Charles Allé (3 July 1904 – 15 September 1994) 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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

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 ...

and the French national team between 1926 and 1934.

Playing career

Born on 3 July 1904 in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, Algeria, Allé began his football career at his hometown club Ideal Club Oranais in 1918, after the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, remaining there for two years, until 1920, when he joined FC Oranais, with whom he played one season, after which he joined GC Oranais, where he stayed for four years, until 1925, when he was signed by Olympique de Marseille. He was a goalkeeper with acrobatic flexibility, a sure eye, and impeccable positioning, who exceled in good horizontal, vertical and lateral passes on the ball. In his first season at the club, OM won 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 ...

in 1926 after beating

Valentigney Valentigney () is a Communes of France, commune in the Doubs Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern France. Valentigney is best known as the place where Peugeot began operations; se ...

4–1 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 ...

, but he was not directly involved in this success, remaining at the bench as the replacement goalkeeper for Paul Seitz. Together with Edouard Crut, Jean Boyer, 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 OM team coached by Victor Gibson that won the

1927 Coupe de France final The 1927 Coupe de France final was a soccer, football match held at Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Stade Olympique, Colombes on May 6, 1927, that saw Olympique de Marseille defeat US Quevilly 3–0 thanks to goals by Raymond Durand (footballer), ...

, helping his side keep a clean-sheet in a 3–0 win over Quevilly. Allé also played a crucial role in the OM team that won the 1929 French Amateur Championship, beating

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 ...

3–2 in the final on 28 April. In the following month, on 26 May 1929, the 24-year-old Allé earned his first (and only) international

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 ...

for France in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

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 ...

at Stade Vélodrome de Rocourt, conceding four goals in an eventual 4–1 loss. In his last seasons at OM, the club finished as runner-up in the inaugural edition of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

in 1932–33 and reached the 1934 Coupe de France final, which ended in a 2–1 loss to

Sète Sète (; , ), also historically spelled ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises'' (fem ...

. He remained loyal to OM for nine years, from 1925 to 1934, playing 104 official matches for the first time and 15 for the reserve team. After leaving OM, he played a further five seasons at ''CS Crédit Lyonnais de Marseille'' (CSCL de Marseille), with whom he won the ''Coupe de

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

'' in 1936, and where he retired in 1939, aged 34.

Death and legacy

Allé died in 6th arrondissement of Marseille on 15 September 1994, at the age of 90. He was the first OM player to have a street named after him in the 8th arrondissement of Marseille on 12 May 2011, an initiate promoted by his son Paul, a renowned Marseille painter.

Honours

Olympique de Marseille *

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

* French Amateur Championship: 1929 *

runner-up: 1932–33 CSCL de Marseille *''Coupe de

'': 1936

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allé, Charles 1904 births 1994 deaths Footballers from Oran French men's footballers France men's international footballers Olympique de Marseille players Men's association football goalkeepers 20th-century French sportsmen