Pierre Cangioni
Born (1939-07-29) 29 July 1939 (age 84)
Paris, France
OccupationSports journalist
Known forPresenter of Téléfoot (1977–1982)
President of the Olympique de Marseille (1994–1995)

Pierre Cangioni (born 29 July 1939) is a French sports journalist, best known for presenting the French football television programme Téléfoot from 1977 to 1982. He was the president of Olympique de Marseille from 1994 to 1995.

Personal life

Cangioni was born in Paris in 1939. His parents were from Corsica, and he grew up in Bocognano, Corsica.[1][2] He remembers Bocognano being protected by the Italian Army during the Second World War.[1] He attended Bocognano school.[1] His family later moved to Ajaccio.[1]

Career

Six men in suits sitting on steps.
TF1 presenters including Cangioni at the 1977 French Open

Cangioni started working on the television coverage of French sport in 1972, commentating on football and boxing.[1] He worked as a commentator on the French television coverage of the 1976 European Cup Final between Bayern Munich and Saint-Étienne at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland.[3] In 1977, Cangioni had the idea for a French football television programme. He pitched the idea to bosses of TF1, who agreed to pay 700,000 F to acquire the rights for the coverage from Division 1.[4] Cangioni presented the first episode of Téléfoot,[5][6][7] France's first dedicated football television programme.[8] He presented the programme for five years.[9] Cangioni commentated with Jean Raynal at the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina.[10] In 1986, Cangioni also commentated on Formula One and the Paris–Dakar Rally.[1]

Fellow Téléfoot presenter Christian Jeanpierre said that Cangioni had a distinctive Corsican accent.[6] French footballer Zinedine Zidane said that Cangioni was one of "the three voices of French football commentary, along with Thierry Roland and Thierry Gilardi."[11]

In December 1994, Cangioni became the president of Olympique de Marseille, replacing Bernard Tapie, who had been forced to resign due to the French football bribery scandal.[5][12] Cangioni took ownership of 33% of the club, with the rest still belonging to Tapie.[5] He left the role in May 1995,[13] saying that the role was not well suited to him.[14] In 2009, Cangioni was critical of the appointment of Jean-Claude Dassier as Marseille president.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Allal-Volterra, Michel (10 December 2011). "Les vies de Pierre Cangioni". Corse-Matin (in French). Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. ^ Dubois, Laurent (March 2018). The Language of the Game: How to Understand Soccer. Hachette. ISBN 9780465094493. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Ah! Si les poteaux de Glasgow avaient été ronds..." Le Figaro (in French). 12 May 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Téléfoot, le lent déclin d'un mythe". Les Remplaçants (in French). 17 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Anglezi, Paul (12 December 1994). "Un successeur à Tapie pour présider l'association Olympique de Marseille". Les Échos (in French). Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b Jaeglé, Yves (17 September 2017). "40 ans de Téléfoot : "Le foot, c'était de l'artisanat", raconte Pierre Cangioni". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Le foot français est très perméable à TF1". Le Monde (in French). 29 June 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  8. ^ Le Chevallier, Matthieu; Laurens, Julie (2007). Téléfoot : 30 Ans de passion foot (in French). Solar.
  9. ^ Murce, Vincent (20 November 2016). "Téléfoot, TF1 : vous souvenez-vous de tous les présentateurs de l'émission sportive ?". Télé Star [fr] (in French). Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Disparition de Jean Raynal". L'Équipe (in French). 12 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  11. ^ Garcia, Luis (16 June 2012). "L'émotion de Zidane après la disparation de Thierry Roland" (in French). Football365. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  12. ^ "A l'OM, Cangioni doit faire la manche". Libération (in French). 6 January 1995. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Pierre Cangioni: "J'ai du mal à comprendre l'arrivée de Dassier"". BFM TV (in French). 20 June 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  14. ^ Telo, Laurent (20 September 2016). "L'OM, club de la presse". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 11 January 2019.
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