 Charles Berthelot in 1925 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Charles Berthelot | ||
| Date of birth | (1901-02-19)19 February 1901 | ||
| Place of birth | Rennes, France | ||
| Date of death | 13 September 1940(1940-09-13) (aged 39) | ||
| Place of death | Fougères, France | ||
| Height | 1,85cm | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1918–1920 | Drapeau de Fougères | ||
| 1920–1924 | Stade Rennais | ||
| 1924–1932 | Drapeau de Fougères | ||
| International career | |||
| 1923 | France | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Charles Berthelot (19 February 1901 – 13 September 1940) was a French footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Stade Rennais and the French national team in the early 1920s.
Playing career
Club career
Charles Berthelot was born in Rennes on 19 February 1901, as the son of a shoe manufacturer based in Rennes, the city where he grew up. He began his football career in 1918, aged 17, at Drapeau de Fougères (Flag of Fougères), with whom he played for one season until 1920, when he moved to the football section of Stade Rennais. In his first season at the club, he only played one match in the regional championship, against Stade Lavallois on 12 December 1920.
In the 1921–22 season, Berthelot played a crucial role in Rennes' excellent run in the Coupe de France, which saw the Breton team reach the final after knocking out the likes of JA Saint-Ouen, Le Havre, Olympique Lillois, and Olympique de Paris, before falling in the final to Red Star (0–2). During this last match, Berthelot was unconscious for a while after hitting the post during a save.
In 1923, Berthelot helped Rennais win the Brittany Football League, and in 1924, he returned to Drapeau de Fougères, which had just been promoted to the Division d'honneur, and while there, he regularly met his former Rennes teammates. Thanks to his good performances in the Coupe de France with Fougères, he was called up by France for the second time on 13 May 1928, as a substitute goalkeeper for Stade Brest's Alex Thépot in Colombes. He stayed loyal to Fougères for 8 years until 1932, the year in which he retired, aged 31.
International career
Thanks to his heroics at the Coupe de France, Berthelot was called up by France in 1923, thus becoming the first Rennes goalkeeper to do so, making his international debut in a friendly against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on 2 April, in which he made blunders on the first three Dutch goals in an eventual 1–8 loss, and was logically never called up again.
Death and legacy
Berthelot died in Fougères on 13 September 1940, at the age of 39, due to an illness.
As a tribute, the Drapeau de Fougères stadium was renamed after him in 1994, more than half a century after his death. For nearly a full century, he was the only Fougères player to have worn the jersey of the French A team, remaining so until Eduardo Camavinga made his international debut in 2019.
Honours
- Brittany Football League
- Champions (1): 1923
- Coupe de France
- Runner-up (1): 1922
References
- ^ "Charles Berthelot, international footballer". eu-football.info. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Charles Berthelot". www.fff.fr (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Charles Berthelot (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- "Charles Berthelot". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Charles Berthelot". www.stade-rennais-online.com (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Charles Berthelot, premier Fougerais à avoir porté les couleurs de l'équipe de France" [Charles Berthelot, first Fougerais to wear the colours of the French team]. www.ouest-france.fr (in French). 22 August 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- "Saison 1921-1922 Red Star Vainqueur" [Season 1921-1922 Red Star Winner]. www.om4ever.com (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Connaissez-vous l'histoire du stade Charles-Berthelot de Fougères?" [Do you know the history of the Charles-Berthelot stadium in Fougères?]. actu.fr (in French). 4 October 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2025.