Dominique Dropsy (9 December 1951 – 7 October 2015) was a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He played 596

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

matches over 17 seasons, which stood as a record for several years, and won three national championships during his career, two with

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. Dropsy represented

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the 1978 World Cup.

Club career

Born in Leuze, Aisne, Dropsy started his senior career with

Valenciennes FC Valenciennes Football Club (; commonly known as Valenciennes, VA or VAFC) is a French professional football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1914 and currently play in Championnat National, the third tier of French footbal ...

. He contributed 19 games in the 1971–72 season, helping the club return to

and win its first

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

championship in the process. Dropsy signed with

RC Strasbourg Alsace Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, commonly known as RC Strasbourg (, ; RCS) or simply just Racing, is a football in France, French professional association football club founded in 1906 and based in the city of Strasbourg, Alsace. It became a p ...

in the summer of 1973. During his 11-year spell at the

Stade de la Meinau The Stade de la Meinau (), commonly known as "la Meinau", is a football (soccer), football stadium in Strasbourg, France. It is the home ground of Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace, RC Strasbourg and has also hosted international matches, includi ...

he never played less than 31 matches, appearing in all 38 in the 1978–79 campaign as the team conquered their first-ever domestic league. Aged 34, Dropsy joined

FC Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux () or simply Bordeaux, is a French Association football, football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde (department), Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitain ...

, where he remained until his retirement always as first choice. He won a further two national championships, and added two

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

to his trophy cabinet. Subsequently, he worked with his last club as a goalkeeper coach.

International career

Dropsy played 17 times for the France national team in three years. He was selected as an uncapped member for the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

squad, benefitting from injury to his former Strasbourg teammate André Rey; in the last group phase fixture, as both countries had already been eliminated, he appeared in the 3–1 win against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

Personal life

Dropsy's son, Damien (born 1983), was also a footballer and a goalkeeper. He never played the sport professionally, his biggest achievement being signing a short-term contract with Bordeaux in 2006 to serve as fourth choice. In 2012, Damien played the role of a footballer in Olivier Dahan's motion picture ''Les Seigneurs''.

Health problems and death

After suffering an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

in 2005, medical exams revealed Dropsy had been struck with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

in March 2011. After recovering initially the following year, the 63-year-old died in

on 7 October 2015.

References

External links

*
RC Strasbourg archives
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dropsy, Dominique 1951 births 2015 deaths Footballers from Aisne French men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Valenciennes FC players RC Strasbourg Alsace players FC Girondins de Bordeaux players France men's international footballers 1978 FIFA World Cup players Deaths from leukemia in France 20th-century French sportsmen