Alfred Aston

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Alfred Aston (born May 16, 1912 in Chantilly , † February 10, 2003 ) was a French football player .

The club career

The son of an Englishman and a Frenchwoman was more like a jockey on the famous racetrack of his birthplace than a footballer, but developed into one of the best right wingers France has ever had. With the introduction of professional football in France (1932), he moved from his home amateur club in the Oise department , where his coach, ex-international Jean Ducret , had shaped him, to one of the strongest French teams of the interwar period, namely Red Star Paris , which by then had already won the French Cup four times . There he quickly played his way into the regular formation and into the hearts of the fans, who called the small, nimble dribbling artist "Fred" or "Irrlicht" (French: feu follet ). When Division 1 was reduced from 20 to 14 teams in 1933, Red Star was relegated, but immediately returned to the House of Lords in 1934. As a second division player, Aston made his national team debut in March 1934 . In 1938 he moved to the big local rivals Racing Club in order to be able to continue to play first-class, because Red Star had to start again, if only for one year, in Division 2 . Alfred Aston, however, had the misfortune that he did not make it into the finals of the two Racing Cup victories: in 1939 the coach surprisingly did not list him, in 1940 he was drafted into the army (German campaign in the west in May / June 1940).

During the 1940/41 season he returned to Red Star, which had become champions of the northern season with him in the German-occupied part of France, and with this he also won the French Cup in 1942, to which he contributed a goal in the final against FC Sète . In the 1943/44 season Aston played in the regional selection of Paris ( Équipe Fédérale Paris-Capitale ); During this season, such regional teams fought for championship and cup titles instead of club teams throughout the occupied country. In 1946 he was again in the cup final, which his Red Star lost 2: 4 against OSC Lille .

Aston then signed with SCO Angers , but returned to Paris and Division 1 in 1947 , where he once again played at the top with Stade Français Paris . He then became a coach (including at the traditional club CA Paris ), where he continued to play regularly for his team. With FC Tours , the lively striker stepped into the limelight again in the 1952 cup competition ( Coupe de France ), and with this club he ended his remarkable playing career at the age of 44.

Aston's stations

  • US Chantilly (until 1932)
  • Red Star Paris (1932–1938 and 1941–1946)
  • Racing Club Paris (1938–1941)
  • SCO Angers (1946/47)
  • Stade Français Paris (1947/48)

as a player-coach

  • CA Paris (1948/49)
  • CS Fontainebleau (1949/50)
  • AC Amboise (1950/51)
  • Tours FC (1951–1956)

The national player

Between March 1934 and May 1946, Alfred Aston played a total of 31 times in the Equipe Tricolore (28 games for Red Star, three for Racing) and scored five goals. It should be noted that France only played two international matches in the 4¾ years from February 1940. From December 1944 Aston was captain of the French national team in seven games.

At the World Championships in 1934 and 1938 he was in all three finals of France. Aston was also called up as the only French in the European continental selection, which in 1938 England (with Stanley Matthews, among others ) could defeat 2-1. His last international match (1946) was also a 2-1 win against England, in which he again met Matthews and also the young Billy Wright .

Palmarès

personal data
SURNAME Aston, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Chantilly
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 2003