Series looking at the new foreign player
signings in the French League in the 1980s and 1990s and their impact.
The 1983/84 French season’s
foreign newcomers were not as significant as the previous season.
The most well-known
signings were Bastia’s signing of former Spanish International midfielder Daniel
Solsona from Valencia and the 1978 World Cup Champion, Argentine defender
Alberto Tarantini from River Plate.
Laval signed the relatively
unknown West German striker Klaus-Dieter Jank from Stuttgart Kickers.
Polish and Widzew Lodz striker
Miroslaw Tlokinski joined his compatriot Roman Ogaza at Lens.
Lille signed the Yugoslav
duo of defender Boro Primorac and striker Dušan Savić from Hajduk Split and
Sporting Gijon, respectively.
Nancy signed the Ivory
Coast midfielder François Zahoui from Ascoli, the first African player to
have played in the Italian Serie A.
Newly promoted Nîmes
Olympique signed uncapped Polish midfielder Krzysztof Surlit from Widzew
Lodz. He joined Danish forward Kristen Nygaard, who had arrived from Dutch side
Az’67 Alkmaar, the previous season, while the club was in the Second Division.
Newly promoted Stade
Rennais signed former Bayern Munich defender Udo Horsmann and Polish international
striker Wlodzmierz Mazur from Zaglebie Sosnowiec.
Much troubled Saint Etienne
signed Polish International midfielder Janusz Kupcewicz from Lech Poznan and
Paraguayan striker Carlos Diarte from Real Betis.
Toulouse signed Swiss International
midfielder Lucien Favre from Servette Geneva.
31-year-old Spanish midfielder
Daniel Solsona had played for RCD Español and Valencia. He had a number of caps
for Spain stretched between eight years.
He would
remain at Bastia until relegation in 1986. He would have spells st Racing Club Paris,
Stade Rennais before returning home to Spain for a couple of seasons at Sant
Andreu before retiring in 1989.
27-year-old
Argentine defender Alberto Tarantini started out at Boca Juniors before spells
at Birmingham City, Talleres de Cordoba and River Plate.
He stayed
at Bastia for one season, before a more successful four-year spell at Toulouse,
qualifying for the UEFA Cup in 1986 and 1987.
He left
Toulouse in 1988 for one last stint at Swiss side St Gallen (1988-89) before
retiring.
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
|
(Daniel Solsona and
Alberto Tarantini) |
30-year-old West German striker
Klaus-Dieter Jank had played for a number of clubs such as VfB Stuttgart, Preußen Münster, Werder Bremen, South China,
and Stuttgarter Kickers.
He would
have an unremarkable season at Laval, scoring only one goal and retiring at the
end of the season.
27-year-old Polish
striker Miroslaw Tlokinski had played for Arka Gdynia, Lechia Gdańsk and Widzew
Łódź, earning two caps for his nation.
He remained at Lens for
two seasons until 1985. From there, he played for a number of clubs in
Switzerland such as CS Chênois, FC Renens, Vevey-Sports 05, Lausanne Ouchy, FC Onex,
and Urania Genève Sport before retiring in 1993.
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
|
(Klaus-Dieter Jank) |
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
|
(Miroslaw Tlokinski) |
28-year-old Yugoslav
defender Boro Primorac had played for the likes of Velež Mostar and Hajduk Split.
He remained
at Lille until 1986 and then joined Cannes, helping the team to get promoted in
1987. He retired at Cannes in 1990.
Afterwards he started his managerial career in France with the likes of Cannes and Valenciennes.
Boro Primorac’s 28-year-old
compatriot and international striker Dušan Savić had played for Red Star
Belgrade and Sporting Gijon.
He remained at Lille for
two seasons and preceded Primorac by joining Cannes in 1985. He remained at
Cannes and ended his career in 1989.
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
| (Boro Primorac and Dušan Savić) |
22-year-old Ivory Coast midfielder
François Zahoui had played for Ascoli in the Italian Serie A.
He remained at Nancy for
four seasons until 1987. After relegation in 1987, he joined Toulon and remained
there until 1992.
He had a final stint at
low-level French side JGA Nevers before retiring in 1994.
27-year-old uncapped
Polish midfielder Krzysztof Surlit had spells at Zawisza Bydgoszcz and Widzew
Łódź.
He would have a solitary
unremarkable season at Nîmes Olympique as the club was relegated at the end of the
season.
He left in 1984 and had
spells at US Dunkerque, back at Widzew Łódz, GKS Bełchatów and OTP Oulu,
retiring in 1992.
He passed away on
September 13th, 2007, aged 51.
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
|
(François Zahoui) |
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
|
(Krzysztof Surlit) |
31-year-old West German
defender Udo Horsmann had a successful spell at Bayern Munich winning
Bundesliga titles and the Champions Cup in 1976.
He only stayed a solitary
season at Rennes as the club were relegated at the end of the season.
He returned home and
played for the likes of FC Nuremberg, TSV 1860 Munich and FSV Munich, retiring
in 1989.
29-year-old Polish
striker Wlodzmierz Mazur had played for Zaglebie Sosnowiec for a decade. He was
part of Poland’s 1978 World Cup squad.
After relegation in 1984,
he remained one more season at Rennes, helping the side to get promoted in 1985
before leaving.
He returned home back to Zagłębie
Sosnowiec and a final season at Górnik Wojkowice, retiring in 1987.
He passed away on
December 1st, 1988, aged just 34.
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
|
(Udo Horsmann and Wlodzmierz
Mazur) |
27-year-old Polish midfielder
Janusz Kupcewicz had spells at Arka Gdynia and Lech Poznań.
He was a member of Poland’s
1982 World Cup squad.
He remained at St Etienne
for two seasons, despite relegation in 1984 and played a season in the Second
Division.
He left in 1985 joining
Greek side Larissa and had further stints at Lechia Gdańsk and Adanaspor,
before retiring in 1989.
He passed away on July 4th,
2022, aged 66.
29-year-old Paraguayan
striker Carlos Diarte started out in Olimpia before embarking on a lengthy
career in Spain playing for the likes of Real Zaragoza, Valencia, Salamanca,
and Real Betis.
Despite relegation, he
remained at St Etienne and played in the Second Division before leaving in 1985.
He had one final spell back at Olimpia before retiring in 1987.
He passed away on June 29th,
2011, aged 57.
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
|
(Janusz Kupcewicz and Carlos
Diarte) |
25-year-old Swiss midfielder
Lucien Favre had played for the likes of Lausanne-Sports, Neuchâtel Xamax and Servette.
He only had a one-season
stay at Toulouse before he returned home to Servette and remained there until
retirement in 1991.
He had a long managerial
career managing the likes of OGC Nice, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach,
among others.
 |
Photo From: Panini France
1983-84
|
(Lucien Favre) |
From this group of 1983/84,
Alberto Tarantini and Lille’s Yugoslav duo of Boro Primorac and Dušan Savić were
the most successful given their longevity.
None of them won titles and
did not play for top teams.
The top teams in France
were armed with quality foreign players and as a result the transfer activity of
foreign players reflected that.
Just like the previous season,
most of the imports were unsuccessful and many of them left after one or two
seasons.
