René Domingo

René Domingo (born December 28, 1928 in Sourcieux-les-Mines , Département Rhône , † June 13, 2013 in Clermont-Ferrand ) was a French football player who played his entire career for AS Saint-Étienne and once for the National team of his country.

Club career

The 179 centimeter tall defensive midfielder Domingo, who was born near Lyon , grew up in the Auvergne as the child of a mining family. At the amateur club in the region, CCA La Combelle , he began playing football and had the future national player François Ferry as a teammate. As part of a youth selection game in Saint-Étienne , both Domingo and Ferry were discovered by the first division club AS Saint-Étienne and convinced by those responsible for the club to change in May 1949. Domingo had hesitated at first because his father suffered from an incurable disease, but in the end it was precisely the father who advised his son to accept the offer. Accordingly, the then 20-year-old was in the squad of the first division of Saint-Étienne at the beginning of the 1949/50 season. On October 23, 1949 he made his debut in the highest national league in a 2: 6 defeat against FC Sochaux , although he was subsequently criticized for his performance, especially by the press. In the further course of the season he was given a second chance by coach Ignace Tax , performed considerably better and over time became an integral part of the first team.

In 1950, Jean Snella, a coach, came to Saint-Étienne, who held this position for many years until 1959 and trusted Domingo throughout. After a short time he offered the player the captain's armband, which Domingo wore from then on for many years. In 1955 he was part of the team that won the second most important cup competition in the country by beating UA Sedan-Torcy 2-0 with the Coupe Charles Drago . The team increasingly developed into a top team, which led to winning the championship in 1957. Domingo was the captain of a team that won the first championship title in the club's history. This also entitled Saint-Étienne to participate in the European Cup of National Champions in 1957/58 and thus brought the player his debut at European level, even if the first round already resulted in the elimination. Also in the season 1957/58 Domingo, who despite his defensive orientation regularly caused a goal threat, achieved his best result of the season with six hits. In the years that followed, he remained unchallenged both in his position in defensive midfield and in his role as captain and was the leader of a team that made it into the national cup finals in 1960 . With a 2-4 defeat against AS Monaco , however, the hopes of winning the title ended.

The year 1962 turned out to be fateful for Saint-Étienne, as the team not only relegated to the second division, but also made it into the cup final of that year and won the trophy by beating FC Nancy 1-0 . Domingo remained loyal to the club despite everything and stepped into the second class. In 1963, he and his colleagues succeeded in direct resurgence as second division champions. Despite his age of 34, he was still fixed and wore the captain's armband when the newcomer was able to establish himself at the top of the table towards the end of 1963. On January 19, 1964 he was hit in an encounter against the US Valenciennes-Anzin by his opponent Bolec Kocik in a duel in the 15th minute of the game that he suffered a double broken leg. In addition, the fracture shifted after an initial operation in Valenciennes and a second operation was necessary. For the then 35-year-old, the injury meant the forced end of his career after 423 first division games with 37 goals and 35 second division games with one goal. Because his teammates were able to hold onto first place in the table, he was able to win the national championship for the second time in 1964. With his 423 appearances in the top division Domingo is after 15 years with Saint-Étienne the player of the club with the most first division appearances.

National team

Domingo was 28 years old when he made his debut for the French national team on November 27, 1957 in a 4-0 defeat by England . The friendly match was his only appearance in his country's jersey.

Next life

Following his retirement in 1964, the former professional Saint-Étienne remained as coach of the second team for a period of four years. Domingo, who was nicknamed "Bill", later settled on the Côte d'Azur . He died in 2013 in his home region of Auvergne.

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Bill" Domingo, une legends nous a quittés , asse.fr
2. ^ René Domingo - Fiche de stats du joueur de football , pari-et-gagne.com
3. ↑ ^{a b} biography René DOMINGO , asse-live.com
4. ↑ DOMINGO René , anciensverts.com
5. ↑ - René DOMINGO , fff.fr