Claude Papi

1967/82 SC Bastia (FRA) 478 matches, 133 goals

(French Championship: 392 matches, 110 goals)

(French D2 Championship: 23 matches, 5 goals)

(French Cup: 47 matches, 11 goals)

(Cup Winners' Cup: 4 matches)

(UEFA Cup: 12 matches, 7 goals)

With the National Team :

3 caps

(Friendly matches: 2 caps)

(World Cup: 1 cap)

1st cap: November 21, 1973 against Denmark (3-0)

Last cap: June 10, 1978 against Hungary (3-1)

Claude Fernand Papi

Born on April 16, 1949 in Porto-Vecchio (FRA)

Died on January 28, 1983 in Bastia (FRA)

French, Attacking-midfielder, Left-midfielder, 1m75

Nickname: The Divine Bald

Claude Papi came from a modest background and was born in Porto-Vecchio, a town in Corsica. The son of a baker, he was gifted in many sports and gradually specialized in football. From the age of adolescence, his talent dazzled his region and captivated his coaches in the youth categories.

With a phenomenal vision of the game, he joined the first team of SC Bastia during the 1967/68 season and when he was 23 years old, in 1972, he reached the final of the Coupe de France, which he lost 2-1 against Olympique de Marseille of Josip Skoblar, it was already an exploit for the Corsican club to reach this final.

Able to play attacking midfielder or left midfielder, he truly became an undisputed starter for the club during the 1972/73 season. A genius playmaker, he was at this time the rival of Michel Platini. Similar in their ability to create spaces and make incredible passes, they both had a particular aura of the number 10 of this era, the technical leader of their teams.

With Papi, SC Bastia finished in a historic 3rd place in the French championship during the 1976/77 season, with a very explosive and offensive game, the team will have been the best attack in the championship with 82 goals scored and an invincibility at home. Papi being the conductor of this team, he is then one of the best French players in his position. With Dragan Dzajic, François Felix and Jacques Zimako, the offensive quartet is exceptional and achieves a surprising qualification for the UEFA Cup.

This 1977/78 season for SC Bastia will be historic, for the first round of the Europa League, SC Bastia faces Sporting CP, victory 5-3 on aggregate. In the second round, it is Newcastle, victory 5-2 on aggregate for the French club, Papi scoring a double in the first leg. In the third round, Bastia beats Torino 5-3 on aggregate, Papi scoring a goal in the first leg.

In the quarter-finals, SC Bastia wins 9-6 on aggregate against Carl Zeiss Jena. With its offensive play, the club always manages to win by an impressive number of goals, Papi scores 2 goals in these quarter-finals.

In the semi-finals, Papi and Bastia face Grasshoppers, victory 3-3 with the away goals rule. Papi adds 2 more goals in these semi-finals. In the final, Bastia faced PSV Eindhoven, a 0-0 draw in the first leg and a 3-0 defeat in the return leg. But Papi and his team made the whole of France dream during this competition.

Papi was the leader of this team, bringing his total to 7 goals in 12 matches during this Europa League. A crazy statistic for an attacking midfielder, especially for a team that did not have a European level. Papi had this ability to increase his level in big matches and to transmit this extra energy to his teammates.

Having made his debut in the French national team in 1973 but having never had a starting place, he had the consecration of his career by being selected for the 1978 World Cup where he played 1 match before being replaced by Michel Platini. In total, he only played 3 small matches with France but he will undoubtedly have marked the followers of French football of that time.

In the summer of 1978, after his brilliant European campaign and aged 29, the player was approached by many European clubs that he refused one after the other, remaining loyal to SC Bastia and his homeland. He finally retired in 1982, after a Coupe de France final that he did not play due to injury. In total, he played 478 times for Bastia and scored 133 times.

Unfortunately, his story ended shortly after that, on January 28, 1983 while he was playing tennis, he did not feel well and collapsed, he had just suffered a ruptured aneurysm, the player died at 33. It was a shock within the whole of Corsica which lost the best player in its history so tragically.

- Voted best Corsican player of the 20th century

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