Max Guazzini

Max Guazzini (born October 23, 1947) is a French entrepreneur and until June 2011, president of the Stade Français rugby union club of Paris, who compete in the top division of rugby union in France, the Top 14. Since arriving at Stade Français in the early 1990s, the club rose from the lower divisions of competition to become one of the most successful French rugby teams of the modern era. Early life Guazzini was born at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, into a family of Italian origin (he also has an Italian passport). In 1982, he was the founder of a successful private music radio station called NRJ, until he abandoned his seat as board member in 2004. Career Guazzini aspired to bring back top-class rugby to the city of Paris, and in 1992 he took over Stade Français, who had been playing in the lower divisions of competition. The club was in the third division when he took over in 1992. He would later say “I want to build a club for Paris, for the people, of which it can be proud”. Together with his backing, the club merged with another Parsian team, the Comitie Athletic St Germain (CASG) in 1995, and with then head-coach Bernard Laporte (later becoming the head coach of France) they rose rapidly up into the elite division of French rugby. By 1998, they had won the French championship, and completed a dramatic rise to glory in a short period of time. He is known for his eccentricity, and it was Guazzini's idea it was for Stade to play in pink kits. Over the years, they have played in a variety of unusual, gawdy shirts including designs featuring lightning bolts, flowers, fluorescent pink tie-dye and Andy Warhol-inspired designs.