Francisco Mateo

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Francisco "Paco" Mateo (born May 15, 1917 in Algeciras , † July 21, 1979 near Strasbourg ) was a Spanish - French football player and later coach .

Player career

Beginnings in Morocco and Spain

Mateo started playing football in his youth at a club called FC Tétouan from the city of Tétouan in northern Morocco. At that time this city belonged to the colony of Spanish Morocco and, due to its proximity to the coast, was only separated from Mateo's birth region in southern Andalusia by the narrow strait of the Strait of Gibraltar . The young defender proved to be very talented, which is why he was accepted successively by the clubs Sevilla FC , FC Barcelona and in 1937 by FC Valencia in the 1930s . Although his career was just beginning, he has already made a name for himself nationwide.

In the course of the Spanish Civil War , which began in 1936, his career was interrupted and he himself was imprisoned for political reasons. Ultimately, he owed his release from custody to his achievements so far, as the south-west French club Girondins Bordeaux successfully managed this to then sign the player.

During the war years in Bordeaux

From 1939 Mateo was in the squad of Girondins Bordeaux, but with the beginning of the Second World War in the same year, the game operations in France had been replaced by an unofficial staging of the championship. Already during the first year of the war there was a massive escape from Alsace , located on the German border, to southwest France. In this way the football player met his future wife from Alsace. In terms of sport, Bordeaux was one of the best teams in France, which was occupied from 1940, to which the technically strong defender with a good overview of the game could also contribute. His entertaining style of play earned him a high level of popularity with the audience. His team made it into the national cup final in 1941 , in which Bordeaux prevailed against the SC Fives without his involvement . Two years later, he was called up in the final, but suffered a 4-0 defeat in the deciding game after a 2-2 win against Olympique Marseille .

Last years playing in Strasbourg

After the war ended in 1945, regular play was resumed for the 1945/46 season and Mateo, who was considered the best defender in the French first division at the time, moved to Racing Strasbourg in Alsace. This also happened against the background that his wife wanted to return to her home region. Due to the long interruption caused by the war, racing had to re-establish itself in a team around players like Mateo, Alphonse Rolland , who also came from Bordeaux, and Oscar Heisserer . After a moderate first season, the 1946/47 season was one of the best in the club's history and ended in third place in the league. In addition, he made it into the French Cup final in 1947 , in which he was called up and experienced a 2-0 defeat against OSC Lille . Mateo played as a middle runner at this time , but repeatedly played a role in the Alsatian offensive, which was extremely unusual at the time. He also aroused the interest of Olympique Marseille , who apparently wanted to pay the record transfer fee of around 20 million French francs for him. However, Mateo was not interested in a change and, according to legend, he was changed by the provision of a bike by Racing.

After 1947, due to injuries in particular, he was unable to build on the performance of previous years, while at the same time his team slipped significantly in the league comparison. In 1950, the injury problem finally forced him to end his professional career at the age of 33.

Stations

  • Sevilla FC
  • FC Barcelona
  • 1937 to 1939: Valencia CF
  • 1939 to 1945: Girondins Bordeaux
  • 1945 to 1950: Racing Strasbourg

Coaching career

For the native Spaniard, Alsace became his permanent home beyond the end of his playing career. He began working as a coach at various amateur clubs in the region around Strasbourg and at times also worked in a double role as a player- coach . First he took over FC La Walck in the 1951/52 season before coaching FC Bischwiller from 1952 . He then worked in the same position for a club from Illkirch and at AS Mutzig . In the 1960s he worked in the youth division of his former club Racing Strasbourg. From 1962 to 1970 he coached his city rival Pierrots Vauban de Strasbourg , with whom he competed in the highest amateur league for several years.

In 1970 there was a short-lived merger of this club with Racing Strasbourg, whereupon Mateo was again an employee of Racing and there directed the training of the second team for seven years. He also served as a temporary coach for the professionals in the 1970/71 season. In 1977 he joined the Pierrots again and coached the club's third-rate playing first team. On the evening of July 21, 1979, Mateo and his wife suffered a serious traffic accident in Eschau near Strasbourg without the influence of another vehicle. Both the then 62-year-old football coach and his wife were killed.

Stations

  • 1951 to 1952: FC La Walck
  • from 1952: FC Bischwiller
  • 1957 to 1961: AS Mutzig
  • 1962 to 1970: Pierrots Vauban de Strasbourg
  • 1970 to 1971: Racing Strasbourg
  • 1971 to 1977: Racing Strasbourg B
  • 1977 to 1979: Pierrots Vauban de Strasbourg

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Football: Paco Mateo , footballdatabase.eu
  2. ↑ a b c d Paco Mateo , racingstub.com
  3. ↑ a b c d Legend: Paco Mateo , racingstub.com
personal data
SURNAME Mateo, Francisco
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mateo, Paco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish-French soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Algeciras , Spain
DATE OF DEATH July 21, 1979
Place of death near Strasbourg