Georges Verriest

Georges Verriest (born July 15, 1909 in Roubaix , † July 11, 1985 in Seclin , Département Nord ) was a French football player and official.

Player career

Georges Verriest only played for one club in his life, 27 years in total, up to 1943, namely Racing Roubaix . The middle runner stayed true to this when he adopted a professional statute in the mid-1930s: Verriest remained an amateur because he wanted to continue working in his civilian profession at a slaughterhouse . He was the “typical representative of northern French football”, more robust than technically well-versed, even as a team captain more rough than warm, but with a combative attitude - “pure and tough”. With his Roubaisiens , who were promoted to Division 1 in 1936 and relegated again in 1939, he could not win a championship title - the best place came with eighth place in the 1937/38 season - but he was twice in the final of the cup competition : but retained In 1932 AS Cannes gained the upper hand with 1-0, in 1933 it was local rivals Excelsior AC Roubaix who received the trophy in the Olympic Stadium in Colombes after winning 3-1 . In 1934, his team made it to the semi-finals of the cup, in which Olympique Marseille (0: 1) prevented three in a row .

Between April 1933 and February 1936, Georges Verriest, also as the only non-professional at the time, played a total of 14 international A matches for the French national team . He was part of the Bleus squad at the World Cup in Italy in 1934 , where he was also used in their only game against Austria , was assigned to cover Matthias Sindelar and in extra time obtained the 2: 3 final score with a penalty kick. This was his only hit for the Équipe tricolore . He also played for many years in the football team in northern France.

Functionary career

During the war and the occupation in the 1940s, he worked as a functionary at his RC Roubaix, so in 1945 he was at the forefront of the merger negotiations that resulted in the "large club" CO Roubaix-Tourcoing , which in 1947 surprisingly became French champions. He also worked in its club management for some time before he became chairman of the amateur club RC Roubaix, which was re-established in 1963, or of its successor club. In addition, despite his professional demands, he was a member of the executive committee ( comité directeur ) of Lille OSC for several years .

After Paul Nicolas died in an accident in June 1959, he joined Alex Thépot and Jean Gautheroux as one of the three Sélectionneurs of the French federation FFF , i.e. a member of the body that selected the players who were nominated for the national team, and in the last instance also decided on their use. From October 1960 to July 1964 he was sole Sélectionneur . During this time, Albert Batteux , then Henri Guérin , acted as the actual national coach . Verriest was the last holder of this office; after that, there was also the national coach in charge in France. His stubbornness was the reason why one of the country's greatest footballers, Raymond Kopa , prematurely ended his national team career in 1962 (for more details, see there ) .

Georges Verriest died of a heart attack shortly before his 76th birthday .

literature

• Denis Chaumier: Les Bleus. Tous les joueurs de l'équipe de France de 1904 à nos jours. Larousse, o. O. 2004 ISBN 2-03-505420-6
• Gérard Ejnès / L'Équipe: La belle histoire. L'équipe de France de football. L'Équipe, Issy-les-Moulineaux 2004 ISBN 2-951-96053-0
• Paul Hurseau / Jacques Verhaeghe: Les immortels du football nordiste. Alan Sutton, Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire 2003 ISBN 2-84253-867-6

Remarks

1. ↑ "pur et dur" - Chaumier, p. 306f .; similar to Hurseau / Verhaeghe, p. 141
2. ↑ After the Second World War, there was only one other player, Antoine Cuissard , who also succeeded.
3. ↑ Hurseau / Verhaeghe, p. 141
4. ↑ Ejnès / L'Équipe, pp. 320/321
5. ↑ Not only did the affected player see it that way, it is now a fact.
6. ↑ Chaumier, p. 307
7. ↑ Hurseau / Verhaeghe, p. 141