France – RFA (Séville, 1982) : l’évènement footballistique

Abstract

This contribution offers an original reading of the representations surrounding the semi-final of the Football World Cup between France and Germany on 8 July 1982 in Seville. Input and output of the historical process by its status of socio-cultural rupture, this sporting fact postulates to be categorized as a symbolic event. In order to measure its social impacts, the challenge for academic sciences is to objectify its nature. Through a combined analysis of its manifestation, its future and its normalization, this study demonstrates the event-driven dimension of the Seville drama. In fact, captured and relayed by the media in a mythological way, it sees the emergence of a long-term memory movement. The social sciences make the football process of identification intelligible but they have so far failed to explain this still present past.