Raymond Ernest Michel Braine (28 April 1907 – 24 December 1978) was a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
football striker.
He was also the first Belgian professional player, when he obtained a transfer to
Sparta Prague
) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští''
, ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena
, capacity = 19,416
, clubname = Sparta Prague
, image = Sparta Praha logo.png
, image_size = 160px
, fu ...
in 1930. Braine played in 54 matches for the
Belgium national football team and scored 26 times, making him Belgium's 5th top all-time scorer.
Career highlights
His first club was
Beerschot in
Antwerp. Braine made his
Belgian Championship debut on 11 February 1923 against
Daring Club de Bruxelles
Royal Daring Club Molenbeek was a football team from the city of Brussels, Belgium until 1973. It was created in 1895 as Daring Club de Bruxelles and was the second club to register to the Belgian Football Association (it thus received the ' ...
(lost 3-0). He scored 4 times in 4 appearances that season and Beerschot finished second. Raymond's brother,
Pierre
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, was also part of the team. The next year, Braine obtained his first trophy by earning a Championship title. Three more titles followed in 1925, 1926 and 1928. He was also part of Belgium's team at the
1928 Summer Olympics.
At the time, the
Belgian football was not a professional club. However, certain players did receive money (unofficially) based on performance. Some other players supplemented their incomes by opening cafés. At one point the
Belgian Football Association
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA; ; ; ) is the governing body of football in Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and was based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, ...
published a paper stating:
"Considering it is important to stop the progression of player-café owners, the executive Committee takes the decision that at this day, except for a player whose parents ran the café for more than 5 years, the authorisation to open a café will be subordinated to the condition that the player will not be a part of the first team."
Braine, who just opened a café in December 1929, decided to go and play abroad. His first attempt was in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
with London side Clapton Orient, but he could not obtain a work permit. He signed a lucrative contract in 1930 with
Sparta Prague
) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští''
, ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena
, capacity = 19,416
, clubname = Sparta Prague
, image = Sparta Praha logo.png
, image_size = 160px
, fu ...
and subsequently became the first Belgian professional player. With Sparta, Braine won
Czechoslovak First League
The Czechoslovak First League ( cs, 1. fotbalová liga, sk, 1. futbalová liga) was the premier football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who forme ...
titles in
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
and
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
, as well as 1935's
Mitropa Cup
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
.
[ He finished as top scorer twice with Sparta Prague.
Before the ]1934 World Cup
The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.
The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...
, Braine had received an offer of 100,000 Koruna from the Czechoslovak FA to become a citizen of Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
which he refused. Afterwards, Czechoslovakia lost the final game to Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. He came back to Beerschot in 1937 and won the Championship twice again. This time, he played in the 1938 World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, bea ...
.
In 1943, Braine was transferred to C.S. La Forestoise as a defender for one season, a team that had just been promoted the year before to the first division, because of the War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
.
Honours
Club
Beerschot VAC
* Belgian First Division
The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 te ...
: 1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1927-28, 1937-38, 1938-39
Sparta Prague
*Czechoslovak First League
The Czechoslovak First League ( cs, 1. fotbalová liga, sk, 1. futbalová liga) was the premier football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who forme ...
- 1931-32, 1935-36
*Mitropa Cup
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
- 1935
Individual
* Belgian First Division top scorer: 1927-28 (35 goals), 1928-29 (30 goals)
* Czechoslovak First League top scorer: 1931-32 (16 goals), 1933-34 (18 goals)
* Belgian Golden Shoe of the 20th Century (1995): 7th place
*IFFHS
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
Europe - Player of the Century nomination (2000)
*IFFHS All Time Belgium Dream Team (2021)
References
External links
List of Czechoslovakia championship top scorers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braine, Raymond
1907 births
1978 deaths
Footballers from Antwerp
Belgian footballers
Belgian expatriate footballers
Belgium international footballers
Association football forwards
Olympic footballers of Belgium
Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics
1938 FIFA World Cup players
AC Sparta Prague players
Expatriate footballers in Czechoslovakia
K. Beerschot V.A.C. players