Every great team is composed of different characters. There may be a few stars in the team, but there also those that keep their feet grounded and work for the team tirelessly and constantly. These individuals are also the reason why the marquee stars of the side are capable of showing their best qualities because they don’t need to sacrifice any part of their game, there are others who will do the necessary. And for Michel Hidalgo’s French national team in the early 1980s, that selfless individual was none other than Jean Tigana. ---- (he was literally a player that allows marquee stars to shine, not another "big name" that was picked in spite of the team's balance - harms)
Tigana’s influence on French football can be observed in today’s modern box-to-box midfielders like N’Golo Kanté, Blaise Matuidi, Tanguy Ndombele. Much like Tigana’s style of play, these players venture forward when necessary and contribute to offensive football, however, their main purpose is to maintain the balance of play in the middle of the park and ensure that defensive solidity is maintained. This assurance in midfield allows the more creative players to express themselves freely without having to worry about tracking back or marking opposition attackers.
Tigana was a player for every manager. His attitude was top class and his work ethic was of the highest order. Although he was deployed usually as a holding midfielder, Tigana’s tireless work-rate in midfield was also complemented by the occasional stride forward to support his attackers in the final third. This tendency to dominate the middle of the park defensively made him popular in France in the early ‘80s and also led to his call-up to the French national team under Hidalgo. Tigana’s loyalty to Bordeaux was unflinching and the combative midfielder earned a great reputation with the Girondins fans. Although Tigana wasn’t tall or muscular, like many modern box-to-box midfielders, he was a tireless worker and used to impose himself by pressing the opposition’s attackers into giving up the ball. Slowly and gradually, the man built his reputation and became one of Europe’s finest box-to-box midfielders. While Giresse was the classy midfielder who was a composed figure on the ball and knew how to make his way past a defence, Fernández was the deepest of the four and played the role of the deep playmaker, however, he did not play a major role in the defensive aspects of Hidalgo’s side, that was Tigana’s work.
I prefer to go for symmetrical formations with the roles either defined or assumed by the nature of the given players.
