Manuel Anatol Explained

Manuel Anatol
Fullname:Manuel Anatol Aristegi
Birth Date:8 May 1903
Birth Place:Irun, Spain
Position:Defender
Years1:1920–1922
Clubs1:Real Unión
Years2:1922–1923
Clubs2:Gimnástica Española
Years3:1923–1926
Clubs3:Real Unión
Years4:1926–1928
Clubs4:Athletic Bilbao
Years6:1928–1932
Clubs6:Racing Paris
Years7:1932–1933
Clubs7:Athletic Madrid
Caps7:7
Goals7:0
Years8:1933–1934
Clubs8:Montpellier HSC
Years9:1934–1935
Clubs9:Racing Paris
Nationalyears1:1929–1934
Nationalteam1:France
Nationalcaps1:16
Nationalgoals1:1

Manuel Anatol Aristegi (8 May 1903 – 17 May 1990) was a naturalized French professional footballer and athlete.

Football career

Anatol was born in Irun, a town in the Basque Country of Spain. A defender, he played for three clubs in the country; hometown club Real Unión and Athletic Bilbao.[1] In 1929, Anatol ventured to France and joined Racing Paris.[2] With Racing, he captained the club to the final of the Coupe de France in his second season with the club. In the final, Racing were defeated 3–1 by FC Sète.[3]

Initially overlooked due to his Spanish roots (as was René Petit), Anatol was naturalised as a French citizen in 1929 and made his national team debut on 24 March 1929 in a 2–0 victory over Portugal.[4] He made 15 more appearances with the team and scored his only goal on 23 March 1930 in a 3–3 draw with Switzerland. The goal was scored from 40m (130feet) out.[5] He could not take part in the 1930 FIFA World Cup due to being unable to take the required time off work, and was not selected for the France squad four years later.

Athletics career

Anatol was also a talented sprinter who won the 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay events at the 1923 edition of the Spanish Athletics Championships;[6] however, as he had documentation as a French national (his father was from the French Basque Country although Manuel had lived in Spain all his life up to that point) the wins were awarded to the runners-up instead,[7] and remain as such in the records.[8] He subsequently competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics under the name M. A. Aristegui[9] which may have been an administrative error due to Spanish naming customs, or a subtle attempt by him to conceal his identity from either the athletics organisers or the management at his football club. He did not progress past the opening heats of the 400 metres event.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Cazal, Pierre . L'intégrale De L'équipe De France De Football . 397 . 1998 . 978-2-87691-437-7.
  2. Gilles Gauthey, Le football professionnel français, Paris, 1961, p. 18. Éditée et diffusée par l'auteur.
  3. Web site: Finale le 27/04/1930, Colombes (Yves du Manoir) . . French . 22 January 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121009005506/http://www.fff.fr/cfra/histoire/histo_new/pages/hist1930_1.shtml . 9 October 2012 .
  4. Web site: 24/03/1929 Equipe de France A – Amical . French Football Federation. French . 22 January 2011 .
  5. Web site: 23/03/1930 Equipe de France A – Amical . French Football Federation. French . 22 January 2011 .
  6. Web site: Los Campeonatos atléticos de España . The athletic Championships of Spain . es . . 17 August 1923. 26 March 2019.
  7. Web site: El atletismo español a través de sus XXV Campeonatos . Spanish Athletics through its XXV Championships . es . Mundo Deportivo . 8 June 1946. 26 March 2019.
  8. Web site: Campeonatos de España absolutos al aire libre . Senior Outdoor Championships in Spain . es . 26 March 2019 .
  9. Web site: M. A. Aristegui. . 26 March 2019 .
  10. Web site: M. A. Aristegi [requires name search in site] ]. es . . 26 March 2019 .