Thierry Gilardi
| Thierry Gilardi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
26 July 1958 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France |
| Died | 25 March 2008 (aged 49) |
| Occupation | Sports commentator |
Thierry Gilardi (26 July 1958 – 25 March 2008) was a French football commentator.
Gilardi was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines of Italian stock. He was an avid reader of the French sports newspaper L'Équipe from the age of six. He had always been passionate about sport, especially Rugby Union. He began playing at 11 years old at the Saint-Germain-en-Laye school of rugby and continued to play until the age of 28.
In an interview with reporter Nicolas Augot about rugby, for a special edition of the French monthly magazine Attitude Rugby focused on Stade Français, he said: "Saint-Germain-en-Laye is the chief town of the Yvelines, in the Île-de-France. We must not forget that the Île-de-France Rugby Commity is the biggest in France by the number of licensed players and that the Saint-Germain-en-Laye club was the nursery for such players as the French fly-half, 'Franck Mesnel.'" He was married and the father of three children. Along with his career as a journalist, he was, at the beginning of the 1990s, the president of Saint-Germain-en-Laye rugby club, before handing over the role to Marcel Martin. From 1997, he was vice-president of Stade Français rugby club.
A graduate of the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, Gilardi began his career as a journalist with an internship in television in 1982 at France Inter, under the direction of Arlette Chabot, where he was eventually taken on. He later worked with Pierre Loctin and Jacques Vendroux on football programs. Wanting to specialize in rugby union, he had to be content with football, quoting "Football is my job; rugby is my passion. When I started in the profession, sports journalists were always pushed in the direction of football, but I am happy to cover any sport."
From 1987 until his death, he commented, presented, edited, and led many sports programs on French television. Behind the scenes, he took on other roles, with responsibilities for the drafting of sports programs on the French encrypted channel. He was editor and head of football from 1997 to 1999, then editor-in-chief and sports managing editor of sports at Canal+ from 1999 to 2001.
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