Valenciennes | Achille Valenciennes | Gare de Valenciennes |
The club and their president Bernard Tapie would later be found to have been involved in a match-fixing scandal during the 1992–93 season (in which Marseille allegedly paid Valenciennes to lose a match), which saw them relegated to Division 2 and banned from participation in European football for the following season.
When head prosecutor in Valenciennes, he became famous for prosecuting the businessman-cum-politician Bernard Tapie for rigging the match between his football club Olympique de Marseille and the local club Valenciennes FC.
Already a member of the Switzerland U-17 national team at age 16, Ajax won the young player over ahead of Juventus, Sampdoria, Brescia, Nancy and Valenciennes, all who were in running for the young defender.