Paul Nicolas

Paul Nicolas (1957)

Paul Nicolas (born November 4, 1899 in Paris , † March 3, 1959 near Gy-l'Évêque in the Yonne department ) was a French football player . The center forward is still considered one of the most dangerous attackers in his country, but was also a prudent playmaker. After the Second World War , he was one of the most influential officials in the national team until his death .

The club career

Nicolas took his first football steps at a small club from the Catholic sports movement , the Patronage Paul-Bert de Saint-Mandé ; During the First World War he played temporarily for the Gallia Club Paris , for which he came in April 1917 to an international match (now considered unofficial) among the USFSA association selection against Belgium. Soon after the end of the war, he changed clubs, but on the advice of defender Lucien Gamblin, he did not go to CA Paris , the successful traditional club in his district , but to Red Star , where he quickly played himself so emphatically in the foreground that he first played in January 1920 was appointed to the French national football team. With this club he won the French Cup four times and was in the winning team in all finals (against Olympique Paris , Stade Rennais UC , FC Cette and CA Paris), but only scored a goal in the final of 1922.

He was an amateur of the purest water, running a fruit and vegetable stand in the famous Parisian market halls in addition to the sport . In 1929 he moved to Amiens AC : the Picardy club lured him with the opportunity to take over a fish shop. Paul Nicolas was confident, straightforward, and argumentative; So he temporarily ended his career in the national team because on the return trip from an international match an association official refused to pay the players' bill in the dining car. With the beginning of professional football and the introduction of a nationwide first division ( Division 1 ), the striker ended his career as a player.

Club stations

• Patronage Paul-Bert de Saint-Mandé
• Gallia Club Paris (at least 1917)
• Red Star Paris (1919 to 1929)
• Amiens AC (1929 to at least 1931)

The national player

Between January 1920 and February 1931 Paul Nicolas played a total of 35 times in the Équipe Tricolore (28 appearances for Red Star, seven for Amiens) and scored 20 goals. He was also the team captain in 18 international matches. In the “eternal list” of captains he is just as high up as he is in the top scorers for Les Bleus . Nicolas was also an Olympian in 1920 , 1924 and 1928 ; at the 1930 FIFA World Cup , however, he did not participate.

Nicolas' life after his playing days

In August 1949, the national association, the Fédération Française de Football , appointed him as Gabriel Hanot's successor in its Comité de Selection , the body that selected the national players. He also became chairman of the Groupement des clubs professionnels responsible for professional gaming operations . Here, too, Nicolas proved how consistent he was when it came to things that were important to him: he resigned from his post (December 1953) because the association dismissed his proposal to reduce the number of professional clubs in the country. When there was a personnel change in the FFF after the soccer World Cup in 1954 , he returned to the selection committee in September 1954 - this time at its head - and then proved a lucky hand with the appointment of Albert Batteux as coach of the Équipe Tricolore : At the football world championship in 1958 France achieved the greatest success up to that point with 3rd place.

At the age of 59, Paul Nicolas was torn from his work and life by an accident on a Burgundian country road.

Palmarès

• French champion : none; this title only existed after the end of his career
• French cup winner : 1921, 1922, 1923, 1928
• 35 international matches, 20 goals, 18 captains of the national team
• Olympic participant in 1920, 1924, 1928 (as a player), World Cup participant in 1958 (as an official)

Notes and evidence

1. ^ Pierre Cazal: France (1900-1920). in: International Federation of Football History and Statistics (Ed.), Fußball-Weltzeitschrift No. 23, 1994, p. 13.