Share
1st February 2019
08:51am GMT
“I remember very well because I was in Monaco with my parents at that time. We were at my friend's home and we received a phone call from the club. That was the first time and the last time of my life I have seen my father cry.”
At the funeral, Petit couldn’t bring himself to watch Olivier be lowered into the ground. It is a decision he doesn’t regret, but troubled his mother for a long time. Years later, she asked him why he turned his back at that moment.
“I told her it’s because I didn't want to have my last memory of my brother like this,” Petit recalls. “And to be honest, I'm happy with the decision I took. I didn't want to be disrespectful, I just didn't want to have this image in my head.”
Losing a brother at such a young age could easily have derailed Petit’s aspirations as a footballer. But he knew he couldn’t let that happen. He was determined to channel the trauma into positive energy, using it to realise his dreams for Olivier.
“I have such big ambition but the death of my brother, that was the missing link. I was so motivated but I needed something more important: anger.
“Motivation is good but anger is sometimes more important because it gives you the pride, the strength, whatever happens.
“Every single day, you make an agreement with yourself. I made a contract with myself, a contract with my family. I didn't tell them but I swore to myself I would do that and I would try everything I can to reach my target. I wanted my family to be proud of me.
“I wanted to relieve the pain from my family’s shoulders. I wanted them to see football is not that bad… football can also bring us happiness. And now I thought to myself ‘you will have no rest until you reach your target’.”
Fast forward ten years and Petit had realised his dreams, scoring for France in their thrilling 3-0 win over Brazil in the World Cup final.
It was the country’s first ever victory, coming on home soil. It was a cathartic moment for the nation - who had seen many talented teams over the years fall short - but even more so for Petit, who felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders.
He had achieved what he set out to do.
“Straight after I left the dressing room I was invited on live with TF1, a TV channel in France for the national team, and I remember one of the questions from the presenter… she asked me how I felt.
“I said, ‘My thoughts go straight to my family and my brother. I'm very happy, I'm very proud of what we've done, what I've done. And I'm so happy for my family. I just wanted them to understand that I love them and I keep thinking about my brother. I know that he is looking at what we're doing’.
“I felt relieved… and when I saw my parents after that - when I saw the eyes of my father and my brother and my mother - I thought to myself, ‘You did it right. You can be proud of yourself’.”
The only moment in his life worthy of comparison was the birth of his daughters.
‘You are 18, you need to go out,’ Wenger told him.
‘You need to socialise, you need to make some friends. You need to see some girls or whatever you want, you need to discover what kind of person you are.’
It wasn’t licence to indulge in heavy nights of debauchery, but simply to socialise more - to learn what type of person he wanted to be. Wenger saw a shy boy with the potential to become so much more.
Wenger’s influence was ubiquitous throughout his career. After Petit had reunited with the manager at Arsenal, he was once taken aside on a train to Birmingham and told to fly home to France.
Something was wrong.
Wenger didn’t know what exactly, but he could read Petit like a book and knew what was best for him.
‘You take, two, three, four days - a week. I don't care,’ Wenger told his player.
‘But when you come back to London I want you to be ready 100% for the team. If you're not ready 100%, don't come back. Stay in France.’
“What kind of manager says this to his player?” says Petit. “When a manager talks to you like this you want to climb a mountain for him, without oxygen.”
It was this guidance, combined with his upbringing, that saw Petit blossom as a footballer and grow into one of the most humble people in the game.
“Love and education is the best passport for life,” he says.
For fans of both Arsenal and France, it is unthinkable to imagine the success of the late 1990s without Petit bulldozing his way through opposition midfields, ponytail swinging through the air behind him.
But his story is one of enormous depth; of personal suffering and incredible determination.
Petit experienced both unparalleled joy and heartbreaking sadness during his time as a footballer. Hearing his story, few would disagree with his reflection that “football can be a miracle for people”, just as it was for him.Explore more on these topics:
