Former Kenya, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Cameroon manager Henri Michel has died today at the age of 70.

A family statement said: “With the greatest sadness, we have to announce that Michel passed away at his home early this morning after a long battle with cancer.”

“The family are devastated by this sudden and totally unexpected loss.”

The Frenchman was born in Aix-en-Provence and earned 58 international caps between 1967 and 1980 with France national team as a midfielder.

His coaching career in Africa began  in Cameroon where he steered Indomitable Lions through the 1994 World Cup finals in America, and then led Morocco’s Atlas Lions to France ’98.

Michel, who coached France to the semi-finals of the 1986 World Cup, was also once in charge of Tunisia, leading the Carthage Eagles at the 2002 Nations Cup finals in Mali.

His last post was a stay of a few months with Kenya in 2012 where he quit under a cloud of uncertainty two months into the job for reportedly non-payment.