Wednesday, January 11, 2023
The Beautiful Sleeping Athlete, Part 3
With Jean-Pierre Adams in its ranks, the little Nîmes club achieved its best-ever domestic result in the 1971/72 season, finishing second behind Olympique de Marseille. Sure enough, after becoming an international regular as well, Adams was snapped up by the ambitious OGC Nice club in 1973. Right at the beginning of his period with the Côte d'Azur club, he had a hand in its finest hour - eliminating the mighty Barcelona from that season's UEFA Cup.
This was, it must be added, a Barcelona missing its recently-acquired maestro Johan Cruyff, who was still ineligible to play. But it still featured an array of Spanish internationals, plus the Peruvian World Cup star Hugo Sotil.
Nice won the home leg 3-0. In this game, Adams played as an out-and-out sweeper, which many considered his best position. And it was in many ways a typical Jean-Pierre Adams performance: unfussy, unspectacular, but effective, especially in the air. This time, there was no question of getting forward to support the attack: the opposition was a daunting one, and Adams' job was to close any doors that might open at the back.
The French side dazzled in the opening minutes. Their Dutch forward Dick van Dijk, who had helped Ajax to the European Cup title in 1971, showed particular verve and invention, and scored the opening goal from a right-wing cross after just four minutes. Subsequently Nice lost their rhythm somewhat, with their centre-forward Marc Molitor missing some good chances. Barcelona were a little unlucky when Sotil's goal just after the hour was ruled out for a probably nonexistent offside. But Molitor had the last laugh, scoring a second goal on the break before heading in a free kick ten minutes from the end.
Adams was now playing in central defence for the national team as well, and his partnership with Marius Trésor, a close friend, was blossoming. After Les Bleus won a friendly away to a Poland side featuring all its 1974 World Cup stars, the new French coach Stefan Kovacs paid particular homage to his garde noire - a phrase that surely requires no translation - of Trésor and Adams. The former's technical excellence and capacity to link up with the midfield was well complemented by the latter's intimidating power in the air and in the tackle. No less a judge than Franz Beckenbauer opined that Trésor and Adams constituted the best central defensive partnership in Europe.
The French thus went into the qualifying series for the 1976 Nations Cup in optimistic mood. Alas, it was to be a wretched campaign; the French failed to win any of their first three group matches, even against little Iceland, and by the time they faced East Germany in a crunch qualifier in Leipzig in October 1975, they had to gain at least a draw to retain even a slight chance of qualifying.
This was Adams' last competitive international. Not that his form gave any cause for dismay; in fact, he was one of France's best players on the day. But injuries punctuated his career to a greater extent after the Nations Cup campaign, and the great subsequent French revival, which he might have played a part in, took place without him.
East Germany were a straightforward, hard-running team who had reached the second phase at the recent World Cup, causing a shock by defeating their western neighbours. But they were without their star attacker, Jurgen Sparwasser, and France had begun to rebuild their team: the young St. Etienne duo of Dominiques, Bathenay and Rocheteau, were cementing their places in the side.
Yet it was another Dominique, goalkeeper Baratelli, who kept the French in the game early on with two smart saves. The French attackers too often ran into dead ends, and did little with the few free kicks they received; Michel Platini was yet to emerge.
Adams, tackling furiously throughout, did as much as Baratelli to repel the relentless if somewhat predictable German sallies. And early in the second half, on one of his few forays into the attacking half, he provided the impetus for the French goal. A sharp one-two between Adams and the Marseille winger Albert Emon ended with the latter's shot being deflected to Bathenay at the far post, who slotted the ball home.
Hopes rose: an unlikely win, and the chance for progression to the Euro quarter-finals, was in sight. But it wasn't to last. In the penalty-box chaos following an East German corner, the centre-forward Joachim Streich was left unmarked, and scored. Then a completely unnecessary foul by the left-back François Bracci on the lanky Reinhard Häfner presented the Germans with a penalty, which was duly dispatched. France were out.
Adams' club career carried on, his stint with Nice being followed by two years at PSG. But problems with his knee forced a relatively early retirement. In the meantime, he had settled down to a happy family life with his adoring wife Bernadette and his sons Laurent and Frédéric.
His final club posting at Chalon had seen him combine the roles of player and coach, and he looked forward to more coaching work in the years ahead. To this end, he undertook a coaching course in Dijon. But it was only a few days into this new venture that a new knee injury necessitated a trip to the hospital. The surgeon advised an operation as soon as possible. It was booked in for March 17, 1982.
The dreadful events of that day changed the lives of Adams and all those who loved him. To be concluded in Part 4.
