Emmanuel Sanon
Emmanuel "Manno" Sanon (June 25, 1951 – February 21, 2008) was a Haitian footballer. He starred in the Haiti national football team during its venture into the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Youth
Sanon attended the Lycee de Pétionville Secondary School.
1974 FIFA World Cup
Having qualified by first knocking out Puerto Rico in a play-off, then topping the final group in the capital Port-au-Prince, Haïti was drawn into a very difficult group featuring two-time champions Italy, future champions Argentina, and Poland, who managed third place in the tournament. While they predictably finished last in the group with three losses and a -12 goal difference, Emmanuel Sanon scored both goals for the country in the tournament. He scored against Argentina in the last game of the group, but by far the most famous goal occurred against Italy. The Azzurri had not let in a goal in 19 games prior to the World Cup, thanks to goalkeeper Dino Zoff. In the opening of the second half, Sanon shocked the Italians with the opening goal. However this lead did not hold and Italy went on to win 3-1. By the time Haiti was tossed from the tournament after losing 0-7 to Poland and 1-4 to Argentina, Sanon had cemented his place in history. With 13 goals scored in international games, he was the best scorer in the Haiti national team history before being overtaken by Golman Pierre.
Professional
In 1980, Sanon signed with the Miami Americans of the second division American Soccer League. When head coach Ron Newman left the team on June 20, 1980 to become the head coach of the San Diego Sockers of the first division North American Soccer League, he induced Sanon to also move to the Sockers.[1] Sanon spent three seasons with the Sockers until he suffered a career ending knee injury.
Honours
Death
On February 21, 2008, Emmanuel Sanon died of pancreatic cancer, aged 56. The Haitian Legislature voted to award a perpertual exempted pension to his family posthumously as an honorific gesture for scoring the goals in Haiti's 1974 FIFA World Cup participation.
References
External links