Norbert Siri is the face of AS Monaco memory. At 75, this former principal of Charles III College has started writing yet another book on the club of his heart (1). In total, 208 pages of history, archives and photos which retrace the hundred years of this club.
In a setting of cardinal red and dazzling white, lies the history of AS Monaco. Over thousands of lines and through several hundred photos, a hundred years are told. Created in 1903, Herculis Monaco took part in the very first edition of the Coupe de France in 1917. In 1919, the principality’s first historic Football club merged with other sporting entities, notably the swimming club. , Monaco-Sports, AS Beausoleil, Étoile de Monaco and Riviera AC de Monaco. The 1isAugust 1919, AS Monaco Football was officially born, which is affiliated to the French football federation under number 91. On August 23, 2024, the omnisports company Association Sportive de Monaco was launched. It is to this that footballers are attached. “This book is a testimony of my love for this club and the work of which I am most proud,” says its author, Norbert Siri. With his sharp pen and his memories as his kit, Norbert Siri began a journey through time several months ago. Objective: to retrace the history of the AS Monaco football club in a book. A true iconographic bible, this collection brings together period documents, testimonies, photos: “It’s a leap in time for all fans. »
Professor of classics and supporter of the ASM
Behind this project is Julien Crévelier, the club’s director of communications and public relations: “One day, in 2023, I received a phone call. It was Julien. He wanted me to write this book. I took some time to think about the offer [il sourit — NDLR]. Not so much, I admit. Then, I ended up accepting. » A true enthusiast of the history of AS Monaco, Norbert Siri has several editorial experiences: “In 1998, we released an encyclopedia of AS Monaco, with my son. We updated this book in 2005, after the European epic. Then the publisher, Calmann-Lévy, contacted me and I was able to write another book called AS Monaco Football Club: One Club, day after day (2). »
The choice of the AS Monaco communications department for the writing of this centenary book therefore seemed logical, but not for Norbert Siri, who explains: “It was an honor that was done to me. And, honestly, I already had a lot of archives in mind for the writing. So I wrote the book quite quickly, in three months. And it became my major work. » An editorial helped, in particular, by its own history. A classics teacher at the start of his career, he sacrificed his free time to give lessons at the club’s training center. For five years, from 1976 to 1981, it was on the benches of his class that future football stars were gathered: Claude Puel, Jean-Luc Ettori, Thierry Ninot, and Dominique Bijotat, among others. “It allowed me to know a lot of young aspirants or trainees, who have become stars. We held lessons at the old Louis II stadium, at the foot of the zoo. »
“I particularly remember the Cup of Cups final in Lisbon on May 6, 1992, the day after the Furiani tragedy. The supporters’ club had paid part of the supporters’ travel and the princely government had completed the bill.
Norbert Siri. Author of 100 years of AS Monaco
A club, faces and stories to tell
He has seen the club evolve, both in its professionalism and in its scale: “For the record, when I was giving lessons in the late 1970s, I asked for a blackboard. I had a board painted black. This tells you how far the club has come, because today the budget has nothing to do with it. [selon Sportune, le budget 2024-2025 de l’AS Monaco est d’environ 165 millions d’euros, contre 860 millions pour le Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) — NDLR]. » There are therefore two loves in Norbert Siri’s life: education and football. When on the one hand he was responsible for founding the educational structure of the Charles III college in 1989, on the other hand, he became president of the ASM supporters club, the same year: “I have very fond memories as president. We had wonderful moments of communion. I particularly remember the Cup of Cups final in Lisbon on May 6, 1992, the day after the Furiani tragedy. The supporters’ club had paid part of the supporters’ travel and the princely government had completed the bill. » Like a “second family”, this club represents an entire part of his life for him, and he wanted to leave a part of himself in this book: “I was given free rein to write and I feel like I’m paying homage to the club that I love. »
In this book, which looks like a time machine, relics of the past appear. Images of old jerseys rub shoulders with the big names of ASM. Didier Deschamps, Arsène Wenger and “of course, the great president of the club, Jean-Louis Campora”. Big dates and big personalities meet there, to “please fans of the club, but also those who are not interested in football,” promises Norbert Siri. In total, 208 pages, 192 illustrative photos, club and palace archives, 78 portraits of personalities, 36 dates and 20 testimonies from supporters. Although it gives pride of place to sporting exploits and great stories, the book does not mention the legal cases which concerned, from 2018, the president of AS Monaco, the Russian billionaire Dmitri Rybolovlev, focusing solely on the sporting aspect of the club. Club bible for some, communication tool for others, this book attempts to link the past to the present, in a club which has gone through several states of form throughout its history.
In this book, images of old jerseys rub shoulders with the big names of AS Monaco. Didier Deschamps, Arsène Wenger and “of course, the great president of the club, Jean-Louis Campora”
1) 100 years of AS Monaco by Norbert Siri (Amphora), 205 pages, 39.95 euros.
2) AS Monaco Football Club: a club, day after day by Norbert Siri (Calmann-Lévy, 2008), 192 pages, 17.95 euros.
