Henri Viallemonteil

Henri Antoine Viallemonteil (2 April 1892 – 16 January 1937) was a French footballer who played as a forward for CA Vitry and the French national team from 1910 to 1914, scoring two goals in six matches for the latter.

Vialmonteil was widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted French players of the early 20th century, being compared to the likes of Matthias Sindelar or Héctor Scarone.

Footballing career Early career Vialmonteil began his football career at Etoile Sportive du XIIIème before moving to CA Vitry for the 1911–12 season.

On 29 October 1911, the 19-year-old Vialmonteil made his international debut for France in a friendly match against Luxembourg, scoring once to help his side to a 4–1 victory. In the rematch against Italy in Saint-Ouen on 12 January 1913, France won again (1–0), with Vialmonteil providing the game-winning assist to Eugène Maës. On 12 March 1916, Vialmonteil, alongside Darques, Henri Bard, and Marcel Triboulet, played for France in an unofficial match against Belgium, which ended in a 1–4 loss.

At the end of the War, Viallemonteil returned to his old club of Vitry, and despite being a little thicker and slower, he played there until 1922.

Playing style Vialmonteil was a brilliant passer, operating behind the attack line, but he was also quite capable of scoring. In 1912, he was described as having "a scientific game", although he could "disappoint his supporters with his slowness". In the weekly Le Plein Air, he was even openly criticized for succumbing to the temptation of personal play: "Extremely confident in his knowledge of dribbling, he passed one or two opponents, but always found a third or fourth to block his path. And there was nothing to be done to make him see reason!".

Death Vialmonteil died very suddenly from a heart attack at home, on 16 January 1937, at the age of 44.

One of his teammates at CA Vitry, Étienne Jourde, exercised the same profession (photoengraver), played alongside him in their 4–3 win over Italy, and was also diminished by injuries and had a premature death in 1921, at the age of 30. However, they were very different players: Jourde was hard-working and valiant, but not very talented, while Vialmonteil was brilliant and gifted, but inconsistent.

Career statistics International goals France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Vialmonteil goal.

International (unofficial) goals France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Vialmonteil goal.