Joël Bats

Joël Bats
Joël Bats
Born	January 4, 1957 (age 69); Mont-de-Marsan, France
Occupation(s)	Professional footballer (retired), football coach
Years active	1976–1992 (player), 1992–2017+ (coach)
Known for	Goalkeeper for Sochaux, Auxerre, Paris Saint-Germain; France national team goalkeeper; football coach

Joël Bats (born 4 January 1957) is a retired French professional football player who specialized as a goalkeeper. His entire senior club career unfolded in France, where he appeared in 553 official matches, including 504 top-flight Division 1 appearances representing Sochaux, Auxerre, and Paris Saint-Germain between 1976 and 1992. On the international stage, Bats earned 50 caps for the French national team, participating in 35 competitive fixtures alongside 15 friendlies.

Sochaux

Bats developed through the youth ranks of FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, featuring with their under-19 squad until 1974. He began his professional journey with Sochaux’s reserve side during the 1974–75 and 1975–76 seasons. Elevated to the senior squad in the summer of 1976, he contested the starting goalkeeper role with Albert Rust over the next four years before departing at the conclusion of the 1979–80 campaign.

Auxerre

In the summer of 1980, Bats signed for AJ Auxerre, freshly promoted to Division 1 after clinching the 1979–80 French Division 2 championship. Throughout his five-year tenure at Auxerre, he established himself firmly as the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper.

Paris Saint-Germain

Bats moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 1985, where he held the position of primary goalkeeper for seven seasons. During this period, PSG captured their inaugural Division 1 title in 1986. He amassed a total of 286 competitive appearances for PSG before hanging up his boots following the 1991–92 season.

International career

Bats made his debut for the senior France squad on 7 September 1983 in a friendly match against Denmark. He was France’s starting goalkeeper throughout their triumphant 1984 European Championship campaign, playing every minute and delivering crucial saves in the semi-final versus Portugal. This tournament solidified his reputation as a dependable figure between the posts, and he maintained his role as France’s first-choice goalkeeper until his international retirement in 1989.

He featured in all eight fixtures during the qualifying phase for the 1986 World Cup, guiding France to finish atop their group. At the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Bats guarded the goal throughout all matches up to the semi-finals, notably saving penalties from Zico and Sócrates during the quarter-final shootout against Brazil. However, he conceded a decisive free-kick in the semi-final defeat to West Germany, which ended in a 2–0 loss for France.

Bats also took part in qualifying matches for UEFA Euro 1988 and the 1990 World Cup; however, France did not secure qualification for either competition. He became the first French goalkeeper to reach a milestone of 50 international caps during a World Cup qualifier against Cyprus on 18 November 1989, marking his final appearance at international level.

Paris Saint-Germain

Following his playing days, Bats joined the coaching staff at Paris Saint-Germain as goalkeeping coach from 1992 to 1994 under manager Artur Jorge, then served as assistant coach between 1994 and 1996 under Luis Fernández. In June 1996, he was appointed co-head coach alongside Ricardo Gomes. Together, they led PSG to victories in both the 1997–98 Coupe de France and the 1997–98 Coupe de la Ligue. Despite these cup successes, an underwhelming league campaign combined with changes within the club's hierarchy resulted in their replacement by Alain Giresse in June 1998.

Châteauroux

Bats served as the head coach of Division 2 side L.B. Châteauroux from July 1998 until September 1999. Over his 15-month tenure, his teams secured victory in just 32% of official matches.

Lyon

In 2000, Bats took on the position of goalkeeping coach at Olympique Lyonnais, a post he maintained until December 2017. Throughout his 17 years at OL, he mentored several internationally recognized goalkeepers such as Grégory Coupet, Hugo Lloris, and Anthony Lopes. Although his contract was set to run until 2019, OL permitted him to depart early to reunite with former manager Rémi Garde at Major League Soccer's Montreal Impact.

Personal life

After being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1982, Bats underwent surgery and successfully recovered. During his recuperation period, he began composing poetry and published two collections. In 1986, he released an album named Gardien de tes Nuits (Keeper of your Nights), along with three singles: a children's tune titled L'Escargot (The Snail), the ballad Soli Solitude, and Même si je m’envole (Even if I am flying).

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

Division 1: 1985–86

France

Individual

Onze Mondial: 1985, 1986, 1989

External links