Louis Théodule Darques (8 June 1896 – 18 February 1984) was a French

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Olympique de Pantin Olympique de Paris was a French association football team based in Paris which existed from 1908 to 1926. Founded with the name Olympique de Pantin, it won the Coupe de France in Coupe de France Final 1918, 1918 and played in the finals in Coupe d ...

and the

France national team 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 ...

between 1917 and 1924. He was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Pantin team for several years, leading them to three finals of the

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 ...

between 1918 and 1921, and netting a goal in two of them, including in the tournament's first-ever final in

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

, thus becoming the first captain to lift a Coupe de France trophy.

Club career

Early career

Born on 8 June 1896 in the Saint-Ouen,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Darques began his football career in his hometown club JA Saint-Ouen in 1916, aged 20, where he quickly stood out from the rest, so in the following season, he was signed by Olympique de Pantin in 1917, where he quickly established himself as the team's captain.

1917–18 Coupe de France

In his first season at the club, Darques led Olympique in the inaugural edition of the Coupe de France; in the semifinals against

CASG Paris Club Athlétique de Société Générale, also known as CASG Paris, was a French football club. Founded in 1903 it was the sporting club for the bank Société Générale and they got the nickname "The Bankers". In 1917 the team played with a sky ...

in Saint-Ouen on 3 March, he scored the winning goal in the 85th minute (2–1) with a "superb kick", thus contributing decisively in helping his side reach the first-ever final of the Coupe de France, held on 5 May in Paris, in which he failed to convert a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in the first-half, but then redeemed himself by scoring his side's third goal in an eventual 3–0 win over

FC Lyon Football Club de Lyon is a French sports club. It was established on 17 November 1893, and is notable for its rugby and football sections. They currently compete in the Championnat National 3, the fifth tier of French football. They were Runner ...

. In the following day, the journalists of the French newspaper ''L'Auto'' (the future ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

'') praised his performance, stating that for his goal he "dribbled through the FC Lyon rearguard, resisting shoulder blows and pressure". At the end of the match, the trophy was given to the captain Louis Darques, who thus became the first to lift it.

1918–19 Coupe de France

In the following year, Darques once again scored in the cup semifinals, netting the opening goal in an epic 4–3 comeback victory over VGA Médoc; in the following day, ''L'Auto'' stated that he "is currently one of the best French forwards". In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, he once again captained by example, scoring a second-half equaliser to force

extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

in an eventual 3–2 loss to CASG Paris.

Later career

Together with

Émile Fiévet Émile Léon Victor Fiévet (25 May 1886 – 23 November 1952) was a French footballer who played as a defender for Olympique de Pantin and the French national team in the 1910s. He is best known for scoring a brace in the first-ever Coupe de Fr ...

Paul Landauer Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

, and

Jules Dewaquez Jules Aimé Devaquez (9 March 1899 – 12 June 1971), known as Jules Dewaquez, was a French amateur footballer, who played for both club and country on the right wing. He was of shorter stature (1.69m) and renowned for his small moustache. By p ...

, he was a member of the great Pantin team of the early 1920s, which won the

Ligue de Paris The Catholic League of France (), sometimes referred to by contemporary (and modern) Catholics as the Holy League (), was a major participant in the French Wars of Religion. The League, founded and led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, intended the eradi ...

in 1921, the Coupe de Paris in 1923, and which reached another Coupe de France final in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

. On many of these finals, their opponent was

Jules Rimet Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the pres ...

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

, such as the 1921 cup final, which ended in a 2–1 loss; Darques nearly scored his third goal in as many finals when he fired a shot into an empty net, but Red Star's full-back

Lucien Gamblin Lucien "Lulu" Gamblin (22 July 1890 – 30 August 1972) was a French international footballer played as a midfielder. He spent his entire career playing for Red Star FC and captained the team to three straight Coupe de France titles from 1921 to ...

stopped the ball with both hands, and Dewaquez then missed the subsquent penalty. In the following year, they faced Red Star in the final of the 1922 Ligue de Paris, in which he won a penalty after being violently pushed by Red Star full-back Maurice Meyer, but then failed to convert it in an eventual 3–0 loss. Two years later, the 1922–23 season was summed up as a duel between both clubs, already presented in the press as "eternal rivals", and in the final of the 1923 Coupe de Paris, Darques scored his side's second goal to seal a 2–0 victory over Red Star. Red Star 1930 Saint Ouen

In 1924, Darques left Olympique to join Red Star, with whom he played for three years, until 1927, when he joined

Club Français Club Français was a French association football club based in Paris which was founded in 1890. Club Français won the 1896 USFSA Football Championship and the 1931 Coupe de France. In 1900 the USFSA elected players from Club Français to r ...

. Later that same season, he went to

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, before ending his career at Red Star in 1930, aged 34.

International career

On 9 March 1919, the 22-year-old Darques made his international debut in a friendly against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

, which ended in a 2–2 draw; Darques assisted France's first goal. He went on to earn a total of nine international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for France between 1919 and 1923, but he scored only once, in another friendly against Belgium at the

Colombes Colombes () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 53rd largest city in France. ...

on 15 January 1922, to help his side to a 2–1 win.

Death

Darques died in

Bobigny Bobigny () is a commune, or town, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Bobigny is the prefecture (capital city) of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, as well as the seat of the ...

on 18 February 1984, at the age of 81.

Honours

;Olympique de Pantin *

: **Champions (1): 1917–18 **Runner-up (2): 1918–19 and 1920–21 *

**Champions (1): 1921 **Runner-up (1): 1922 * Coupe de Paris **Champions (1): 1923

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darques, Louis 1896 births 1984 deaths Footballers from Paris French men's footballers France men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Red Star FC players Club Français players AS Cannes players 20th-century French sportsmen