3 Star Names to Play for PSG and Saint-Etienne

Paris Saint-Germain will take on AS Saint-Etienne on Sunday, needing a win to remain in pursuit of Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais and second-placed Olympique de Marseille.

However, PSG manager Laurent Blanc’s men also need to bring three points back to the French capital to keep Les Verts out of Le Championnat’s top three.

This is shaping up to be an excellent game, with two of France’s best sides and biggest clubs going head-to-head for the second time in a month.

ASSE, after years of struggling to replicate their successes of the 1960s, '70s and '80s, are finally starting to challenge the top teams in the country once again. PSG, on the other hand, are the closest thing France has to a dominant power right now.

A small number of players have played for both sides.

Current PSG veteran Zoumana Camara started his career with Les Verts and took in a second spell at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard before returning to his city of birth with PSG. There is also Saint-Etienne midfielder Jeremy Clement, who joined from Les Parisiens back in 2011.

Here are three star names to have played for both PSG and Saint-Etienne.

3. Blaise Matuidi

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PSG’s France international midfielder Blaise Matuidi is the biggest star name currently playing for either of the two teams.

After four seasons with Saint-Etienne, the 27-year-old signed for the French champions in 2011, which was the same year that Clement made his switch to Le Chaudron from Parc des Princes.

Matuidi has gone on to win two Ligue 1 titles and one Coupe de la Ligue in his three full seasons in the French capital, while Clement has also won that same domestic cup with Les Stephanois.

The latter also won both the Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France once each while in Paris.

Matuidi has developed into one of the world’s best midfielders, and his irrepressible style is a key component for both club and country.

The PSG No. 14 has scored 17 goals in all competitions so far since his arrival and is expected to remain a key player for the aspiring European superpower in the next few seasons.

Matuidi is already a household name in France and across Europe, but he has the ability to join the pantheon of great French footballers between now and the end of his career.

2. Gregory Coupet

REMY DE LA MAUVINIERE/Associated Press

Another star to have played for both Saint-Etienne and PSG is former France international goalkeeper Gregory Coupet.

The ex-ASSE No. 1 started his career with Les Verts in 1993 before making the controversial switch to Rhone-Alpes rivals Lyon in 1997.

It was there at Stade Gerland where Coupet would forge his reputation as a star name, going on to become Les Gones’ goalkeeper for each of their unprecedented seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles between 2002-2008.

On top of those seven French titles, Coupet helped Lyon to win one Coupe de la Ligue and one Coupe de France before departing for a short-lived spell with Atletico Madrid.

It was after that solitary year in Spain that Coupet returned to France with PSG, playing for two seasons with the capital club before retiring in 2011.

Coupet also enjoyed a relatively good international career, making 34 appearances for Les Bleus. He was involved in two FIFA Confederations Cup-winning squads, too.

Although his success came with Lyon, Coupet was—and still is—one of the most recognisable names in French football to have played with both Saint-Etienne and PSG.

1. Dominique Rocheteau

Associated Press

The biggest star and best player to have ever played for both Saint-Etienne and PSG is winger Dominique Rocheteau.

Nicknamed the “l’Ange Vert” (the “Green Angel” in French), the Frenchman enjoyed eight successful years with Les Verts before departing for the capital.

At Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Rocheteau won three consecutive Ligue 1 titles in 1974, 75 and 76, as well as the 1977 Coupe de France.

In 1976, he was also part of the ASSE side that reached the 1976 European Cup (now UEFA Champions League) final.

By the time he left Saint-Etienne in 1980, he had scored 51 goals in 153 games.

Although he would play for PSG for one year less than Les Stephanois, he featured in 51 more games and scored an impressive 83 times in 204 appearances.

In the French capital, Rocheteau won the 1986 Ligue 1 title—PSG’s first-ever French crown—as well as the 1982 and 1983 Coupe de France trophies.

While playing for PSG, he was also part of the France side that won the 1984 UEFA European Championship on home soil.

After seven successful years in Paris, he left for Toulouse and finished his career there in 1989.

In terms of what he won at both clubs and what he gave to French football, Rocheteau is the biggest star name to have played for both clubs by some way.

Honourable Mentions

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One of Rocheteau's team-mates for a period at Saint-Etienne, Jean-Michel Larque, can consider himself unlucky to miss out on this list.

The former French international midfielder won the Ligue 1 title eight times with Les Verts, as well as three French cups and that European Cup final appearance. However, he only played for PSG during two rather quiet years, winning nothing of note and featuring little.

Dominique Bathenay, another former French international midfielder to have featured for both clubs, could have also been included.

The player won three Ligue 1 title and three Coupe de France trophies with ASSE, as well as playing in the European Cup final, too, going on to add two more Coupe de France titles to his unequalled record of five triumphs in the competition.

Current PSG coach Blanc also spent two years with Saint-Etienne as a player.

All statistics are courtesy of Ligue1.com and Soccerway.com.