Jean-Claude Mainier plays on with Eclor at almost 88 | OneFootball

Four years after joining Eclor in La Ricamarie, Saint-Étienne native Jean-Claude Mainier, known as Max, is preparing to sign another football licence in September and continue offering guidance to the club's players.

According to Le Progres, Espérance Croix de l’Orme celebrated its 80th anniversary on four July at the Caintin sports complex in La Ricamarie, where Mainier took to the synthetic pitch for about 20 minutes.

He said the heat was fierce and his boots eventually gave out. Eclor's oldest member turns 88 on 16 November.

Still sprightly, he occasionally pulls on his boots for a kickabout. More often, he volunteers as linesman, flag in hand, during criterium matches.

Everyone calls him Max, a nod to radio host Max Meynier, who presented Les routiers sont sympa on RTL in the 1970s.

Source: Le Progres

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”