Here is a story about one of the most iconic figures in the Corsican football history. An inspiring local hero, who was a key reason why SC Bastia had a memorable run in the late 70’s.

Porto-Vecchio is a quiet and charming French commune, located in the south of Corsica. The lovely climate, crystal clear water and alluring beaches attracts thousands of tourists from Italy each year.

They have a good time in this lovely commune. Locals can be found hanging out around the Place de la République. Near the church of St.-Jean Baptiste you’ll find some cozy bars & restaurants, where you can enjoy some of the best Corsican cuisine and sometimes even hear the local men singing songs that can only be heard in Corsica. That’s Porto-Vecchio and coincidentally, it’s a hometown of Claude Papi.

If you mention name of Papi, while chatting with the locals, don’t be surprised, if one of the town’s elders will come up to you, put his hand on your shoulder and say to you with a kind smile on his face.

– Take a seat, my friend. I will tell you a story about one of the greatest man that this island has seen.

Glass of good Corsican wine, olives and some slices of brocciu and the story can begin.

***

Claude Papi was born on 16 April 1949. Like most of the kids, young Claude had a vast passion for different sports – football, rugby and even cycling. Football turned into the biggest passion for the young Corsican boy. He never perceived football as his future job or profession.

For him, football was just a game Papi spent his youth years in Porto-Vecchio and aged 18, the talented attacking midfielder was spotted by the Division 2 side SC Bastia. Corsican had a relatively light frame (175 cm, 66 kg), but that wasn’t an obstacle to survive in the tough French Division 2.

On 27 August 1967, Papi made his professional debut in a match against Grenoble (2-1) and it was a start of an successful run for Bastia in Division 2, who ended the season as the league champions. Corsicans won promotion to Division 1 and Papi played some part in this success with 5 goals in 23 games.

The following season, Bastia was joined by the Algerian veteran striker Rachid Mekhloufi, who spent his best years at Saint Etienne. The veteran quickly took a leading role in Lucien Jasseron’s squad. Soon he turned into a player-manager for Bastia. The arrival of Mekhloufi deprived Papist of some playing. The young midfielder had to take a few lessons from the more experienced Algerian and he played only 20 matches, finishing the 1968/69 season with 3 goals. Overall, the Corsicans managed to turn their debut in Division 1 into a success. Bastia finished sixth, leaving behind them such clubs, as Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais.

A successful debut run amongst French football’s elite was followed by a painful fall in the 1969/70 season. Bastia finished this season 17th, leaving them ahead of only Valenciennes- Anzin. Normally, the Corsicans would have been relegated to Division 2, but they were lucky that year as the first division was being expanded to 20 clubs. The expansion saved their place in French football’s elite. Papi made only one appearance that season and he had to miss the entire following season due to military service. Nevertheless, the talented midfielder kept his place in Bastia squad and local fans had a lot of faith in their homegrown star.

Mekhloufi retired after the disappointing 1969/70 season and Papi was regarded as the successor to the famous Algerian.

“A technically gifted and creative midfielder with a good vision of the game,” that’s how French football observers described the young Corsican back then. Papi soon switched to the number ten jersey. It was the start of a long and interesting journey through French and European football.

“Claude Papi? He can do everything for the team. He runs the attacks and he’s a great finisher, when he gets a chance. He’s a leader of Bastia and its hard to ask anything more from him,” one Bastia fan commented on his favourite player. And he was completely right. Papy was a free-minded footballer. Very passionate, fearless and elegant. If he had play in Italy, people would remember him as a great Fantasista. It’s easy to find comparisons for Papi. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, the football world admired the talent’s of Michel Platini. The great Frenchman played in the same manner as Claude Papi. You could even say that Platini was his successor. Their talent, physique and styles of play were similar, if not identical. The main differences came in their passport information and character. Papi was six years older and a humble person. Platini was younger and far more ambitious one.

Its no coincidence that I’m trying to link the figures of Papi and Platini. At first glance, it might look strange, as these players took very different paths in their careers. But there is one important moment that might be forgotten. Claude Papi played only 3 games for Les Bleus. His involvement with France’s national team was painfully short. Michel Platini was the main reason for that, because they played in the same position.

“What a pity that Papi is so old,” Stefan Kovács, coach of Les Bleus, once said even though Papi was just 24 years old at the time. However, Platini was quickly rising through the ranks of French football and the balding Papi looked older than he really was.

The Corsican had only limited opportunities to play for Les Bleus and even a trip to Argentina for the 1978 World Cup looked like a poor compensation after everything he had done for Bastia. Papi was given the role of backup for the young French football prodigy Platini. France faced a failure in Argentina and international career of Papi came to an end.

While being undervalued for Les Bleus, Papi enjoyed a sucessful career with Bastia. He was the cornerstone of The Lions of Furiani – a team that was very hard to beat at home.

