In November
1960, France Football (in his monthly supplement Football Magazine)
makes the review of the foreign players of the French League since
1910.
1910-1940 : THEY STARTED UP
FRENCH FOOTBALL
ENGLISH ANCESTORS Pic (quite
big) : KENNEDY (R.C
Paris)
The English men arrived in France with
football. In a first time in the North, Milner and Farnfield in
Calais, Peacock in Roubaix, Owen, Bowman, Six in Lille, Turner and
Mathey at Racing. Then they invaded Languedoc : Gibson, Martins,
Parkes, Harrisson, Cornelius, Barrett, Hewitt at F.C Sète.
Afterwards, the British men were represented in Cannes by Aitken, at
Stade by Bunyan, in Boulogne by Newell, in Lille by McGowan, in Rouen
by Barnes, in Sochaux by Leslie and at R.C Paris by the small and
slick Kennedy.
HUNGARIAN TEACHERS Pic :
KOHUT (Marseille)
The creation of professionalism in 1932
attracted lots of Hungarian footballers in France. Let's enumerate
them : Bukovi and Lukacs (Sète), Kalmar (Roubaix), Berkessy (RC
Paris), Kalocsaï and Moré (Lille), Kohut and Eisenhoffer
(Marseille), Szabo and Bradac (Sochaux), not counting the Magyars who
were naturalized. The most of these players brang to their French
partners the model for a perfect technique.
YUGOSLAVIAN ARTISTS
Pic : Yvan BECK (Sète)
There was also several Yugoslavians.
Like the English men, they most of all reinforced the Languedocians
clubs : Sekulic at Montpellier, Stefanovic at Sète and Yvan
Beck, the redoubtable gunner at Sète.
CONSCIENCIOUS SWISS MEN
Pic (big) : Trello ABBEGGLEN (Sochaux)
The Helvetian football provided the
three Kramer brothers to F.C Sète then at Montpellier. Came after
them the goalkeeper Séchehaye at Club Français, the centre-half
Bruhin at Marseille and most of all the matchless inside of F.C
Sochaux Trello Abbegglen. All were players with exemplary
consciousness and correctness.
DUTCH GOALSCORER Pic :
BACKHUYS (Metz)
He was the only marking Dutch man (if
we can say) in the pre-war era. His shooting (foot and head), his
efficiency, were as famous as his long legs and his protruding ears.
He was the star of the team of Metz which was runner-up in the Cup in
1938.
SKILFUL AUSTRIANS Pic :
JERUSALEM (Roubaix)
After the Wunderteam men Jordan and
Hiden (who became French), with Henri Hiltl, imposed himself at
Roubaix Jerusalem, the stratege with receding hairline and with the
Viennese touch of the ball.
GERMAN PUNCHER Pic : Ossi
ROHR (R.C Strasbourg)
The R.C. Strasbourg's centre forward,
Ossi Rohr, was, with the Marseille's back Schnoeck, one of the rare
German players to bring something to French football. His athletic
power, his energy, his shots, were impressive.
EBULLIANT SPANIARDS Pic :
URTIZBEREA (Bordeaux)
Iberian football
was more generous pre-war than after. The first Spanish who came to
France was the back of Racing Anatol. Then there were afterwards
Balmanya and Escola (Sète), Zabalo R.C Paris), Mancisidor and
Urtizberea the ox (Girondins de Bordeaux). We'll join to them - by
style affinity – the Brazilian Vasconcellos (Marseille) and the
Uruguayan Diaz (Red Star).
Now, and before to continue the
review, we can read the following insert on the first
double-page :
THEY HAVE CHOSEN
FRANCE Pics : Hiden (very big), Hiltl, Simonyi, Koranyi and
Ujlaki.
French football, in
general, and the French National Team, in particular, often felt well
to welcome naturalized players. They were numerous, indeed, to settle
in our country and to choose France as motherland. Let's recall the
most famous cases.
