Fernand Canelle

Early life and education Fernand Canelle was born in the 17th arrondissement of Paris on 2 January 1882, and together with Georges Garnier and the Huteau brothers, he was a member of the small group of middle school students from the Chaptal college who, in 1893, founded an unofficial club called the Etoile Sportive Parisiennne, which was presided by Canelle's father, Lucien, and which was soon absorbed by Club Français, so called because it did not include any English players.

In the mid-1890s, the 13-year-old Canelle received one of the scholarships that the Paris City Council awarded to finance language study trips in England, so even though he had acquired his practice of the game at Etoile, it was across the Channel where he developed his game, and even trained with the London-based clubs Selhurst and West Norwood, where he mastered the so-called ABCs of technique, so when he returned to his homeland, he was constantly described as a far more advanced and superior player than his fellow countrymen. making his debut for the first team during their triumphant campaign at the 1897 Coupe Manier, which required clubs to field only three foreigners during a time where the majority of Parisian clubs had ten, or even eleven.

He only became a consistent starter for Club Français in 1898, breaking through as an attacking winger thanks to his speed, energy, and his lighter build of only 1.69 meters tall and weigh of about 70 kilos. This victory qualified the club to the 1899 USFSA national championship, in which Club Français withdrew from the final before facing Le Havre. Later that year, on 23 October 1899, Canelle started as a forward for Club Français in the 1899 Coupe Manier final at Suresnes, scoring the opening goal in an eventual 6–0 win over RC Roubaix.

Together with Garnier, Gaston Peltier, and Marcel Lambert, Canelle was a member of the Club Français team that won the 1899–1900 USFSA Paris championship. On 29 April 1900, Canelle started in the 1900 Challenge International du Nord final in Tourcoing, scoring a consolation goal in a 3–2 loss to Le Havre. In the following week, on 6 May, he started as a forward in another final against Le Havre AC, 1900 USFSA Football Championship, this time losing 1–0. Later that year, on 23 December, Garnier started in the final of the 1900 Coupe Manier at Joinville, helping his side to a 1–0 win over UA I arrondissement.

Later career As early as 1901, Canelle began to abandon the wings, and started pairing in the back with the Belgian Alfred Bloch, or Pierre Allemane, and from 1903 onwards, he was systematically found at full-back, but despite his positional change, he was still selected. Three months later, on 15 March, he started as a defender in the final of the 1903 Coupe Dewar against United SC, but despite "a superb line clearance just a meter from his goal", CF lost 4–3.

Following an injury in October 1908, Canelle retired from football, although he kept making a few sporadic appearances, such as playing in goal for an inferior team of the Club Français in 1910, at the age of 28. Canelle was initially meant to start the final of the 1912 Coupe Dewar at Colombes on 14 April, but was eventually replaced by Bos; CF lost 3–1 to RC France. He was still playing for Club Français as late as May 1913, in which the 31-year-old Canelle was described as still being one of the best players in his position.

International career Unofficial appearances

Canelle was listed as a forward for the USFSA team at the 1900 Olympic Games. He was selected for both matches, which ended in a 4–0 loss to Upton Park on 20 September, and in a 6–2 victory over Belgium, which was mostly made up of students from the French-speaking Université libre de Bruxelles. The French team came second and Canelle was thus awarded with a silver medal. In the latter match, he played as a full-back, the exact same position as Southampton's team captain George Molyneux, who after the match declared "Your best player is, without a doubt, Canelle". A few years later, in 1908, the 26-year-old Canelle, who was already called a veteran, was described by Molyneux as "an impeccable player, a perfect shooter, adept at all the subtleties of the clearance game". He was also France's captain in its next two matches, leading the Blues to their first-ever victory, against Switzerland (1–0) on 12 February 1905, and to their first-ever defeat, against Belgium on 7 May, and he was set to represent France in the football tournament at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, but an injury in October prevented him from doing so.

Death Canelle died in Rueil-Malmaison on 11 September 1951, at the age of 69.

Honours Club Français USFSA Paris Championship: 1898–99, 1899–1900 USFSA Football Championship runner-up: 1899, 1900 Coupe Manier: 1899, 1900, 1902 Challenge International du Nord runner-up: 1900 Coupe Dewar runner-up: 1903

France Summer Olympics silver medal: 1900