Pierre Cahuzac built a team around Papi, bringing together players like Dutchman Johnny Rep, Yugoslav football legend Dragan Dzajic, former Olympique Lyonnais striker François Félix and another hero of Corsican football – Charles Orlanducci. Papi turned into the leader of this passionate band and Bastia reached its peak in the 1976/77 and 1977/78 seasons, finishing 3rd and 5th in the league and reaching the final of the 1977/78 UEFA Cup. The Corsican playmaker was superb. He scored 14 league goals in 1976/77 season and another 15 in the following one. Papi was also the third best goalscorer in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup with 7 goals in 12 games. Solid numbers for a midfielder.

Bastia had a remarkable run in the UEFA Cup. On the way to the finals, the Corsicans saw off teams like Sporting Lisbon, Newcastle United, Torino, Carl Zeiss Jena and Grasshoppers Zurich. One of the most memorable moments was in Turin, when Bastia earned a 3-2 victory against Torino, who were unbeaten for two seasons on their home pitch. Jean-François Larios’ goal decided the winner. However, it wasn’t the brightest moment for Claude Papi.

“The most memorable game of my career was played on 13 April 1978, when we met Grasshoppers at home and I scored the decisive goal, which put us into the final. It’s worth sacrificing a lot of things to enjoy such unforgettable moments,” said Papi.

Unfortunately, the two-legged final against PSV Eidhoven didn’t turned into a success as everything was against the Corsicans. Bad weather, an unplayable pitch and a tough schedule left its mark. The first game ended with a goalless draw, but the second one turned into a 3-0 away defeat.

The Cinderella story was about to end. After this memorable European run, Papi was surrounded by the attention of European & French clubs. He was under the spotlight. Suddenly, there was a great chance to face a new challenge, sign a lucrative contract and earn some fame outside of Corsica.

Many would have immediately left Bastia, if they had been in Papi’s position. Football was turning into a business back then. However, Papi wasn’t like that and even a generous offer from New York Cosmos wasn’t able to change his mind.

The Corsican declined all the offers he had and it wasn’t just a hasty decision. He understood that it was a now-or-never situation, but that didn’t make him feel any regrets about his decision.

Papi spent another four seasons with Bastia. Some of the leading players left Corsica. Dragan Dzajic, who was a close friend of his, returned to Belgrade. Dutchman Johnny Rep soon joined the ambitious Saint-Etienne. Jean-François Larios also returned to the squad of Les Verts. Bastia were still a force at home, but they never really got back to the level they reached in their prime. Papi remained Bastia’s central figure and he still contributed a lot to his team. Unfortunately, the 1981 Coupe de France was full of misfortune for Papi. Bastia had a successful run and made it to the final, where they had to meet the mighty Saint-Etienne squad led by Michel Platini.

This final became one of the most symbolic moments in the career of Claude Papi. It would be a great duel of two great playmakers – Papi versus Platini. A chance for the Corsican to finally overshadow the younger & more famous Frenchman from Joeuf. Destiny played it’s part and this almost epic final was played without one of it’s leading heroes. Papi had to watch from the stands after suffering an injury.

We can only guess what range of emotions the Bastia veteran went through that night. The Corsicans celebrated a 2-1 victory, thanks to goals of Louis Marcialis and Roger Milla, but their leader had a chance to step on the pitch only after the final whistle.

As it often happens, you never get a second chance. The 1981/82 season was the last one in the career of Claude Papi and the last season in France for Michel Platini. For a long time, they had been moving forward on the same path, but everything changed in 1982. They never met again and the directions they went afterwards were completely different. Papi retired and returned to a quiet life in his hometown.

He fully enjoyed a chance to spend time together with his family and relax, while hunting (it was his favorite hobby). Platini soon joined Italian grand Juventus and his life turned into a colorful journey. He enjoyed a great success in Italy, winning multiple titles and three Ballon d’Or awards. Platini grew into a player who is still regarded as one of the greatest the game has seen.

In 28 January 1983, there was a shock for the whole island of Corsica. The heart of Claude Papi beat for the last time, he was just 33. Unexpected death meant Corsica lost one if its finest sons – a loving husband, father and a great friend, who always had a big heart.

He was the one who always did his best to welcome new players into the Bastia squad and he simply knew how to make people around him happy. It was probably his modest and discreet character that kept the legendary Corsican away from playing for the leading French or European sides. Papi was a gifted footballer with a winner’s mentality on the pitch, but he never looked for a chance to get more lucrative offers off it.

Papi never looked on happiness as something very complicated. It was the pure and simple things for him. Corsica, Bastia, family and his passion, football. Simple, but precious values that can’t be bought. Papi never left Bastia and despite all the painful moments, he had to go through, it proved to be a smart decision. If he had joined any of the elite squads of European football, he would be now tagged as “one of the greatest”. By keeping his loyalty to Bastia, Claude Papi turned into something special, something ageless.

Even after 30 years, he remains the greatest all-time goalscorer of Bastia with 134 goals in 479 games. However, numbers and trophies don’t tell the whole story. There are dozens of titles you could write alongside the name of Claude Papi. You can call him The Prince of Corsica, The Genius One, The Greatest One. But those words still didn’t do justice to his character.

He’s one of those rare football heroes you need to remember and carry his name through the ages. A talented, elegant and loyal man with a big heart. Claude Papi will always remain near the soul of Corsican football. He embodied the most important things that Corsicans will always keep in their hearts – hope and freedom.