Later in his career he earned great plaudits for his performances for Scottish club Hibernian, whom Sauzée subsequently managed for a short period.
Born in Aubenas, Ardèche, Sauzée began his professional career with Sochaux, and made his league debut as a 17-year-old in a match against FC Rouen in August 1983.
[5] Sauzee also played in the 1988 Coupe de France Final, which Sochaux lost on penalties to FC Metz, during that promotion season.
[6] Sauzée was widely noted at this time for his shooting power from midfield,[6][7] a skill that he used with great effect against Marseille's rivals Paris-Saint Germain in a top-of-the-table clash in May 1993.
[10] The match fixing scandal at Marseille also had the consequence that the squad started to break up, with Sauzée being transferred to Serie A club Atalanta.
[10] This spell was unsuccessful, however, as coach Francesco Guidolin was sacked after just 10 games, while Sauzée himself only scored one goal and made 16 appearances.
[12] Sauzée is an Easter Road legend and is known as "Le God" by the Hibs fans,[13] who voted him as their all time cult hero in a Football Focus poll carried out in 2005.
[19] The defeat meant that France failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup,[19] despite the side containing other notable players such as Eric Cantona, Laurent Blanc, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps and Jean-Pierre Papin.
[20] Sauzée, who had been suffering from an achilles tendon injury in the weeks beforehand, announced his retirement from playing in an effort to concentrate on his new job.
[21] This confidence was justified as Hibs defeated St Johnstone 3–0 in Bobby Williamson's first match in charge,[24] and the club comfortably avoided relegation.