He had a special place in the hearts of the Burgundians. Jean-Claude Hamel, the emblematic president of AJ Auxerre, has died, the club announced on Tuesday.
President Hamel deceased, AJA bereaved.
The family of Jean-Claude Hamel has the greatest sorrow to announce the death of Mr. Jean-Claude Hamel in his 91st year. pic.twitter.com/ix2Vudn5qf
– AJ Auxerre (@AJA) June 2, 2020
“AJ Auxerre mourns its historic President and associates itself with the grief of those close to him. A register of condolences will be available to the public tomorrow afternoon at the Abbé Deschamps stadium, “writes AJA.
Amateur football as champion of France
When Jean-Claude Hamel became president of AJ Auxerre in 1963, the club played in the honor division, with Guy Roux as player-coach. Under the leadership of the Hamel-Roux pair, the AJA climbed all the levels, first in division 3 (1970) then in D2 (1974) and in D1 (1980).
Building on its training center, through which have passed Basile Boli, Eric Cantona, Jean-Marc Ferreri, Djibril Cissé and Bernard Diomède, the AJ experienced its best moments in the years 1990-2000, with four Coupe de France a title of champion in 1996. In the Champions League, the Burgundians fell in the quarterfinals against Dortmund, with the famous returned refused to Lilian Laslandes.
The rest is more difficult. Guy Roux left in 2005, and Jean-Claude Hamel retired in 2009. Relegated to Ligue 2 in 2012, Auxerre was bought by the Chinese group ORG Packaging in 2016 but has still not managed to find the elite.
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