Game Changers: Michel Platini and France at Euro ‘84

As he enters the ignominious twilight of his career, Michel Platini has taken on the air of a footballing Napoleon. Soon to be 61 years of age, he has begun to resemble a windswept version of Le Petit Caporal in his later years. He is fierce in defence of his legacy, lashing out at a shifting myriad of enemies while gradually slumping under the relentless weight of their assaults. Much like Napoleon, his empire has collapsed around him. Much like Napoleon, he has been condemned to live out his days in exile, cast down from his seat of power by force.

Unlike Napoleon, there is absolutely nothing heroic about the way in which Platini has been brought low. While his historical antecedent maintained his gallantry and grandeur to the last, Platini's career as one of FIFA's leading administrators has been dragged through the dirt. He has been besmirched with the filth of a corruption scandal, financial impropriety, fines, sanctions and a lengthy ban from football. He was finally forced to resign as president of UEFA in May 2016, after a failed appeal against his suspension for "ethics breaches" over a £1.25m payment he received from Sepp Blatter's FIFA.

A panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport "was not convinced by the legitimacy of the payment", a verdict that Platini described as "a profound injustice." After the initial decision by FIFA's ethics committee to ban him from football in December 2015, Platini called the process "a pure masquerade." It is this sort of semi-tragic railing against his own demise that serves as the finishing touch to the Frenchman's toppled emperor persona. As he rages against the unfairness of it all, as he shouts into the wind, his power ebbs inexorably away.

It was all so different, just over three decades ago. To look at him now, few would guess that the bloated, ousted Michel Platini of the present once presided over a golden age of European football, and was once France's golden boy.

In the scorching summer of 1984, Platini was a fresh faced 29-year-old. He was instantly identifiable by his bulging brow and curly shock of jet-black hair. He had won his first Ballon d'Or the previous year, having inspired Juventus to their first ever European Cup. Widely considered to be the best attacking midfielder on the planet, he had made his name as an all-round playmaker at Nancy and Saint-Étienne before going on to conquer the continent with the Bianconeri. Now, he faced a new challenge.

France was set to host the European Championships. The French national team had never won the competition before and, with the nation demanding victory on home soil, the weight of expectation fell squarely on Platini's shoulders.

The 1980s were a febrile time for France. François Mitterrand's Socialist government had introduced a tranche of progressive policies in an attempt to make French society more cohesive, yet the economic situation was fragile and unemployment was on the rise. Euro '84 represented the perfect opportunity to bring the country together, while distracting people from the creeping national malaise. There was massive pressure on Les Bleus to prevail and – as both team captain and midfield talisman – Platini's performances would be crucial to their success.

Since the start of the decade, Platini's burgeoning partnership with fellow midfielders Alain Giresse, Luis Fernández and Sudanese-born Jean Tigana had been dubbed the "magic square" ("carré magique") by the French press. Tactically, the four of them served as a blueprint for coaches and managers the world over long after they hung up their boots. While Fernández played as a defensive midfielder – shielding a back four that included such iconic defenders as Patrick Battiston and and Maxime Bossis – Tigana was a box-to-box warrior and Giresse was creator supreme. They each contributed something invaluable to the side but, despite their individual talents, none of them was on quite the same level as the man the media dubbed "Le Roi" – The King.

While his teammates each excelled in their own field, Platini had it all. He was creative, he could pass all over the park, and had a keen eye for a killer final ball. He was a man motivator, a leader on the pitch and a lightning rod for adoration from the stands. He was a specialist at the set piece, with his free-kicks and penalties imperious at all times. On top of that, he was a remarkably prolific goalscorer. It was his goals that would drive France on to the final of the tournament, and which would demolish the opposition time and time again.

France started their campaign on 12 June, contesting a tricky group against Denmark, Belgium and Yugoslavia. Their first match took place on a sweltering afternoon at Parc des Princes, with Les Bleus narrowly overcoming a Danish team that included the prodigiously talented Allan Simonsen and a young Michael Laudrup. With the game still goalless approaching the 80-minute mark, the Parisian crowd had begun to grow restless. Then, after great work from Tigana on the right, a scrap on the edge of the box saw the ball fall for Platini.

He stroked it home for his first goal of Euro '84. Charging wildly towards the corner flag, "Le Roi" celebrated in suitably kingly fashion.

After hauling France to victory on the opening day of the tournament, Platini then led his troops to a succession of thrilling triumphs. This was Napoleon in his invincible pomp, conquering Europe one country at a time. France faced Belgium in Nantes, and Platini scored three effortless goals in a 5-0 thrashing of their hapless neighbours. The first, after only four minutes, saw him storm through a mass of Belgian players before slotting low into the net. The rest of the game was a trademark Platini performance, with his panache and supreme self-confidence winning him admirers all over Europe.

France faced Yugoslavia in their third and final group match. Platini scored his fifth goal of the Euros with his left foot, his sixth with a glancing header, and his seventh with a curling free kick that came off the inside of his right boot. His perfect hat-trick embodied his contribution to the team: he was impossibly stylish, dashingly debonair and altogether unflappable, holding his ground even when Les Bleus suffered a moment of doubt. Yugoslavia had run them close, but the hosts went into the knockout rounds with three wins under their belts. With Platini at the vanguard, anything was possible.

It took a full two hours for France to overcome Portugal in the semi-finals, but overcome they did. It ended 1-1 after normal time, before a bouncing strike from Portuguese forward Rui Jordão put the hosts on the brink of elimination. Jean-François Domergue equalised in the 114th minute, and the game looked as if it might go to a nail-biting penalty shootout. Platini had other ideas, however. Regal as ever, he won the game with a minute to spare thanks to a lung-busting run from Tigana and a majestic finish past three despairing Portuguese defenders.

So France came to the grand finale, the last battle on the road to greatness. They faced Spain in the boiling heat of late June at the Parc des Princes, the place where it has all begun some two weeks previous. After a tense first half, a pin-point free kick from Platini crept through the arms of Spanish keeper Luis Arconada and over the line. "Le Roi" fell to his knees with his arms outstretched. He had come, he had seen, and he had conquered once again.

France went on to win 2-0 owing to a late goal from Bruno Bellone, but the game was all about Platini. He went up to collect the trophy, planting a solitary kiss on its silver surface before lifting it skyward. He still holds the record for most goals scored in the European Championships, despite the fact that he would only ever compete in the 1984 edition of the competition. He had struck nine times over the course of France's campaign, and assured the team of victory on each and every occasion.

The France team that won Euro '84 changed football irreversibly; managers have sought to emulate the perfect balance of their midfield ever since. The carré magique was seminal in the development of the modern midfield unit, while their determination to win the ball high up the pitch and break at speed has influenced some of the greatest teams the world has ever known, at club level as well as international.

Still, if there's something that nobody has quite managed to emulate it's the personal influence of Michel Platini. The tournament made him an icon of French football, the standard by which all future midfielders would be measured. Showered in accolades from all sides, praised to the heavens, he became an intrinsic part of the national psyche. He had made his country proud, and changed the way that France viewed the beautiful game.

If Euro '84 was the crowning achievement for Platini the player, it was also the foundation upon which his later career as an administrator, bureaucrat and plutocrat was built. He used the romance of his playing days to cultivate his image as the natural heir to the UEFA presidency, and from there became embroiled in the controversies that would be his downfall. Euro '84 secured his place in the global consciousness, and he exploited his fame to ruthless effect.

So France's golden boy became synonymous with the era of sleaze and corruption at FIFA. So Napoleon overreached himself, and was left with nothing but a distant memory of glory.

@W_F_Magee