Papin’s Pain in Milan
When Jean-Pierre Papin moved to Milan for a world record transfer, it looked like a match made in heaven. So why didn’t it work out for the French hitman?
When Jean-Pierre Papin moved from Marseille to AC Milan for £10.8 million in the summer of 1992 he became the most expensive player in Europe and the first high-profile French player to join the world’s greatest league since Michel Platini. His two years at the San Siro saw the Rossoneri win consecutive Scudettos and reach two Champions League finals, including a memorable evisceration of Barcelona in the 1994 final in Athens. However, despite the medals and the glory, Papin’s time in Italy was a strangely frustrating tale as he struggled to fully establish himself in Fabio Capello’s star studded starting lineup – even in the absence of a stricken Marco Van Basten. When the Frenchman finally packed his bags for Bayern Munich in 1994 it came as a relief for all parties. So, why did Europe’s premier marksman, in the prime of his career, fail to hit the heights at the San Siro?
Fresh from scoring an astounding 38 goals in 44 appearances for Les Phocéens in the 1991-92 campaign, the fourth consecutive season he’d hit the 30-goal mark in France and fifth consecutive year he’d topped the league’s goalscoring charts, the 29-year-old was the hottest property in European football. Nicknamed ‘Papinades’ after his stunning signature volleys, Papin’s electrifying exploits had earnt him the highest individual prize in football, the Ballon d’Or in 1991. The one tournament that continued to elude him was the European Cup (renamed the Champions League in 1992) – he’d come close enough in 1991, firing Marseille to the final only to lose on penalties. For Papin there was only one other team who could help him fulfil his ultimate dream. After watching Sacchi’s great Milan side dismantle Steaua Bucharest 4-0 in the 1989 final, with two goals apiece from Marco Van Basten and Ruud Gullit, he decided it would be “perfect” to one day play for the San Siro giants.
Papin made his debut in a 1-0 home win over Foggia alongside Van Basten and despite missing out on the next three games, scored his first goals in black and red in the next two matches – a 5-3 rollercoaster win over a Paul Gascoigne inspired Lazio and 2-0 win on the road at Parma. Despite the hefty price tag, Papin knew the main man remained Van Basten and it was the prospect of playing alongside the Dutchman that, in the Frenchman’s own words, made his “heart race”. Unfortunately, Van Basten’s ankle injuries limited his playing time to just 15 appearances in Serie A that season – the sumptuous one-two combination that resulted in the first of Van Basten’s four goals against IFK Göteborg was a tantalising sign of what could’ve been a devastating partnership.
Notwithstanding Van Basten’s long term absences, Papin himself found it hard to nail down a starting place as Fabio Capello’s rotation policy saw the striker berths shared with Gullit and Italians Gigi Lentini, Danielle Massaro and Marco Simone. Compounding the Frenchman’s frustrations was the three-foreigner rule that restricted Milan to selecting just three non-Italians in a matchday squad and this would remain Papin’s biggest obstacle throughout his time in Italy. Indeed, along with Van Basten and Gullit, the Rossoneri’s star-studded squad included such overseas talents as Frank Rijkaard, Zvonimir Boban and Dejan Savićević. This meant that despite his hefty price tag, Papin often found himself out of the squad altogether for long, frustrating spells. Unsurprisingly, Papin struggled to find the net consistently when he did make it on the pitch and managed just three goals in the seven appearances after his goal against Parma in matchday seven.
Things finally clicked after Christmas as Van Basten’s continuing absence saw Papin thrust back into the first team, an opportunity the Frenchman grabbed in devastating fashion. Papin scored seven goals in seven games, including a double and an assist in a humping 4-0 win over Sampdoria at the San Siro. Sadly, Capello’s penchant for rotation soon saw Papin back on the sidelines, with the French hitman only scoring again in the final game of the season, a 2-2 draw away to Genoa.
It had been a strange season for Papin: when he’d been given a run in the team he’d done well enough, helping Milan win the Serie A title and finishing the season as the club’s joint top scorer (20 in all competitions), despite the truncated playing time. He’d also helped Il Diavolo reach the Champions League final and come on as 54th minute substitute, only to lose to Marseille of all teams. It was a bitter pill to swallow for the former L’OM legend, whose principal reason for leaving the French club had been to win the ultimate club prize.
The following season, Papin’s final year in Italy, was perhaps even more frustrating, as Milan added even more foreign talent to the squad. In came Florin Răducioiu, Brian Laudrup and Marcel Desailly, adding to the increasingly more influential Zvonimir Boban and Dejan Savićević, putting a further squeeze on the Frenchman’s playing time. The season started positively enough though, with Papin selected as the first-choice striker in Van Basten’s continuing absence and scoring in three successive games in September. Papin’s purple patch wasn’t allowed to linger long though as Capello succumbed to his urge to tinker and began a rotation of the striker berths between Massaro, Simeone and his new Romanian recruit from Brescia, Răducioiu. Once again, Papin’s form suffered with the stop-start selections and he managed to only score once more before Christmas, albeit a special one, the second of Milan’s goals in a 2-1 win over Inter. In the new year, the Frenchman found himself out of the playing squad altogether with the emergence of starlet Savićević as the permanent fixture up top. Papin would only score once more in the league for the rest of the season, a right footed strike against Piacenza in January.
Despite his domestic frustrations, Papin’s record in record was still impressive though, dispatching four goals in six games and providing two assists. However, yet again, in the new year he found himself out in the cold as Capello juggled his non-Italian talents, not featuring in a single squad in 1994 – including the 4-0 demolition of Barcelona in the final. The Frenchman had hardly kicked a ball in an entire calendar year. Indeed, a month before Paolo Maldini raised the Champions League trophy above his head in Athens, Papin had already agreed to sign for Bayern Munich for £2.1 million. Fed up with being Capello’s odd foreigner out, and having just hit 30, he knew he couldn’t waste any more time on the sidelines.
Papin’s biggest obstacle in Milan was the three foreigner rule and it was the principal reason he was never able to quite make his mark on the Italian game. Spending so much time on the fringes of the squad can’t have been an easy pill to swallow for one of Europe’s leading marksmen, brought in for a record transfer fee. And yet the Frenchman kept his counsel and never significantly fell out with Capello or the club hierarchy – aware perhaps of the reality of playing for Europe’s top club side. Perhaps that’s why he’s still fondly remembered by Rossoneri fans. One particularly special ‘Papinades’ moment is still recalled on the Curva, a spectacular long-range volley against Porto in the group stage of the Champions League during his first year in Milan. It was classic Papin. One wonders just how many more of these we might’ve seen had he only been given more opportunities.