Enzo Francescoli Uriarte (Spanish pronunciation: ['enso franses'koli u'rjarte]; Italian: ['entso frantSe'sko:li]; born 12 November 1961) is a former Uruguayan football player. Due to his elegant style of play, Francescoli was nicknamed "El Principe" ("The Prince" in Spanish, or "Le Prince" in French) for his elegant playing style on the ball, and "El Flaco", due to his slender frame. A former attacking midfielder, he was considered an elite playmaker in a decadent period for the Uruguay national team. He played 73 times for the Celeste between 1982 and his retirement in 1997, making him the most capped outfield player in Uruguayan international football at the time.
RC Paris
As a young fan of Penarol, Francescoli passed a try-out but did not join unimpressed by the lack of playing time. Despite another successful try-out with South American powerhouse River Plate, which he would later join in 1983, he chose to stay at his high school football team while completing his studies, winning five championships.  In his last year of high school, he received an offer from his hometown club Montevideo Wanderers and joined after graduating. In 1980, he debuted with the Wanderers first team, achieving their best position since their fourth and last national title in 1931, a second-place finish. His elegant behaviour and playing style earned him the nickname "El Principe", a nickname inherited from Hannibal Ciocca, a former Wanderers player. He developed the habit of chewing gum during games in order to avoid dryness in his mouth. He stated he became so dependent on the habit that he did not feel right when he did not have any gum before games.  In the Uruguayan Primera Division in 1981, Francescoli performed well for the team, which finished only behind Penarol and Nacional. In February 1982, he made his debut for the Uruguay national team. Later that year, he made his Copa Libertadores debut, ironically after his worst result with the Wanderers in the national championship, a fifth-place finish.  Vying for a place with his team in the 1983 Copa Libertadores, Francescoli and his team, which included other notable players such as Jorge Barrios, Luis Alberto Acosta, Raul Esnal and Ariel Krasouski, had a respectable season, finishing first in their group, tied with Nacional, and were only eliminated from the tournament in the quarterfinal play-off match.  After Francescoli won the 1983 Copa America with Uruguay, River Plate signed him later that year for $310,000. The following year, Francescoli was unable to show his potential, splitting time with other players. He saw more playing time towards the end of the season when the team reached the Argentine final, but was defeated 3-0 by Ferro Carril Oeste. Nevertheless, Francescoli, was voted the best South American footballer of 1984 for his performances for River Plate and the Uruguay national team, featuring alongside players such as Nelson Gutierrez and Antonio Alzamendi, among others. Eager to excel with River Plate, Enzo rejected an offer from America de Cali (later found to be funded by the Cali Cartel) which was doing well that year and would go on to become the Copa Libertadores runners-up between 1985 and 1987.  Although the team did not win the championship in 1985, Francescoli was voted Argentina's best player, the first foreign player to be given the honour. He finally won the Argentine title with River Plate the next season, claiming the 1985-86 Championship which had been re-established as a single tournament. He ended the season as top scorer with 25 goals, three of which came in a 5-4 victory against Argentinos Juniors for the championship match and qualified for the Copa Libertadores. In January 1986, he scored his most famous goal: a decisive bicycle kick which gave River Plate a victory over the Poland national team in a friendly tournament organized by the five largest Argentine clubs.  After winning the Argentine title, Francescoli represented Uruguay at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Uruguay were eliminated by Argentina, who subsequently won their next five matches to capture the World Cup. Francescoli later moved to Europe, signed by Racing Paris, newly promoted from the French Second Division. Nantes was willing to pay $2.5 million for his contract, but River Plate's president at the time, Hugo Santilli, believed Francescoli could fetch a better price.  Francescoli began his European career with Racing Paris in 1986, a long established team which had been in a slump since the 1950s and had recently started a rivalry with its growing neighbour, Paris Saint-Germain founded in 1970, which had won the French title the previous season. Automotive company Matra decided to sponsor the team, which resulted in the name being changed to Matra Racing in 1987. Seeking to dominate the 1993 Ligue 1, the domestic cups and qualify for the UEFA Champions League, automobile company magnate Jean-Luc Lagardere later provided funding to the club, allowing the team to sign footballers Luis Fernandez, Maxime Bossis, Thierry Tusseau, Pierre Littbarski, David Ginola, Sonny Silooy, Eugene Ekeke and Uruguayan Ruben Paz. In Francescoli's first season, the team managed to finish 13th overall in part due to Francescoli's 14 goals, which made him one of the league's top scorers that season.  Francescoli became a team idol and in 1987 was elected the best foreign player in France. For the 1987-88 season, Portuguese coach Artur Jorge, who had previously won the European Cup, was brought to the team. Francescoli would later describe Artur Jorge as the best coach he had worked with throughout his career. Matra Racing had been struggling to reach the top of the table, alternating between third and second place from the second half of the season onwards. However, after a series of matches, the team stood 11 points behind Monaco. Francescoli scored eight times in the league, finishing once again as the club's top scorer. During this period, he received an offer from Juventus due to the untimely retirement of its captain and star player Michel Platini in 1987, although Francescoli refused the offer. Francescoli finished the 1988-89 championship as the club's top scorer for the third consecutive season, and avoiding relegation.  The sub-par season of Matra Racing did not prevent Francescoli from being seen as a star worldwide. In March 1989, he earned a spot on the Uruguayan international team that played against the Brazil national team in an international friendly in Brazil that marked Zico's retirement, scoring one of his team's goals in a 2-1 victory. However, domestically he had suffered several disappointments and was frustrated by his team's lack of success in the Coupe de France. Racing soon filed for bankruptcy and left the French League, losing its spot to their financially sound cross-city rivals Paris Saint-Germain.
When did he go to paris?
Francescoli began his European career with Racing Paris in 1986,
Francescoli began his European career with Racing Paris in 1986,