Thierry Roland

Thierry Roland (4 August 1937 – 16 June 2012) was a French sports commentator. He was born in the city of Boulogne-Billancourt, and died in Paris of a cerebrovascular event at age 74. Roland was France's leading football commentator for fifty-nine years. He began his career as a radio journalist for ORTF when he was just sixteen years old. He then became a television sports journalist at the age of twenty. He commentated on more than 1,000 football matches, including thirteen World Cups (beginning with the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile) and nine UEFA European Championships.