René Fenouillière

René Victor Fenouillière (22 October 1882 – 4 November 1916) was a French footballer who played for Spanish clubs RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona.[1] He competed for France in the men's tournament at the 1908 Summer Olympics.[2] He is best known for being the first French player to wear the FC Barcelona shirt when he played for them in 1903.[3] He was killed in action during World War I.[1]

René Fenouillière
René Fenouillère in 1903
Personal information
Date of birth (1882-10-22)22 October 1882
Place of birth Portbail, France
Date of death 4 November 1916(1916-11-04) (aged 34)
Place of death Reims, France
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
US Avranches
1902–1903 RCD Espanyol
1903 FC Barcelona 3 (0)
1904–1906 Racing Club de France
1906–1914 Red Star F.C.
International career
1908 France 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Born in Portbail (Lower Normandy) on 22 October 1882, René began his football career with l’Union Sportive Avranches, before going to England to study, where he played mostly rugby football.[1] However, he never forgot how to play football, and in 1902 he joined the Spanish club RCD Espanyol, where he was recognized as a top-class midfielder. So much so that on 8 March 1903, after a great performance against FC Barcelona in a 2–2 draw at the Horta in the Copa Barcelona, the magazine Los Deportes described as being at the same level as Joan Gamper.[3][4]

Interestingly, just two days later, Espanyol loaned him to Barcelona and he played his first game with them against a team made up of the crew of the Galliope, an English ship anchored in the Barcelona port, helping his side to a 1–0 win and thus becoming the very first French player to wear the FC Barcelona shirt.[3] He played only two more games after that, a 3–2 win over Salut on 28 May, and an 8–2 win over Mataroni on 27 July, netting one goal on the latter, in which Mataroní only had seven players, and Barcelona lined up with eight.[3]

After his time at Barça, Rene Fenouillère played for the Parisian clubs Racing Club de France and Red Star F.C.

International career

He represented the France national team at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, featuring in one games against Denmark on 22 October in a resounding 17–1 defeat.[5][6]

Death

In World War I, René joined his old club US Avranches for a friendly match against the allied troops.[1] During World War I, he fought with the French army, joining the 2º Régiment d’Infanterie and was wounded in 1915. He recovered and returned to the fighting, but was later killed at the front, north of Reims on 4 November 1916.[7]

Honours

FC Barcelona

See also

References
  1. "René Fenouillière". Olympedia. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "René Fenouillière Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  3. "René Victor Fenouillère, the first French player in FC Barcelona history". www.fcbarcelona.com. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  4. McCrery, Nigel (2016). The Extinguished Flame: Olympians Killed in The Great War. United Kingdom: Pen and Sword. p. 1855. ISBN 9781473878006.
  5. "René Fenouillère". eu-football.info. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  6. "René Fenouillère, un Bleu tué en novembre 1916" (in French). Ouest-France. 2 August 2014.
  7. "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2015.


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