance came on the 17 October 1968 in a friendly match againstSpain at theStade de Gerland, which France lost 1-3. Herbin made 23 appearances in total for the France national team, scoring three times.[1]
As a player, Herbin was known for his jumping and heading ability, and for possessing a powerful shot from distance.[4] He also earned plaudits for his consistency, versatility, and tactical awareness.[2][3]
At the suggestion ofAlbert Batteux, Herbin was instated as the new manager ofSaint-Étienne when the former stepped down in the summer of 1972, retiring from his playing career at the age of 33 in order to accept the role.[14] Despite his relative youth, Herbin quickly established himself as a successful and legitimate manager through his authoritativeness and depth of understanding of the game. He was known for his level-headedness, which some found enigmatic, and his reserved and aloof personality earned him the nickname "theSphinx".[15] However, despite this image, he was also known for being close with his players,[18][19] even defending them to club management when necessary.[20] During games, he spoke little and rarely got up from the bench. He also did not speak much to the media, who at that time were still allowed to enter the dressing rooms, but what brief comments he did make were usually appreciated and seen as interesting.[12]
"Despite his prestige and sporting success, Roby [a nickname for Herbin] has never strayed from the path of simplicity and modesty. [...] This is one of the most appealing and endearing aspects of his personality. Roby has always been a good listener and observer. [...] Robert Herbin's humanism is neither fake nor superficial, and if he is careful not to show his feelings, it is because he is shy - yes, really! - and modest. People say he is cold, when in fact he is sensitive to everything, it is just that his joys are internal. A calm and thoughtful man, his words are always measured, whether in victory or in defeat. Let us therefore salute Robert Herbin, the sportsman who has created his own way to navigate the ups and downs of an exciting but tricky profession."
— Michel Hidalgo, preface toOn m'appelle le Sphinx [They Call Me the Sphinx] (1983)[21]
A keen observer of both the success of theItaly national team (winners of the1968 Euros and finalists of the1970 World Cup) and of theTotal Football being pioneered atAjax, Herbin intended to base his side's game on tactical discipline and physical power.[22] He immediately revolutionised the approach to training,[16][20] focusing more on physical conditioning, and demanding high standards from his players.[10]
On the pitch, Herbin preferred a4-3-3 formation with asweeper and out-and-outwingers, which meant hisfull-backs did not need to go forward and have the attacking influence that is common in the modern game. He was also the first coach in France to demand that the entire team be involved in winning the ball back once it had been lost. Unlike his predecessor Batteux, who built his side's attacking game around a trueplaymaker, Herbin favoured a system in which one of the two wide midfielders (typicallyBereta,Larqué, orSynaeghel) launched the attack, depending upon the situation.[22]
One of his first challenges as manager was managing the players of his own generation, who had won four consecutive titles from 1967 to 1970, but who were now reaching the end of their careers. To do so, he had the fortune of being able to rely on a strong youth development centre, who produced a string of good young players (Gérard Janvion,Christian Lopez,Dominique Bathenay,Jacques Santini,Christian Synaeghel, and above allDominique Rocheteau) who worked their ways into the first team over the following years. This young core were reinforced by two world-class foreign players (the maximum allowed byDivision 1 rules at the time) who Herbin, aware of a lack of talent in France in their respective positions, recruited in 1972: Yugoslavian goalkeeperIvan Ćurković and Argentinian centre-backOsvaldo Piazza.[23]
Herbin's Saint-Étienne did not get off to a flying start, finishing fourth in1972-73 without ever having posed a real challenge to eventual championsNantes, but Herbin himself was nevertheless votedFrench Manager of the Year byFrance Football.[15] Thefollowing season, however, everything fell into place, and Saint-Étienne won the league comfortably, with an eventual eight-point lead over competitors Nantes (especially impressive as the league still operated on two points per win, instead of three as it is today, as well as theCoupe de France. This marked the beginning of Saint-Étienne's second great generation.[24]
Les Verts won a second consecutive title in1974-75, then a third in1975-76.[24] The backbone of this is one of thegreatest home records in French top flight history (still true as of September 2025): a 28-game home winning streak which stretched 530 days from 13 March 1974 to 27 August 1975, as Herbin's side turned theStade Geoffroy-Guichard into a fortress. The streak only ended on the 12 September 1975 in a 1-1 draw againstPSG, in which the visitors equalised with just three minutes left to play.[25]
It was that Saint-Étienne side's exploits in Europe, however, that most enhanced their reputation and legacy, and Herbin's along with it.[15] Their1974-75 European Cup run to the semi-final, in which they beatHajduk Split andRuch Chorzów, and only lost to eventual winnersBayern Munich, gave hope to a French football in crisis,[16] and would set the stage for what would come the following year.
