The platforms at Metz station had barely settled into the afternoon when Robert Pirès was already being stopped by supporters. The 1998 World Cup winner arrived by train on Tuesday, greeted from Paris to Moselle by fans and rail staff alike, before a night designed less as a farewell than a reunion with the club where his professional life began.
Pirès will stage his testimonial at Stade Saint-Symphorien on Tuesday evening, with kick-off set for 8.45pm. Born in Reims but formed as a professional at Metz, the former Arsenal midfielder chose the Grenats for an occasion he sees as a thank-you to a club, a stadium and a public that shaped the opening chapter of his 19-year playing career.
After lunch with former Metz president Carlo Molinari and close friends, Pirès spoke of expecting a highly charged occasion. He will share the pitch with his sons, Theo, 18, and Alessio, 15, a prospect he said he had been eagerly awaiting. For him, the match is intended as a gathering across generations, built on friendship and fraternity rather than nostalgia alone.
Several former opponents and team-mates will bring memories from the brightest and hardest nights of his career. Pirès mentioned Samuel Eto’o and Ludovic Giuly, both part of Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final. Yet the central point, he said, was to thank every player who agreed to be involved, including those unable to attend.
A return to the club that launched him
Metz was the obvious choice in Pirès’ eyes. It was there that he signed his first professional contract and began the journey that later took him to Marseille, Arsenal and the French national team. He also wanted to acknowledge the Saint-Symphorien crowd that supported his late-1990s generation.
His memories of the club are tied to the figures who directed his development. Philippe Hinschberger, his first coach in the reserve side, moved the naturally right-footed Pirès to the left side of midfield. Molinari remains an enduring landmark in the club’s history, while Joël Muller, Arsène Wenger, Aimé Jacquet and Francis De Taddeo were also named among the people who made a decisive difference to his career. De Taddeo had recruited him while he was still in Reims.
Since June, Pirès has officially served as a Metz ambassador, a role he sought himself before meeting president Bernard Serin. Although he lives in Ibiza, he says he adjusts his schedule to follow both the senior side and academy players. He was present for Metz’s 1-0 win away to Red Star on September 14 and, when possible, joins Serin in the stands to offer his perspective and experience.
The former France international also sees a responsibility beyond matchdays. He wants to speak with young players in the academy about his own path, the obstacles that await them and the need to prepare for life after football. A long career is never guaranteed, he believes, even for the most gifted prospects.
Pirès views Metz’s struggle to establish lasting Ligue 1 security as part of a wider French football reality. The club’s future, he argues, remains closely tied to producing talent and generating income from it. His hope is for Metz to return to the top flight and remain there, while keeping academy graduates for longer before the market pulls them away.
He recalled being approached by Juventus and Benfica before joining Marseille in 1998, but deciding that the move abroad would have come too soon. At Metz, he knew he would play. That, Pirès believes, is the calculation young footballers must make when larger salaries and foreign opportunities arrive: the essential question is not simply where the money is, but where the minutes will be.