Pre-war, those of
Anatol (Spanish), Yvan Beck (Yugoslavian), Désiré Koranyi, André
Simonyi, Kaucsar, Siklo, Weiskopf (Hunagarians), Hiltl, Jordan and
Hiden (Austrians).
And post-war, those
of Lechantre (Belgian), Skiba (German), Ujlaki (Hungarian) who were
internationals, of Gonzalès (Argentine) and Andersson (Swede) who
almost been.
And this one on the next double
page :
FRENCH MEN OF
IMPORT Pics : Courtois, Cazenave, De Bourgoing.
In Italy, we call
them « oriundi », that is to say of Italian origin. In
this way the Monti, Schiaffino, Lojacono, Julinho, Sivori, Angelillo
could reinforce the calcio. In France, these footballers of French
origin (by their parents or grandparents) were Uruguayans before the
war and Argentines after the war.
The most famous
French-Uruguayans played at Sochaux : Cazenave, Duhart (both
internationals), Irrigaray. There was a French-Argentine as well at
Sochaux : Lauri. Today the French football is invaded by the
players of French origins who were born in Buenos Aires :
Gauthier (Nancy), Combin and Rambert (Lyon), De Bourgoing and Dandru
(Nice) and Muller (Sochaux).
A particular case :
the one of Roger Courtois, born in Lausanne, but who was a French
international because endowed (like his teammate Lehmann) with the
double-nationality.
1945-1960 :
THEY REVIVED FRENCH FOOTBALL
AUSTRIA - Ernst
MELCHIOR (very big pic of him with a defender lying at his feet
and no ball around)
The Austrian
national team of the years 1951 to 1954 provided a strong quota of
players to French football. If Melchior was one of the rare shock
elements imported from Vienna, numerous were the the Austrian
artists who gave lessons of technique, in this way Decker (Sochaux),
Habitzl and Aurednik (Lens and Le Havre), Schlindlauer (Angers,
Nantes), Happel (R.C Paris), Stojaspal (Strasbourg, Béziers,
Troyes), Brinek (Monaco).
ARGENTINA –
Carlos SOSA (pic)
The Argentine
footballer seems destined by his technical and moral qualities
(excellent mentality), to the role of professor or of boss. We can't
deny the influence and the so valuable role of model that had
Carniglia at Nice, Aballay and Vega at Nancy, Verdeal at
Valenciennes, Conti at Monaco, Sosa at Racing, Di Loreto at Toulouse
and Le Havre, Lorenzo at Nancy ; personnalities that Muro still
has at Nancy as well as Ruben Bravo at Roubaix (after Nice, Aix,
Grenoble and Rouen).
DENMARK – Kaj
CHRISTIANSEN (pic)
There was also from
the Danes an unquestionable technical supply. The technical fineness
was the essential quality of a Christiansen (Lyon, Le Havre,
Grenoble) of a Jensen (Lille, Marseille, Lyon, Troyes), of a
Soerensen (Stade), of a Hansen (Nancy) or of a Bronee (Nancy). But
there was also the inexhaustible Mathiesen (Stade, Le Havre) and the
efficient Nielsen (Marseille).
SWITZERLAND –
Jackie FATTON (pic)
Neighbours and
friends, the Swiss people have made frequent travels to France. It is
true that they most of the time benefit of the double-nationality.
The three best Helvetian footballers imported were three forwards,
internationals in their country, small by height but vivacious and
deft : Tamimi (Lyon and Saint-Etienne), Fatton (Lyon), Eschmann
(Red Star, Marseille, Stade).
FINLAND –
Aulis RYTKONEN (pic)
Of the three
Finnish who came in France, only one did not impose himself (Rykberg
at Toulouse and at Sète). He was the lumberjack. The two others made
a brilliant career thanks to their subtile touch of the ball and
their sense of the game : Rytkonen at Toulouse, Lehtovirta at
Red Star.
Before ending this part, here is now
a new insert which is about players from other coutries :
//////
There was, of
course, many other transferts of foreign players post-war. It would
take too much time to enumerate them all here. There was more than
400 ! Let's recall simply the well-known and the more
unexpected.
