Eugène Maës (15 September 1890 – 30 March 1945) was a French footballer who played as a forward for Patronage Olier, Red Star, and the France national team between 1905 and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, scoring 15 international goals in just 11 caps. He is widely regarded as the first great French center-forward, being nicknamed Tête d'Or for his unrivaled heading game.
Early life
Eugène Maës was born in Belle Époque Paris on 15 September 1890, and he began playing football in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris with his friends in 1902, aged 12.
Career
Patronage Olier
In 1905, the 15-year-old Maës joined the Patronage Olier, one of the many Catholic clubs affiliated with the FGSPF, where he already held the position of centre forward. This victory allowed the club to compete in the second edition of the Trophée de France in 1908, then the most prestigious Cup in France, where the 17-year-old Maës scored his side's third and final goal in a 3–0 win over the Parisian champion of the FCAF, SM de Puteaux, in the final on 3 May. Maës helped Olier win both titles again in 1910, beating Bons Gars Bordeaux 11–0 in the FGSPF final held in Bordeaux, and beating CA Vitry 2–0 in the Trophée de France final on 29 May, with Maës scoring the opening goal in the latter.
Red Star
thumb|right|Maës (seated, fourth from the left) with Red Star in 1910.
Aided by his height of 1.80 meters tall, he was particularly renowned for his heading game and surprising leap, thanks to which he scored many goals, thus earning the nickname Tête d'Or (golden head). In the subsequent Trophée de France in 1912, he lost the final to , during which Maës scored his team's only goal in a 3–1 loss. This meant that he managed to score in each of the three finals of the Trophée de France that he had played. The club took advantage of their 1912 LFA victory to meet the greatest European teams of the time, including a narrow defeat (2–1) at home against the English professionals Tottenham in 1913. He scored his goals with a long shot, a header, and then the winner in the 66th minute, in which he "snatched" the ball from the hands of the Italian goalkeeper, Vittorio Faroppa, who was accused of being responsible for the defeat by the Italian newspapers, which headlined "the Faroppa disaster".
In the rematch against Italy in Saint-Ouen, France won again (1–0), and once again thanks to Maës, who scored the only goal of the match; his 7th straight match with a goal for France. resulting in a ratio of 1.36 goals per game, which is the second-best ratio for a player with at least 5 matches for France, only behind Just Fontaine with 1.43; furthermore, neither Maës nor Fontaine took any penalty kicks. Through his experience, he quickly established himself as the team captain, which at the time had the duty of dictating the tactics to be followed and making up the line-ups since the figure of coach as we know it today did not yet exist.
In 1933, the retired Maës received the gold medal from the French Football Federation (FFF).
Later life
While playing at Stade Malherbe, Maës, who was a good swimmer and practiced diving, took over the management of the Berteaux swimming school on the banks of the Orne in 1920, before replacing his father-in-law as its owner in 1924 and eventually renaming it le Lido. He modernized its infrastructure and created sporting events, such as the Traversée de Caen à la nage or the Régates de la Société nautique de Caen. In 1928, he also transformed the school into a dance hall very popular with the people of Caen. A lifeguard and then swimming instructor, Maës taught thousands of Caen residents about the pleasures of the water from 1919 to 1940. Following restructuring work, the Caen nautical stadium was also named after him in May 2014.