Former footballer Jean-Pierre Adams dies aged 86

Jean-Pierre Adams, the former Ivorian and Egypt goalkeeper who became a prolific French football pundit, has died at the age of 86, his family have announced.

A goalscorer for France at the 1958 World Cup, Adams played for several clubs during a career that stretched to the end of the 1970s.

A fluent speaker of five languages, he turned into a football pundit after retiring, making regular appearances on French television and radio.

"The passing of our beloved father, grand-father and friend has left us in sadness," his family said in a statement on Saturday.

Football fans have been paying tribute to the man known in France as 'Papa Che' since his death was announced.

My sincere condolences to the family and friends of @officialfc, legendary goal keeper Jean-Pierre Adams, who died at age 86 yesterday. #PapaChe pic.twitter.com/iX9qT1h38t — Alain Giresse (@alain_giresse) December 23, 2018

Very sad to hear of the death of Jean-Pierre Adams. He will be greatly missed, not just by his club but by the whole of French football. His nice and humble nature on the pitch left a huge mark on me and every young keeper I played with. RIP Papa Che 💔 — Bertrand Traore (@Bert_Traore) December 22, 2018

Having played for Paris St Germain and managed Angers, Adams took up a job as technical director of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London after retiring.

In 1998, the venue was damaged in a fire and he began to act as spokesman for those who lost loved ones in the tragedy.

Adams spent his final years in Algeria.

In 2005 he left Algeria and moved to France to be near his daughter and granddaughter.

Papa Che's death will be a great loss to the French club and the whole football world. He was a gentleman and a journalist. My condolences to his family and friends. #PapaChe pic.twitter.com/xxjN9Hy6xU — Zinedine Zidane (@zidane) December 23, 2018

Adams made his France debut aged 24, in a 1-0 win over Bulgaria in Sofia in 1958, but did not play for the national team again until 1964.

Two years later he was a member of the team which lost 4-2 to Brazil in the World Cup final in Chile.

He returned to the side four years later, playing in a 3-2 win over Brazil in Paris before again losing on penalties in the quarter-final to Uruguay.

At the age of 36, Adams became the oldest French goalscorer when he opened the scoring against Scotland in a friendly at the Stade de France in 1970.

Adams' death comes a week after that of ex-Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Maurice Riva, who was also 87.

Adams was also a former champion cyclist, and won the Tour de France stage in 1958 as a rider for the national team.

He is survived by five children, 23 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

Press Association

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