Pierre Allemane

Club Français

Between 1896 and 1899, Allemane played with several Parisian clubs, such as Union athlétique de Passy in 1896, and then for United Sports Club in 1897 and 1898, the year in which he turned 16, but even though he was still very young, he was already standing out for his size at 1.80 metres tall, which, at a time when the average conscript was no taller than 1.63 metres, made him a colossus, especially since he would soon weigh 90 kilos, hence the choice to place him at the back. He was powerful and lively, and defended his camp with fierce energy. On 27 February 1899, the 17-year-old Allemane officially became a member of Club Français, and later that year, on 23 October, he started in the 1899 Coupe Manier final at Suresnes, helping his side to a 6–0 win over RC Roubaix. Together with Lucien Huteau, Georges Garnier, and Gaston Peltier, Allemane was a member of the Club Français team that won the 1899–1900 USFSA Paris championship. On 29 April 1900, he started in the final of the 1900 Challenge International du Nord in Tourcoing, which ended in a 3–2 loss to Le Havre. In the following week, on 6 May, he started in another final against Le Havre AC in the 1900 USFSA Football Championship, which ended in a 1–0 loss. Later that year, on 23 December, Allemane formed a defensive partnership with Louis Bach in the 1900 Coupe Manier final at Joinville, keeping a clean-sheet in a 1–0 win over UA I arrondissement. The chronicles of the time often described the…

Unofficial appearances

Allemane was listed as a defender for the USFSA team at the 1900 Olympic Games. He was selected for both matches, which ended in a 4–0 loss to Upton Park on 20 September, and in a 6–2 win over a team representing Belgium three days later. The French team came second and Allemane was thus awarded with a silver medal. In March 1902, Allemane played for a Paris XI that went to London to challenge Marlow F.C., which ended in a 4–0 loss. In March 1904, he played for an unofficial French national team against Southampton, a professional team that had recently beaten the French by the resounding score of 11–0, but with the addition of Allemane in the defense, they lost "only" by 6–1. After the match, he was "acclaimed, because he had never been so brilliant". On 5 March 1905, he played for a France XI in a friendly match against a London League XI, which ended in a 3–1 loss. At the time, the English amateur game was a game of avoidance, and not of duels, but Allemane, due to his extraordinary size, did not hesitate to use his weight in charges, thus engaging in pure improvisation (because pressing was not theorized anywhere then), in defensive pressing to hinder the English passing combinations; this caused the English to state that Allemane "is a necessity in your team".

Official appearances

Allemane was thus set to play for France in their first-ever official match against Belgium on 1 May 1904, but he was unable to do so because he was…

Richard Pierre Louis Alègre was born in Montpellier on 19 January 1882, and was only recognized by his father, Jean Pierre Alemane, or Allemane (both spellings are found in the civil registry) in 1898, when the latter decided to marry his mother in Paris, when Pierre was already 16 years old. However, he had already used his father's name before, since it is possible to find the name Allemane in the team of the Passy club, the Union Athlétique, from September 1896 onwards.

During the First World War, Allemane was in the 11th Heavy Artillery and received the Croix de Guerre. He remained attached to the artillery, was named lieutenant in 1922, and was still assigned to a battalion of reservists in 1933, at the age of 50. After the war, Allemane notably coached the first team of the USA Clichy. The principles of his tactics were based on precise passes, therefore on a collective game and not based on individual exploits of a gifted or inspired attacker, and on the offensive support of the half-backs. Allemane understood that there must not be too much space between the lines, which is what every coach strives to achieve today, a compact block. At the same time, he occasionally took on the role of sports advisor in the specialist press. A stockbroker at the Paris Stock Exchange, he enjoyed an advantageous social position at the time.