The death of this great football commentator has been announced by his two former employers, Europe 1 and RTL.
"Inimitable voice", "Man of heart" but also crazy of literature, the journalist Eugène Saccomano, great commentator of football on Europe 1 then RTL, died Monday at the age of 83 years. Its two former employers have announced Monday in communiqués, Europe 1 hailing the departure of a "Legendary voice", Regretting RTL "The Brazilian voice of French football".
«A legend, will tell you the most flattering, a great voice of football, will rectify connoisseurs (…) the king of anecdote and scoops »said Christian Ollivier, director of sports on RTL. "This great football voice has thrilled millions of fans", added the Professional Football League on Twitter.
Born in Marseille, Eugène Saccomano started as a journalist in everyday life The Provencal before becoming correspondent for Europe 1 in the South. He then joined the Parisian editorial board of radio and then his sports department, which he took the lead.
In 1996, he launched the daily program "Europe Sport" and in 2000 won the media grand prize for the best radio program with "Le Match du lundi". "Eugene Saccomano is much more than a voice, it is a divine babble by the magic of which the hearing of a football match on the radio becomes a rare and precious pleasure", wrote Le Figaro in 1999.
Crazy writing
After more than forty years spent on Europe 1, the journalist left in 2001, "Without shedding a tear", and he had «Preferred to pass in the opposite team», RTL, where he had animated "We redo the game". RTL paid tribute to him in a statement:
"He received the biggest and covered all the football appointments of the station, also allowing a whole generation of reporters, journalists, to put on the crampons … But Eugene Saccomano was more than that, he was a man of heart who embodied football, loving to share his passion and passion with his friends and listeners. "
On July 12, 1998, it was notably him who had the pleasure to shout on the Europe 1 channel for the victory of the France team in the final of the World Cup against Brazil. "We are, they are, all together, the whole of France is world champion of football. History! Unimaginable! "he exclaimed. "3 to 0! We knocked them out, we knocked them down! "
"He had his flashes, his follies, his flights. What crazy laughs! ", praised on Twitter Pascal Praud, who had resumed on iTélé (now CNews) the show in which participated Eugene Saccomano in his last years.
He was a rhythm, a voice, a style. He had his flashes, his follies, his flights. What crazy-laughs! That … https://t.co/6PjfCx6tcv
Often imitated, sometimes caricatured, Eugene Saccomano was also crazy writing. In 1968, at age 32, he had published Bandits in Marseille, adapted to cinema successfully by Jacques Deray under the title Borsalino with Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. He had also devoted works to Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Jean Giono.
In 2014, he confided to Franceinfo: "A lot of people take me for an idiot, for a dude who only understands football in life, who is a maniac press. I am, but I love literature too. The pleasure I have is to discover new books. "
Living and former councilor of La Garde-Freinet (Var), Eugène Saccomano died in the Paris region, according to Var-Matin.
