André Strappe

André Strappe (born February 23, 1928 in Bully-les-Mines , Pas-de-Calais , † February 9, 2006 ) was a French football player and coach .

The player

The club career

André Strappe completed his early sporting development at his hometown club ES Bully , from which a number of other national players such as François Bourbotte , Jules Bigot and René Dereuddre have emerged. In 1948 the young center forward signed for Lille OSC and stormed alongside goal scorer Jean Baratte in his first season as a professional footballer . Less than twelve months later, Strappe had already made a name for himself: with 20 goals in Division 1 and several more in the national cup (including one in the final, which was clearly lost), he showed that he didn't need to hide from "big names" either . In 1949 he was also appointed to the Équipe tricolore for the first time .

At that time, Lille had one of the strongest attack formations in France, in which André Strappe stormed alongside Jean Vincent from 1950 and with Yvon Douis from 1953 . Despite his high hit rate, Strappe was not so much the breaker in the attack center, but more the type of the playing center forward, whereby his technical skills also benefited him. After three runners-up in the top league, he won his first cup title in 1953, although the striker was just as empty in the final as in his two subsequent, victorious cup finals (1955 and 1959). 1954 was added his only French championship .

After that, however, followed a weak phase for the club and players, which ended in 1956 with relegation to the second division. After the prompt return to Division 1 , André Strappe remained loyal to Lille for a year before he moved to the second division Le Havre AC in 1958 , which he helped to promotion and a sensational cup win in his first year: after a 2-2 draw ., the doyen of French football managed a smooth 3-0 over FC Sochaux in the replay - even if Strappe failed to score again. By the way, from 1959 to 1961 he stormed at Le Havre again next to his former Liller teammate Yvon Douis. From 1961 he played again for two years in Division 2 , now with FC Nantes , and he also helped this to promotion to the football upper house. In 1963/64 Strappe hung on for a year at the third division SEC Bastia , helped this club to rise as well and then switched to coaching .

Player stations

• Étoile Sportive de Bully (until 1948)
• Lille Olympique SC (1948–1958, including 1956/57 in D2)
• Le Havre AC (1958–1961, including 1958/59 in D2)
• FC Nantes (1961–1963, in D2)
• Sporting Étoile Club Bastia (1963/64, in D3)

The national player

André Strappe was a member of the French Olympic team as early as 1948 . Between October 1949 and June 1954 he played 23 full internationals for the Equipe tricolore , but only scored four goals. At the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland , he was part of the French squad and played both French games. After the disappointing end after the preliminary round, the thoroughbred striker ended his international career at the age of 26.

The trainer

As a coach, André Strappe was not as successful as as a player. He initially worked for his last club from Bastia next to the sideline, later trained a. a. LB Châteauroux (1970/71) and le HAC , but could not win any titles with his teams.

Life after the active time

In Le Havre he ran a bar-tabac and a sporting goods store, and also took a position in the port administration there, which he held until he reached the age limit.
André Strappe passed away in 2006 shortly before his 78th birthday.

Palmarès as a player

• French champion : 1954 (and runner-up in 1949, 1950, 1951)
• French cup winner : 1953, 1955 (with Lille), 1959 (with Le Havre)
• Coupe Latine : finalist 1951
• 23 senior internationals, 4 goals; 1948 Olympic and 1954 World Championship participant
• 341 appearances and 116 goals in Division 1 , 275/101 for Lille and 66/15 for Le Havre

Web links

• André Strappe in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )