Alex Thépot
Alexis Thépot (born July 30, 1906 in Brest , Finistère department , † February 21, 1989 ) was a French football player .
The club career
Thépot, whom everyone called Alex, was the most successful goalkeeper in France in the decade up to 1935 , who asserted himself on the goal line through a very objective style of play and his above-average reflexes; Excursions into the opposing half and the clearing with the foot, which was still common with goalkeepers at the time, were not Thépot's business.
The Breton has played at L'Armoricaine de Brest since childhood , where he quickly moved up to the top team and was called up to the French national football team for the first time at the age of 20 . At the end of the 1926/27 season he moved to Paris, first playing for FEC Levallois , then for the next seven years with Red Star . With the success-spoiled capitals, who had just won the French Cup for the fourth time , he took on a difficult legacy: he was supposed to replace ex-national goalkeeper Pierre Chayriguès . Thépot managed to convince the audience of his qualities, which, despite his objectivity, quickly took him to their hearts. After the introduction of professionalism and a national top division (1932) he played at Red Star for two years in Division 1 and a year in between in the second division.
He then let his active career with US Dunkerque end before he moved back to Brittany, where he played for the US Servannaise-Malouine for a time in the late 1930s . Alex Thépot was unable to win a national title; Nevertheless, he is counted among the greats across the Rhine: France Football sees Thépot as the seventh best French goalkeeper of all time (October 2006).
Stations
- L'Armoricaine de Brest (until 1927)
- FEC Levallois (1927/28)
- Red Star Paris (1928-1935)
- USL Dunkerque (1935/36)
- US Saint-Servan-Saint-Malo
The national player
Between May 1927 and March 1935, Alex Thépot played a total of 31 times in the Équipe Tricolore (including one game for Brest, six for Levallois and 24 for Red Star) and remained France's record goalkeeper for a long time until Georges Carnus overtook him in the early 1970s. He was also captain of the national team in 13 games. As in the club, Thépot managed to fade the "long shadow" of his predecessor ( Maurice Cottenet ). Incidentally, he played his first and last game as captain (which was also his last international match) against Germany : 1-0 (1931) and 1: 3 (1935).
At the Olympic football tournament in 1928 as well as at the football world championships in 1930 and 1934 , he played all games for les Bleus . In 1930 in Uruguay, he almost despaired the arguably favored Argentinians because he simply held all the balls - until he had to let a free kick pass in the 81st minute. The praise of many South Americans, who were counting on a profitable final between Uruguay and Argentina, was honest and deserved.
In the game against Chile on July 19, 1930 he held in the 30th minute of the game against Guillermo Saavedra the first penalty imposed at a World Cup.
Life after time as a player
Thépot already worked in the state border administration during his active time, but remained connected to French football even after his resignation as a player: for a while he coached the US Malouines (until 1939), and after the Second World War he was appointed to the Committee of the Football Association FFF appointed, which selected the players for the Equipe Tricolore . After a heavy defeat against Switzerland , he resigned from this post in 1960.
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Thépot, Alex |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Thépot, Alexis (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French soccer goalkeeper |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 30, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brest (Finistère) |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 21, 1989 |