Georges Crozier

Georges Philippe Crozier (1882 – February 1944) was a French footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Parisienne and the French national team in the early 20th century. He is sometimes wrongly cited as the first Frenchman to play in England when he joined Fulham of the Southern League in 1904, which never happened.

Early life

Georges Crozier was born in London in late 1882, (He was 18 years old when the 1901 United Kingdom census was held in March, and he was incorporated into the Army in April 1904, with incorporations taking place in the spring for those born at the end of the year.) In October 1897, he joined the second team of US Parisienne, but soon reached the first team in 1898.

In July 1901, Crozier was working as the correspondent in London for the French newspaper L'Auto (the forerunner of L'Équipe), writing a small article about Henri Deloge's arrival in the English capital. In February 1903, he kept goal for a South London team in a match against the North. During the next few months, he played more regularly, making his last appearance for USP in December 1906, as he then decided to join his father, who had just been appointed ambassador to Vienna, a prestigious position.

Either way, Crozier was reluctant to travel to Brussels because he was worried about being declared a deserter if he did not return to the barracks in Soissons on time, not only due to the sanctions, but also to avoid a possible scandal, given that he was the son of an ambassador.

In October 1905, Crozier, who now played more regularly for USP, was selected by the Paris football team for a friendly against a London XI at Fulham, but returning from London to Soissons was even more complicated than from Brussels, so he had to refuse once again. During this match, he became the first goalkeeper to save a penalty for the French national team, taken by Belgian full-back Edgard Poelmans.

Playing style In late 1905, Crozier authored a long article that occupied three columns in L'Auto, in which he recommended using mainly his hands, given that most goalkeepers at the time played mostly with their feet, and encouraged diving, which was also still very rare, stating "When you have tried it a few times, you are surprised to see how easy the dive is to execute". He was thus a modern goalkeeper, hence why the local press described him as having "a game too special to be compared" in October 1905. His orbituary stated "his keen sense of football, his sound and fair criticism, had been an authority on the great Nice club".

Crozier was also a literary scholar who translated numerous foreign detective novels.

Death Crozier died in Nice on either 11 or 12 February 1944, at the age of 61, just a few days after his father, who died on 9 February in Geneva. He was buried on 14 February.