Franck Sauzée won the Champions League in 1993. In 1999, he picked up a winners’ medal in the Scottish second tier.
The classy Frenchman was in the twilight of his career having turned out for teams like Marseille, Monaco and Atalanta when he was persuaded to sign for Hibs after leaving Montpellier in his homeland.
The Hibees had been relegated and were about to spend a season in the then First Division, now named the Championship, under Alex McLeish when he pulled off the signing a French international with 39 caps.
Russel Latapy was signed at the same time and the pair would go on to become true icons of the Easter Road club, winning the First Division and then taking the top flight by storm.
Still known as Le God by supporters, he would go on to captain the club, reach a Scottish Cup final and finish third in 2001 and be nominated for the club’s player of the year.
Sauzee also never lost a derby against Hearts which always helps.
But just how did Hibs sign a former Champions League winner?
Alex McLeish explains landing Sauzee Hibs signing
McLeish remembers getting a call from an agent who would often recommend his players, which could be a hit or miss process.
The former boss felt he had a chance of landing this whale of a signing because Sauzee was winding down his career.
And McLeish made an impression on the player by displaying that he knew a lot of the facts of his career.
Sauzee would go on to win the Scottish First Division six years after lifting the famous Champions League trophy with Marseille.
He told Hibs Observer back in 2023: “I knew this agent who would always phone and say: ‘Listen, I’ve got a cracker for you; .I must say, not all the time was it actually a cracker..
“I knew at the time he (Sauzee) was at a stage in his career where he was leaving the bigger clubs but still had a real hunger for football. The agent said he could get him on a free transfer for us.
“The wages weren’t big compared to the modern day, but it was quite big for Hibs at the time. The fact we didn’t have to spend a fee was fantastic, so we were actually able to do it with ease.
“Rod Petrie was chief-executive and we were trying to get back into the Premier Division, I had told him that two or three players could really change the face of the team.
“When I sat down with Franck to see if he would sign, I told him all about his career and he was amazed: ‘How do you know all about my career? This is unbelievable, coach!’
“That I knew all the information made an impression on him. I told him I’d been buying the World Soccer magazine since I was about 10 years old, and I just kept all the information in my head.
“Signing Franck was a no-brainer, even though he wasn’t in his young Marseille days any more. He was very enthusiastic about coming to Hibs.
“I think he was a bit p—-d off with the last team he played for, he’d fallen out with the manager. But him and I became good friends.”
Sauzee given McManus and Miller Hibs test
Tam McManus was a young player at Hibs at the time and recalls being astonished when he saw Sauzee walking around the place while the young Scot was polishing boots.
And in an early training session, the new man’s legs were tested by putting him up against the youthful exuberance of McManus and Kenny Miller in a bounce game.
“Kenny and I were probably the two fastest players at the club at that time,” said McManus. “Kenny was more established than me, but in terms of pace, we were similar.
“The gaffer must have wanted to see if Franck could still run. If you’d put me and Kenny in a straight line 100 metre sprint against Franck, we could probably have given him a 30-metre start and still beat him.
“But neither of us got in behind him the whole game. It was like he was telepathic; he knew exactly when and where we were going to run.
“If our team had the ball and I turned to go in behind, he was already standing there, there was no way past him.
“His passing was different class, and he could still run. He was up against the two fastest guys at the club and neither of us could get in behind him, he read the game so well.
“That was the first time I’d come across Franck Sauzee, and he’s probably the best I’ve ever played with – and I played with a lot of good players.”