Eugène Maës

Patronage Olier

In 1905, the 15-year-old Maës joined the Patronage Olier, one of the many Catholic clubs affiliated with the FGSPF, where he already held the position of centre forward. He played a crucial role in helping Olier win the FGSPF Football Championship in 1908, beating Cadets de Bretagne 8–0 in the final held in Rennes on 26 April. This victory allowed the club to compete in the second edition of the Trophée de France in 1908, then the most prestigious Cup in France, where the 17-year-old Maës scored his side's third and final goal in a 3–0 win over the Parisian champion of the FCAF, SM de Puteaux, in the final on 3 May. Maës helped Olier win both titles again in 1910, beating Bons Gars Bordeaux 11–0 in the FGSPF final held in Bordeaux, and beating CA Vitry 2–0 in the Trophée de France final on 29 May, with Maës scoring the opening goal in the latter.

Red Star

Aided by his height of 1.80 meters tall, he was particularly renowned for his heading game and surprising leap, thanks to which he scored many goals, thus earning the nickname Tête d'Or (golden head). He was also particularly known for having made a specialty of scoring goals with the "goalkeeper charge", the action of jostling the goalkeeper to prevent him from having the ball, which was tolerated by the rules of the time. His goalscoring prowess eventually drew the attention of Jules Rimet's Red Star, a newly ambitious club that had recently founded the Ligue de Football Association…

In December 1910, shortly after being transferred from the Patronage Olier to the wealthy Red Star, the French Interfederal Committee (CFI) offered the 20-year-old Maës his first selections for the French national team, making his debut in a friendly match against Hungary on 1 January 1911, and playing his second match against England in the inauguration of the Saint-Ouen stadium (currently known as Stade Bauer), both of which ending in 3–0 losses. In his third cap on 9 April 1911, Maës scored his first goal for France, netting a brace in a 2–2 draw with Italy, each time through the "goalkeeper charge", even when the latter had blocked the ball. This was the start of a 7-game goalscoring streak for France: a goal against Switzerland in Geneva (another charge on the goalkeeper) and Belgium in Brussels (rebound), and then a goal in Saint-Ouen against both Belgium (with a header) and Switzerland on 18 February 1912. After this match, he was described by the daily newspaper L'Auto (the ancestor of L'Equipe) as "the best center-forward on the continent". With his 4th goal in Brussels, Maës became France's all-time top scorer, breaking the previous record of three goals held by André François. In the next match against Italy in Turin on 17 March 1912, Maës obtained a very late military leave, so he only arrived on site on the day of the match, at 5 A.M., but a sleepless night had not disturbed him since he managed to score a hat-trick to help France achieve its first-ever victory…

Like so many of his teammates, Maës was mobilized during the First World War, fighting in Belgium, where he was pierced by a bullet in the chest at the very beginning of the conflict, on 29 August 1914. Despite this, he kept eating and smoking as if nothing had happened, which led his coach Roland Richard to state "What will I have left with such a tough lad who never quits!". While convalescing in Caen, he met his future wife, Yvonne Bertheaux. He returned to the front with the rank of corporal in April 1915, distinguished himself during the Second Battle of Artois, and received the Croix de Guerre. However, 17 French internationals died during the War. During his leaves, he continued playing, and the sports press praised his military exploits. On his return from the battlefields, Maës still played for Red Star in the 1918–19 season. Demobilized in August 1919, he settled in Caen, where he played at the Stade Malherbe from the resumption of competitions in 1919 and until 1930, when he retired at the age of 40. During his time there, he helped the club win seven Normandy Championships, including six in a row between 1920 and 1925, and a seventh in 1928. Through his experience, he quickly established himself as the team captain, which at the time had the duty of dictating the tactics to be followed and making up the line-ups since the figure of coach as we know it today did not yet exist. In 1933, the retired Maës received the gold medal from the French Football Federation…

Eugène Maës was born in Belle Époque Paris on 15 September 1890, and he began playing football in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris with his friends in 1902, aged 12.