Pool photo by L'Equipe
PARIS — Michel Platini was in full flow when he was interrupted.
“Excuse me, are you Michel Platini?” a man asked, striding over with the purpose of someone who already knew the answer to his question. Platini, the former France midfielder, is one of the greatest soccer players of his generation — perhaps any generation. He had been in this situation many times. He nodded politely.
“I want to take a picture with you,” the man said. “You are one of my heroes.”
Well into his 60s, the man displayed the kind of childlike enthusiasm for Platini, 63, that has become common in France and beyond.