François Wicart

François Wicart
Personnel
birthday	January 3, 1926
place of birth	Bruay-la-Buissière ,  France
date of death	September 27, 2015
size	173 cm
position	Defense
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1945–1952	FC Rouen	208 (13)
1952-1960	AS Saint-Etienne	240 0(2)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1960-1961	AS Saint-Etienne
1962-1963	AS Saint-Etienne
1967-1974	SC Abbeville
1 Only league games are given.

François Wicart (born January 3, 1926 in Bruay-la-Buissière , † September 27, 2015 ) was a French football player and coach .

Player career

When the hosting of the first French league, which was interrupted by the Second World War , was resumed in 1945, Wicart belonged to the squad of FC Rouen . The then 19-year-old was able to establish himself immediately in central defense and made the leap into the first team at a time when substitutions were not yet possible. This was followed a little later by the first setback when he was pushed out of the starting line-up during the 1946/47 season and also had to accept the relegation of his team to the second division. In the second division he was again one of the top performers of a team that was constantly playing for promotion, but narrowly missed it four times in a row. In the 1951/52 season Rouen slipped into the middle of the table; in view of this, Wicart turned his back on the club in November 1952.

Because he had found a new employer in AS Saint-Étienne , he reached the return to the top division at this time. At Saint-Étienne he was given a regular place from the start and was therefore part of a team that mostly found itself in the good midfield of the table in his early years there. In 1955 he won his first national title with the Coupe Charles Drago , even if it was no more than a second-tier cup competition. In 1957 Saint-Étienne closed as first table and became French champion, with Wicart as part of the championship team in all 34 league games on the field. This brought the club a participation in the European Cup of National Champions 1957/58 ; as a result, the player was able to debut on September 4, 1957 in a 3-1 defeat by Glasgow Rangers on European turf. The second leg on September 25th was his last game on continental level, as a 2-1 win was not enough to advance.

In addition to winning the Coupe Charles Drago again in 1958, Wicart made it to the national cup final in 1960 with Saint-Étienne . In the final he was called up, but could not prevent a 2-4 defeat of his team against AS Monaco and thus missed a possible title win. At the beginning of the 1960/61 season, the then 34-year-old was still in his club's squad; In November 1960 he announced the end of his active career after 280 first division games with three goals and 168 second division games with twelve goals, which was associated with an internal change to the coaching post.

Coaching career

In November 1960, Wicart took over the coaching responsibility at AS Saint-Étienne and wore it until the end of the 1960/61 season, with the team taking fifth place. In the spring of 1962 he was brought back for the same post, even if he could not thwart the threatened relegation; however, he was able to win his first title as a coach at the same time thanks to a 1-0 final win against FC Nancy with the national cup. He kept the position on the bench on relegation in 1962 and led the club to the second division championship in 1963, which was associated with the promotion. He then turned his back on Saint-Étienne after eleven years as a player and coach. From 1967 to 1974 he coached the amateur club SC Abbeville . In old age Wicart lived in the small community of Civens near Feurs . He died in 2015 at the age of 89.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ European Champions 'Cup 1957-58 and Fairs' Cup 1955-58 - details , rsssf.com
2. ↑ François Wicart , pari-et-gagne.com
3. ↑ Football: François Wicart , footballdatabase.eu
4. ^ François Wicart est décédé , asse.fr