Marcel Arthur Desrousseaux (13 December 1907 – 3 July 1974) 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
Excelsior
Excelsior may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry
* "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
* "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...
and the
French national team in the 1930s.
Career
Born in
Tourcoing
Tourcoing (; ; ; ) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a commune within the department of Nord. Located to the north-northeast of Lille, adjacent to Roubaix, Tourcoing is the chef-lieu of two ca ...
on 13 December 1907, Desrousseaux began his career at his hometown club
US Tourcoing
Union Sportive Tourquennoise, commonly shortened to US Tourcoing, is a French football club founded in 1902 and based in Tourcoing. The club played in the Championnat National 3 (and its previous incarnation at the fifth level) for five seasons s ...
, where, in 1926, at the age of 19, he was already playing as a starter in the quarter-finals of the
1925–26 Coupe de France
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number)
* One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* 19 (film), ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* Nineteen (1987 film), ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film
* ''19-Nineteen'', a 20 ...
against
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...
, which ended in a 2–4 loss. Two years later, on 28 May 1928, he started in the final of the French Championship, which they lost to
Stade Français
Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...
.
In 1928, Desrousseaux joined
CA Messin
CA most often refers to:
* Canada, a country by ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code
* California, U.S. state by postal abbreviation
CA or ca may also refer to:
Businesses and organizations Companies
* Air China (IATA airline code CA)
* CA Technologies, a U ...
, with whom he played for four years, until 1932,
helping his side win the 1929 and 1931
Lorraine Football League. In 1932, he returned to US Tourcoing, but the following season, he joined Excelsior, with whom he played for over a decade, from 1933 until his retirement in 1944, aged 37.
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
at Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, which ended in a 1–2 loss.cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
on 10 October 1937, another friendly against Switzerland, helping his side to a 2–1 win at the Parc des Princes
The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...
.[ The following day, he was harshly criticized by the journalists of the French newspaper ''L'Auto'' (currently known as '']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, '' ...
''), who stated that "he completely lacked the required authority to hold the position of center half of a national team, being often deceived and caught off guard", albeit partly because "he was hardly helped by his teammates, who neglected him". The journalists of ''Match l'Intran'', however" described his performance as "commendable", as he "flawlessly fulfilled the role assigned to him", despite making poor passes to the forwards. He was believed to have been the only Desrousseaux who played for France until it was uncovered that Fernand Desrousseaux
Fernand Louis Adolphe Desrousseaux (23 October 1879 – 26 August 1956) was a French footballer who played as a goalkeeper for US Tourquennoise, and who competed in the football tournament of the 1908 Olympic Games in London, doing so as a membe ...
had wore the French jersey at the 1908 Olympic Games
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
in London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Managerial career
After retiring, Desrousseaux became a coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Coac ...
, taking over CO Roubaix-Tourcoing
Club Olympique de Roubaix-Tourcoing was a football club based in Roubaix, France. The team was founded in 1945 in a merge of three clubs: Excelsior AC Roubaix, RC Roubaix and US Tourcoing. In the 1946–47 season, the club won the Division 1 ...
in January 1953, a position that he held for two years, until January 1955, being replaced by Jean Baratte
Jean Baratte (7 June 1923, Lambersart, Nord – 1 July 1986) was a French football player and manager. A striker, he played for Lille OSC and was the twelfth goal scorer in Ligue 1. At international level, he scored 19 goals in 32 appearances fo ...
. As a manager, he was described in a 1954 Racing club de Strasbourg match programme as "an example of seriousness".
Death
Desrousseaux died in Roubaix
Roubaix ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, depar ...
on 3 July 1974, at the age of 66.[
]
Honours
;CA Messin
* Lorraine Football League
**Champions (2): 1929 and 1931
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desrousseaux, Marcel
1907 births
1974 deaths
French men's footballers
Footballers from Tourcoing
Men's association football midfielders
France men's international footballers
US Tourquennoise players
CO Roubaix-Tourcoing players
Ligue 1 players
French football managers
CO Roubaix-Tourcoing managers
20th-century French sportsmen