André Renaux

André Jean Marie Renaux (29 August 1882 – 27 May 1924) was a French footballer who played as a goalkeeper for RC Roubaix and the French national team in the early 20th century. Together with his brother Charles, he played a crucial role in the Racing team that won six consecutive Northern championships from 1903 to 1908, and then reached six consecutive finals of the French championship, winning five (1903–04, 1906, and 1908).

Playing career André Renaux was born in Roubaix on 29 August 1882, and on 2 January 1904, the Renaux brothers started in a friendly match against the English club Eastbourne Old Town, which ended in a 2–4 loss.

Together with the Dubly brothers (Léon, Maurice, Albert, and André), André François, Émile Sartorius, and his younger brother Charles, he was a member of the Roubaix team that won six consecutive Northern championships from 1903 to 1908, and then reached six consecutive finals of the French championship, winning five (1903–04, 1906, and 1908). In the 1904 final, he and his brother Charles helped his side to a 4–2 win over ; during the match, he saved a shot "by moving a little away from his nets", but the local press still described him as having been "weak on goal, but the backs were excellent".

In the 1905 final, Racing lost 1–0 to Gallia Club, with Renaux conceding the only goal of the match in the 118th minute after having parried the ball three times in a row. In the 1906 final, he repelled several attempts from made by CA Paris to help his side to a 4–1 win. In the following year, on 7 April, he started in the 1907 final, which ended in a 3–2 loss to Racing Club de France. In the 1908 final, he started alongside his brother, who scored the equaliser in eventual 2–1 win over Racing Club de France.

Despite all of this club success, Renaux had to wait until 1908 to finally earn his first (and only) international cap, and that was only because he was the closest goalkeeper to reach London in time to replace the scheduled starter Zacharie Baton, who was not allowed to travel to England, or his replacement Maurice Tillette, who was injured on site.

Personal life and death On 30 July 1913, Renaux married Andrea Tobi in Roubaix, and the couple had a son, Jean Renaux, born in Roubaix in 1915. The Renaux brothers survived the First World War. where he died on 27 May 1924, at the age of 41.

Honours RC Roubaix USFSA Football Northern Championship: Champion (7): 1902–1908 USFSA Football Championship: Champion (4): 1903, 1904, 1906, and 1908 Runner-up (2): 1905 and 1907 Challenge International du Nord: Runner-up (1): 1903