Michel Prost

French footballer

Michel Prost
Personal information
Full name Michel Prost[1]
Date of birth (1946-02-23) 23 February 1946 (age 78)
Place of birth Charenton-le-Pont, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1965–1966 Paris Université Club
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1966–1967 Stade Saint-Germain
1967–1969 Bataillon de Joinville [fr] 41 (11)
1969–1970 Stade Saint-Germain
1970–1972 Paris Saint-Germain 70 (22)
1972–1973 Paris FC 33 (4)
1973 Nancy 13 (4)
1973–1976 Bastia 42 (9)
1976–1977 Red Star 44 (13)
1977–1978 Poissy 4 (1)
Total 247+ (64+)
International career
France Amateurs
France Military
France B
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michel Prost (born 23 February 1946) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is known for being one of the first "stars" in the history of Paris Saint-Germain.[2] As of November 2022, Prost is a delegate for the town of Poissy in the Yvelines department of France.[3]

Club career

Early career

Prost was born in the town of Charenton-le-Pont, Île-de-France. In his teenage years, he played three different sports: football, rugby, and tennis.[2] He was a youth footballer for Paris UC until 1966, when he joined Stade Saint-Germain. He went on to play for Bataillon de Joinville [fr], a military team, from 1967 to 1969. Then, he returned to Stade Saint-Germain.[2]

Paris Saint-Germain

In 1970, Stade Saint-Germain merged with Paris FC (PFC) to create Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Therefore, Prost joined the newly-formed club. He would make his debut for PSG in a 1–1 draw against Poitiers on 23 August 1970, the first game in the club's history.[4] His first goal for the Parisian club came in a 3–2 win over Quevilly six days later.[5]

With PSG, Prost would lift the only title of his career, the Division 2 title, in 1971. He finished the season with 10 goals to his name in 32 league appearances, which made him the joint top-scorer for the club in the league. He would continue with the club for the following season in the Division 1. In the 1971–72 season, Prost scored 12 goals in 38 league appearances, as PSG managed to reach a safe 16th-place finish. However, in 1972, PSG split into two; PFC kept the first team players, stayed in the first division, but lost the club identity, while PSG was given the reserve team players, relegated to the Division 3, and kept the club identity.[6] This meant that as a player with a professional contract, Prost now played for Paris FC. For Paris Saint-Germain, he had made 74 appearances and scored 22 goals in all competitions.[7]

Paris FC, Nancy, and Bastia

Prost played for Paris FC from 1972 to 1973. He would score 4 goals in 37 appearances for the club in all competitions before signing for Nancy. Eventually, he would only stay at Nancy for only six months, signing with Bastia in December 1973.[8]

In the second half of 1976, Prost suffered an injury to his hip, and was told he could no longer play football at such a high level. He ended his professional career in October 1976, and left Bastia.[2]

Red Star and Poissy

After his injury, Prost went to play for Red Star in a semi-professional setting. He would formally retire from playing football in 1977. Soon after, his former Stade Saint-Germain manager Roger Quenolle invited him to become sporting director at Poissy, where he was coach.[2] Prost accepted, but also worked for Chrysler on the side. He would also go on to play 4 games and score 1 goal for Poissy in the Division 2 in the 1977–78 season.[2]

International career

Prost played for several different national teams of France. He represented his country at amateur, military, and B level.[8]

Personal life

Michel has a son who is named Nicolas (born 1971/1972).[2]

After his football career, Prost would go on to work for Peugeot-Citroën in Poissy. Later in his life, he would be a secretary at the Syndicat FO.[2] In the 2010s decade, he would also become delegate in the town of Poissy.[7] He helped organize the plans for Paris Saint-Germain's new training center in the town.[7] He is still in his position of delegate as of November 2022.[3]

In September 2021, Prost was invited to a Paris Saint-Germain match at the Parc des Princes by the club's president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. He received a jersey with his name on it from Al-Khelaifi.[9]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[10]
Club Season League Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stade Saint-Germain 1966–67 CFA 3[a] 1 3 1
Bataillon de Joinville [fr] 1967–68 Division 2 30 8 0 0 30 8
1968–69 Division 2 11 3 0 0 11 3
Total 41 11 0[a] 0 41 11
Stade Saint-Germain 1968–69 CFA 8 3 8 3
1969–70 CFA 1 1 1 1
Total 9[a] 4 9 4
Paris Saint-Germain 1970–71 Division 2 32 10 3 0 35 10
1971–72 Division 1 38 12 1 0 39 12
Total 70 22 4 0 74 22
Paris FC 1972–73 Division 1 33 4 4 0 37 4
Nancy 1973–74 Division 1 13 4 0 0 13 4
Bastia 1973–74 Division 1 11 2 4 0 15 2
1974–75 Division 1 26 7 7 1 33 8
1975–76 Division 1 5 0 0 0 5 0
Total 42 9 11 1 53 10
Red Star 1975–76 Division 2 26 9 3 0 29 9
1976–77 Division 2 18 4 0 0 18 4
Total 44 13 3[a] 0 47 13
Poissy 1977–78 Division 2 4 1 0[a] 0 4 1
Career total 247 64 34 6 281 70
  1. ^ a b c d e Cup statistics may be inaccurate during Prost's spells at Stade Saint-Germain, Bataillon de Joinville, Red Star, and Poissy.

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

References

  1. ^ Michel Prost at Global Sports Archive
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Michel Prost : « En 1970, nous étions les « parigos têtes de veaux » »" [Michel Prost: "In 1970, we were the "Parigos veal heads" "]. PSG70 (in French). November–December 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Les Élus" [The Elected]. Ville de Poissy (in French). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Michel PROST". Histoire du PSG (in French). 26 May 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. ^ "PSG – Quevilly 3-2, 29/08/70, Division 2 70-71". Archives Paris Football (in French). 7 November 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  6. ^ Bennett, Catherine (23 August 2020). "50 years of PSG: A look back at the rise of France's wealthiest club". France 24. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Richardson, Thomas (19 July 2016). "Michel Prost, 74 matchs avec le PSG" [Michel Prost, 74 matches with PSG]. Actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Michel PROST". PSG70 (in French). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Jean-Claude Bras and Michel Prost at the Parc des Princes". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  10. ^ Michel Prost at FootballDatabase.eu

External links

  • Michel Prost at WorldFootball.net