In the1975-76 European Cup, Herbin's ideas fully came to fruition. The young generation of 1972-74, bolstered by the breakthrough of Dominique Rocheteau in the summer of 1975, became a powerful force, defeatingRangers comfortably in the round of 16, including winning the leg atIbrox, where French sides generally struggled, before defeatingDynamo Kyiv in a legendary quarter-final, and then earning their spot in the final by defeatingPSV Eindhoven in a tough physical battle in the semi-final.[26] A strong playing identity, unwavering team spirit, endless stamina, and unyielding determination: all the qualities that had propelled Saint-Étienne to the summit of European football can be attributed to Herbin. His side, however, ultimately fell short in thefinal atHamden Park inGlasgow, going down 1-0 to previous foes Bayern Munich, who, in victory, marked their third consecutive European Cup. Despite the defeat, the Saint-Étienne team were still honoured with a parade down theChamps-Élysées and a reception byPresidentValéry Giscard d'Estaing, and Herbin himself was elected French Manager of the Year for the second time of his career.[15]
The defeat in Glasgow, however, appeared to have broken something within the club. In1976-77, Saint-Étienne quickly fell behind in the league, finishing fifth, and only qualified for Europe through a hard-fought 2-1 victory overReims in theCoupe de France final. In theEuropean Cup, meanwhile, they lost 2-3 in the quarter final to eventual winnersLiverpool, which marked the end of their era of European success, and was only furthered emphasised by a comfortable 1-3 loss toManchester United in the first round of thefollowing season's European Cup Winners Cup. Dissent was rife within the dressing room as Herbin's message was no longer getting through, and club captain and leader Jean-Michel Larqué was unceremoniously removed from the first team in the summer of 1977 and transferred to PSG.[27]
Despite these adversities, club presidentRoger Rocher kept faith in Herbin as a manager, and instead decided to change the club's sporting policy, taking more personal control of the club's transfers, albeit frustrating Herbin in the process.[28] What followed was a serious of high-quality arrivals in 1978 and 1979, includingJacques Zimako,Jean-François Larios,Bernard Lacombe,Johnny Rep, and, most notably,Michel Platini, who helped rejuvenate the squad. Herbin adapted the team's attacking play to focus on Platini, and the results followed. Having finished seventh in1977-78, Saint-Étienne climbed to third in1978-79, maintaining this performance in1979-80, before winning their tenth (and most recent) French title in1980-81.[15] This success did not follow into Europe as it had in their glory days, however. Herbin's side reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup in1979-80 and1980-81, but lost comfortably on both occasions to more physical, better organised opposition in the forms ofBorussia Mönchengladbach andIpswich Town respectively.
The beginning of Saint-Étienne's upcoming decline was beginning to become evident at all levels by this point, but neither Rocher nor Herbin seemed willing to accept it. A second-place finish in1981-82, having battled it out against eventual championsAS Monaco all season, initially papered over cracks, but1982-83 turned out to be a disaster. Herbin was already beginning to lose control of a dressing room who had recently lost Platini toJuventus when aslush fund scandal hit the club, beginning a period of decline that Saint-Étienne havenever fully recovered from.[29][30] The club was torn apart for months in a power struggle between Rocher and dissidents led by lawyer André Buffard. Herbin sided with reform and was initially able to keep his job, but was dismissed in January 1983 after failing to halt the club's slide down the table.[16] Saint-Étienne finished the season in 14th, and were relegated toDivision 2 the following season.
He was instantly hired by Saint-Étienne'sRhone derby rivalsLyon, but was unable to prevent their relegation three months later.[31] He stayed with Lyon for two more seasons in Division 2, but was unable to win promotion back to the top flight, and his contract was not renewed after the 1984-85 season.
Following his tenure at Lyon, Herbin headed to Saudi Arabia sideAl-Nassr, bringing with himHervé Gauthier as an assistant. He lasted there for only one year, however, before deciding to return to France to seek a new challenge. Whilst waiting for a new managerial post, he spent some time advisingDivision 3 sideFC Valence.[32]
In September 1986, Herbin replacedFrancis Piasecki as manager ofRC Strasbourg, overseen by then club presidentDaniel Hechter. He was unable to improve the fortunes of a side stuck in the mid-table of Division 2, and left the club at the end of the season.[33]
In the summer of 1987, in a sensational move, Herbin returned to Saint-Étienne, who had just managed to retain their place in Division 1 having been promoted the season prior. His reappointment was the result of pressure from the Guichard family, influential shareholders in the club, on the club president.[34] Hisfirst season with the club saw a very promising fourth place finish, but the momentum did not last, with Herbin's managerial style no longer having the same effect it used to.Les Verts fell into mid-table, and Herbin left the club in the spring of 1990.[16]
In 1991, Herbin took charge atRed Star FC, at the time a stable Division 2 outfit, and was joined in 1992 by former playerPierre Repellini, who became Herbin's assistant.[10] As he had done at Saint-Étienne, Herbin relied on bringing young players into the first team from the club's youth system, including future France internationalSteve Marlet, and aimed to achieve promotion with the club.[35] The hoped-for promotion never materialised, however, with a fourth-place finish in1992-93 the closest the club got under Herbin, and he left the club at the end of his contract in the summer of 1995.
Throughout this period, Herbin also sat on the Federal Council of theFrench Football Federation, a position he left in the late 1990s.[36] He returned to Saint-Étienne for one final time in 1997 as assistant manager to Pierre Repellini.[12] By this stage, the club had been relegated to Division 2 and were in dire financial straits. Inhis final season withLes Verts, they only narrowly avoided further disaster in the form of relegation to theChampionnat National by finishing seventeenth.Robert Nouzaret replaced Repellini, and Herbin too departed the club, retiring from football for good in the process.
In retirement, he lived alone with his dog nearSaint-Étienne and avoided social events, while also suffering from alcohol and tobacco abuse.[37] Up until his final days, he continued to publish a column in regional daily newspaperLe Progrès after everyAS Saint-Étienne league match on a voluntary basis.[38]
Herbin died in Saint-Étienne on the 27 April 2020, having been in hospital for several days.[4][14][16] Tributes came in from throughout French football, both from former players,[10][18][19] former competitors,[11] and from the president of theFrench Football Federation,Noël Le Graët, the latter whom described Herbin as a "monument of football".[39]
Herbin is still the manager who oversaw the mostSaint-Étienne matches, 514, of which he won nearly half (256, so 49.8%).[40]
In September 2021, Saint-Étienne named its youth development centre the "Centre Robert-Herbin" in his honour.[41]
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