AS Monaco legend Jean-Luc Ettori is the 2026 One-Club Man
AS Monaco legend Jean-Luc Ettori is the 2026 One-Club Man
The "Rouge et Blanc" goalkeeper is one of French football’s greatest icons and perfectly embodies devotion to a club's colours, loyalty to supporters, and complete identification with a single team: AS Monaco
Athletic Club has awarded the 2026 One-Club Man award to AS Monaco legend Jean-Luc Ettori.
The French goalkeeper enjoyed a remarkable 19-year career (1975-1994) playing between the sticks at AS Monaco, one of French football’s most historic clubs. Etorri made 755 appearances in the famous "Rouge et Blanc" shirt.
Jean-Luc Ettori succeeds Jamie Carragher as the recipient of Athletic Club's most prestigious award and joins an illustrious list of winners which includes: Matthew Le Tissier (Southampton FC), Paolo Maldini (AC Milan), Sepp Maier (FC Bayern Munich), Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona), Billy McNeill (Celtic FC), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United FC), Ricardo Enrique Bochini (CA Independiente de Avellaneda), João Pinto (FC Porto), Giuseppe Bergomi (FC Internazionale Milano) and the aforementioned Carragher (Liverpool FC), all names that have made significant contributions to the history of football.
Jean-Luc will receive the trophy and a well-deserved ovation at San Mames before Athletic Club's match against Real Madrid on the weekend of 6 December (date and kick-off time to be confirmed).
A lifetime of loyalty to AS Monaco
Born in Marseille on 29 July 1955, and of Corsican origin, Ettori joined AS Monaco in 1975 at just 20 years of age. In 1977, an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Yves Chauveau opened the door to a starting role that Jean-Luc would never relinquish, becoming the club's no.1 for 19 seasons and a club-record 755 matches.
In 1978, AS Monaco won the French Ligue 1 just one year after returning to the top-flight. That title was the first of the three French league championships Ettori would win during his career, adding further league titles in 1982 and 1988. He also lifted the Coupe de France three times, in 1980, 1985 and 1991, as well as the 1985 Challenge des Champions, a competition similar to the Spanish Super Cup that pits the Ligue 1 champions against the Coupe de France winners.
Etorri’s performances earned him a place in the French national team. Michel Hidalgo gave him the opportunity to represent Les Bleus, and Ettori was France's first-choice goalkeeper at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain as. During that tournament, he played in a group-stage match against England at San Mames. In total, Jean-Luc earned nine caps for France, six of them during that World Cup campaign, in which France eventually finished fourth.
When Arsène Wenger took over as AS Monaco head-coach in 1987, the club reached a new level. At that point, Ettori was the captain and the voice of a generation. He received the 1990 Étoile d'Or (Golden Star) award, which honours the most outstanding and consistent player in each Ligue 1 season. Jean-Luc kept 22 clean sheets in the 1989/90 season, finishing the campaign as the goalkeeper with fewest goals conceded in Ligue 1, a feat he also achieved in 1980, 1982 and 1984.
Throughout his career, Ettori shared the dressing room with stars like Delio Onnis, Manuel Amoros, Bruno Bellone, George Weah, Emmanuel Petit, Youri Djorkaeff, Lilian Thuram, Jürgen Klinsmann and Glenn Hoddle.
For almost two decades, Ettori was much more than just AS Monaco’s goalkeeper: he was the club’s leader, captain and role model. What's more, over time, he became one of the greatest legends in the history of French football.
Jean-Luc’s bond with AS Monaco continued long after his retirement, much like José Ángel Iribar's connection with Athletic Club. He remained involved primarily as a goalkeeping coach, while also enjoying a brief spell as first-team head coach and later serving as director of football.
Jean-Luc Ettori: the legend who made AS Monaco his home.