On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of AS Saint-Etienne, the Peuple-vert site offers you a portrait of the 50 best ASSE players among the 775 who, since 1933, have one day worn the green jersey. From place 50 to 21, ranked players will be presented in alphabetical order. Place Roland Wohlfarth (40 matches, 21 goals from 1993 to November 1994)
A headliner in Jean-Michel Larqué’s suitcases
Roland Wohlfarth is a German center forward. Born on January 11, 1963, he brought happiness to Bayern Munich for nine seasons (1984-1993), finishing twice as top scorer in the Bundesliga in 1989 and 1991. It was hard to imagine a striker of this caliber landing in Saint- Etienne, in a club that is not even European. And yet! In 1993, ASSE changed direction. Exit André Laurent, landed by Casino. He is replaced by Yves Guichard, the son of Pierre Guichard (the founder of the club) accompanied by Jean-Michel Larqué, former captain of the team which delighted France in 1976, appointed sporting director.
The two leaders present high objectives which make the supporters salivate. They intend to build a team capable of playing leading roles in D1. They are carrying out top-level recruitment, spending lavishly, in support of this ambitious project to say the least. Among the players attracted by this speech, we find one of the best French central defenders, Laurent Blanc. But above all a center forward, whose reinforcement was an absolute priority for the coach, Jacques Santini. The Swiss, Stéphane Chapuisat, was expected, but it was ultimately the German, Roland Wohlfarth who was convinced against a sum of ten million francs so that Bayern Munich would let him go.
With this international take (Roland Wohlfarth has two selections with the Mannschaft), ASSE clearly displays its ambitions. She is not there to make up the numbers and she even intends to qualify for a European Cup this season. So she is equipping herself with a center forward who will be capable of taking this team to a new level? A team whose defensive efficiency was praised in 1992-93, but which failed in 7th place, eliminated from the European places on goal difference with Auxerre with only 34 goals scored.
A complicated adaptation to ASSE
Arriving in Forez on August 2, 1993, Roland Wohlfarth played his first match the following Saturday at Geoffroy-Guichard, August 7 against Monaco. He started against one of the championship favorites. Although he is out of form, he must compete with his compatriot Jurgen Klinsmann who signed for the Principality and who is lined up at the forefront of the Monegasque attack. Laurent Blanc was sent off in the 14th minute and it was ten against eleven that the Stéphanois created a sensation by defeating their opponent (2-0). Wohlfarth, who had little opportunity to shine and who went through this first period like a lost soul, was replaced at the break by Jean-Philippe Primard, paying the price for the tactical reorganization decided by the coach.
The German striker will take time to find his feet within the Saint-Etienne team. He only scored his first goal on October 6, 1993 against Caen (5-0). A timely awakening since, like that of his teammates, he saves the head of his coach, weakened by results that do not conform to the initial ambition. Subsequently, with a less precarious physical condition, he will regularly find the net, like the fox of the surfaces that he has never ceased to be.
Geoffroy-Guichard’s public discovers a striker who has an eye for goal. Of course, he never defends, but he is the terror of the goalkeepers, always on the lookout for a ball that will inevitably drag. Moreover, Laurent Blanc said of him “ When we have a player of this caliber, we leave him in mothballs all week and only take him out on match days ! ».
Gerd Muller from Saint-Etienne
Roland Wohlfarth has no equal when it comes to finding himself at the right time to conclude his team’s actions. He can score in all positions as evidenced by his heel goal on March 5, 1994 against Montpellier at Geoffroy-Guichard (2-0). That day, he scored his first double in the Green jersey. He impresses with his efficiency because with him, it is often an opportunity, a goal. Like his model, Gerd Muller, the German Panzer or Hervé Revelli, one of his illustrious predecessors in the same position in Saint-Etienne, he is fearsomely efficient, the terror of surfaces. He finished the 1993-94 season with 13 goals, leaving many hopes for the following year despite a disappointing 11th place.
But on May 6, 1994, Yves Guichard, the president of ASSE, left the club, replaced by Michel Vernassa, a banker. The latter, who has no means to continue the expensive policy of his predecessor, aims to clean up Forézien’s financial liabilities and must therefore get rid of high salaries.
His departure from ASSE
Disagreeing with this new policy, Jean-Michel Larqué leaves the office in September. As a result, the team did not strengthen. On the contrary, major players are being pushed out.
In these conditions, the German striker still managed to do well. He scored two new doubles against Montpellier on August 5, 1994 (4-0), and against Sochaux on September 10 (4-0). Both at Geoffroy-Guichard where he continues to dazzle the spectators present, nevertheless disappointed by the game and the results displayed by their protégés.
For his last derby, he equalized in the 86th minute, avoiding an embarrassing defeat against neighbor Lyon (1-1). A final stroke of brilliance from an exceptional player. He only scored one last goal against Bastia on October 11 (1-2) before showing his spleen in front of the distressing level of the team. He asks to return, suffering from homesickness. In December, he was transferred to Bochum, which suited everyone, ASSE being relieved of an imposing salary.
A huge waste
We can still feel the impression of an immense waste when we remember these two seasons of ASSE and the talents of the players who made up the group: Joseph-Antoine Bell, Laurent Blanc, Jean-Pierre Cyprien, Gérald Passi, Lubomir Moravcik and of course Roland Wolfarth, one of the best center forwards to have worn the green jersey over the last thirty years.
Instead of the expected results, up to the level of these players, after the departure of the majority of them, ASSE will find itself in the second division in 1996. The inevitable consequence of this austerity policy imposed by budgetary constraints .
By Albert Pilia
2024-06-27 13:01:21
#German #scorer #Forez