HUNGARY :
Etienne Nyers, François Nyers, Jules Nagy, André Nagy, Somlay.
GREAT
BRITAIN : Curtis and Westwood, Taylor, Griffiths.
ICELAND :
Gudmundsson.
LUXEMBOURG :
Letsch, Libar, Kemp, Nurenberg.
YUGOSLAVIA :
Nicolitch, Arengelovitch, Alempijevitch.
SPAIN :
Molinuevo, Artigas, Caeiro.
GERMANY :
Kreps, Schirschin, Jackstell.
PARAGUAY :
Acosta, Ayala, Andrada.
LETTONIA :
Arens, Vanags.
And the
UNEXPECTED : the Bulgarian Antonov, the Turkish Lefter, the
Russians Skocen and Stekiw, the Chilean Riera and the Haitian
Gaetjens.
////////
BRAZIL – Yeso
AMALFI (very big pic : in contrast with the Melchior's
pic, Amalfi is here about to strike the ball, in a perfectly balanced
position of the body, with his arms well outstretched. It seems that
he will use totally or partially the outside of the foot, the left.
His right is a bit far from the ball though. It remains a bit
special. In the end, on this pic, of course, nothing reveals if what
he is doing is great or poor, it can be either way and we'll never
know. But the main idea which is about elegance is here and let's say
that it was an incredible action).
The Brazilians
expatriate less than their South Americans colleagues. In France they
were rarer; the most marking was Yeso Amalfi (Nice, Racing,
Marseille, Red Star), whose the technical virtuosity was rivaled by
only his fantasy. With him, let's cite Brandaozinho (Monaco) and
Zeglio (C.A.P).
HOLLAND –
Bertus de HARDER (pic)
All the Dutchmen
who tried their luck in our home before the establishment of the
professionalism in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, did well. There was
amongst them a mix of tempers and a clear distinction between the
fighters (De Vroedt at Le Havre, De Kubber at Bordeaux, Van der Hart
at Lille, Vreken at Nantes, Van Geen at Nantes, and most of all Appel
at Reims) and the artists (De Harder at Bordeaux, Timmermans and
Brandès at Nîmes, Carlier at Strasbourg and Monaco, Rijvers at
Saint-Etienne).
SWEDEN – Bror
MELLBERG (pic)
As Italy payed a
fortune for the best Swedes (Liedholm, Jeppson, Gren, Nordahl,
Skoglund, Hamrin), French football had to content itself in general
with vigorous men, athletic, sometimes blind, always efficient. Apart
from a Lundqvist who failed at Reims, the other Swedes brang to our
teams freshness and punch : Mellberg (Toulouse, Red Star,
Sochaux) ; Jonsson (Stade Français, Lens, Nancy) ;
Johansson (Marseille) ; Eriksson (Toulouse, Grenoble) ;
Bengtsson (Nice, Rennes) and Andersson (Marseille). The subtile
Carlsson (Stade) and Hjalmarsson (Lyon, Nice, Troyes) constitute the
exceptions.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA –
Pepi HUMPAL (pic)
Czech football used
to give two or three valubale elements like Karel (C.A.P), Finek
(Saint-Etienne) and Jelinek (Toulouse). Bata-Zlin provided then three
footballers combining the fineness and the efficiency : Dupal
and Humpal (Sochaux), Michlovsky (Saint-Etienne). All three stood in
France.
This gallery of players goes with
the « investigation of the month » which is about to know
what think the different actors of French football (presidents,
coaches, players) about to re-open the boundaries to the foreign
players, them which are closed since 1955 (the object of another post
maybe...globlally, if not unanimously, they were 'for', under some
conditions very often too, of course...by the way only two were against, the president of the federation and the coach of Racing Paris).
The following part is a last insert
that features into this article. And it's about the foreign players
who still play in France in 1960.
16 SURVIVORS
Like shagreen, the number of foreigners who are still performing into
the French professional teams is decreasing before your very eyes.
