Emmanuel "Manno" Sanon, 1974 soccer player, FIFA World Cup in Germany

Four years after joining HNT in 1970, Manno and his teammates played for the FIFA World Cup in Europe. HNT had fought its way through the qualifying rounds of the World Cup play-offs, and successful, found themselves facing a trio of daunting competitors: Italy, Argentina, and Poland.

HNT lost to all three, yet Manno made a lasting impression on the soccer world. During the game against Italy, Manno surprised everyone by scoring the first goal of the game. What was so incredible about this achievement is Italy goalkeeper, Zoff, had not permitted any opposition players to score a goal in two-plus years.

The famous goal of Emmanuel Sanon during the 1974 World Cup - In Video

Emmanuel "Manno" Sanon, an excellent offense player, received a perfectly-thrown pass and took the lead, streaking past his opponent and shocking Zoff, who collapsed in disbelief. Haiti, though, lost to Italy 1-3, Argentina 1-4, and Poland 0-7. Despite losses, Manno entered the record books for his goal-scoring against record-holder, Zoff.

During Manno's 11 years playing for HNT, he carved out a niche in Haitian soccer lore, winning 13 goals at international finals events. He became the number-one scorer in history for HNT before eventually being out-scored by another player.

Felled by a knee injury while playing for the San Diego Sockers, Emmanuel Sanon retired, but briefly coached HNT. He contracted pancreatic cancer and passed away in 2008 at 56 years of age.

Reply to this article  (1)

Read more: soccer, CONCACAF, FIFA, Germany, Emmanuel Sanon, 1974, Manno, Sport

« Universite Quiskeya in Haiti | Main | Restoration of Palace of 365 Doors in Petite-Riviere, Artibonite »

Return to Articles List

All Comments (1)

Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were  or  grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.