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The fall of Michel Platini.

AFP/Getty Images

Before he was banned from soccer for eight years, before he was a well-fed apparatchik in Sepp Blatter’s corrupt empire, before he was the jowly avatar of officialdom at every big UEFA event, he was the young face of French soccer, a mastermind in the midfield who helped establish his country as a football power. Before today, he was still best known as the creative force behind France’s famous 1982 World Cup squad, which fell, as so many great teams did in the post-war era, to the brutal efficiency of the West Germans. That match is a heartbreaker to watch even after all these years, and it showcases Platini at his ubiquitous best. Whether it’s how he’ll be remembered is another question.