They are no more than 16. We cite here only the players formed
abroad. Thus there is no question of the young nîmois Salaber born
in Zaragoza, hence Spanish, but of French formation ! Who are
these sixteen :
The Argentines Ruben BRAVO (Roubaix), MURO (Nancy), the Brazilian
CONSTANTINO (Nîmes), the Austrians STOJASPAL (Troyes), KOMINEK
(Lens), SCHINDLAUER (Nantes), MATZKY (Valenciennes) ; the
Dutchmen VAN RHYN (Stade), RIJVERS (St-Etienne), CARLIER (Monaco) ;
the Swiss man ESCHMANN (Stade) ; the Swedes BRODD (Toulouse) and
JOHANSSON (Aix) ; the Uruguayan BESSONART (Metz) ; the
Welsh GRIFFITHS (Béziers) ; the Luxemburger NURENBERG
(Sochaux).
One remark : on these sixteen players, thirteen are forwards.
Then 6 players
have their pic and a short or condensate description :
Pirès said
CONSTANTINO (Nîmes)
A Brazilian who is a perfect technician and an ideal teammate yet.
Yngve BRODD
(Toulouse)
A Swede who possesses a great liveliness in his runs and in his
shots.
Santiago
BESSONART (Uruguay)
An Uruguayan who starts to give his team his talents of dribbler.
Victor NURENBERG
(Luxembourg)
A Luxemburger who won all the titles with Nice, before to move to
Sochaux.
Kees RIJVERS
(Saint-Etienne)
A Dutch man whose the wrongfoots and the glance have made and still
make the heyday of Saint-Etienne.
Ruben BRAVO
(Nice)
An Argentine who plays the teachers at CORT, after Nice, Aix,
Grenoble and Rouen.
In picture (internet search, not the same pics that illustrate
the mag's article) :
Aitken, Kohut, Beck, Abbegglen, Backhuys
Jerusalem, Rohr, Urtizberea, Hiltl, Courtois
Melchior, Sosa, Christiansen, Eschmann, Rytkonen
Nyers, Gudmundsson, Amalfi, Humpal, De Harder
Andersson, Pirès said Constantino, Ruben Bravo, Rijvers, Hiden.
Some notes :
- The
players who joined France during the Civil War in Spain were not
cited by France Football and
we mainly think about
Valle, Luis and also his brother Joaquin, without really forgetting about the celebrities of the time Samitier and Zamora, all at OGC
Nice. It was in a particulat context. Luis Valle stood longer and scored many goals for the red and black.
- The list is not exhaustive of course but the most important players
have been cited (except for the Spanish who have migrated to France
between 1936-37 and 1939, as seen previously). There was way more Yugoslavian and Hungarian players than that !
But as precised in the article many of them became French.
- It is not developped much into the « Frenches of import »
paragraph but Pedro (or Pierre) Duhart was seen as an exquisite
dribbler with his undelating moves but yet with much balance. This is what we can
read in another article from the same issue which is about the
« feinters ».
- By the way, the Paraguayan José Parodi joined his fellow
country-man Andrada at Nîmes in the following season. It's an example,
for the new ones who came in 61-62 along with "re-open borders". His name comes easily to mind as there has
not been dozens of Paraguayan in the French league, even if a good
number finally.
_A last point : Bradac was Czechoslovakian but was packed with the Hungarians in the article.
I recall that some of these players there have
their profiles into the two following threads :
Always from France Football.
The different profiles for a same player complete each other and
these articles were published around two years later so it must
countain a couple of new foreigners who went to France after the 1959-1960 season.
Well, a last note : Oskar Rohr was the great-uncle of Gernot
Rohr, the defensive midfielder formed at Bayern who made his career
at Girondins de Bordeaux as a player then also as a coach for some
periods of time which were the promotion in D1 in 1992 and the second
half of
the 1995-96 season with the UEFA Cup Final (against his very first club) and who has the double-nationality,
German-French.
Même article en VO un peu plus tard.
Et puis c'est quoi ces ch'veux?
