Claude Abbes

1951/52 AS Béziers (FRA) 79 matches

(French Championship D2: 75 matches)

(French Cup: 4 matches)

1952/62 Saint-Étienne (FRA) 298 matches

(French Championship: 259 matches)

(French Cup: 21 matches)

(Charles Drago Cup: 12 matches)

(Champions Challenge: 2 matches)

(European Champions Cup: 2 matches)

(Latin Cup: 2 matches)

1960 Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) (Loan) 1 match

With the National Team :

9 caps

(Friendly matches: 3 caps)

(World Cup qualification: 1 cap)

(World Cup: 4 caps)

(Euro qualification: 1 cap)

1st cap: October 27, 1957 against Belgium (0-0)

Last cap: December 3, 1958 against Greece (1-1)

Claude Abbes

Born on May 24, 1927 in Faugères (FRA)

Died on April 11, 2008 in Paris (FRA)

French, Goalkeeper, 1m80

Claude Abbes was born on May 24, 1927 in Faugères, France. The son of a farmer of Spanish origin, he discovered football when he was young in the amateur clubs of Bédarieux and then Labastide-Rouairoux. He specialized in the position of goalkeeper. He began his professional career at the age of 24 at AS Béziers, in the French second division.

After a good season at Béziers, he was finally recruited by AS Saint-Etienne in December 1952, when the club was in great difficulty in the championship. The new goalkeeper was intended to replace Jacques Ferrière and Michel Jacquin. Abbes made his debut on December 28, 1952 against Reims and it was the beginning of a great adventure. At the end of the season, ASSE only lost 4 times and finished 11th.

The following year, ASSE finished in a very good 5th place. The coach at the time and former player of the club Jean Snella, advocated an offensive game where Claude Abbes was instructed not to hesitate to come out at the feet of his opponents and to chain aerial exits.

This is how 3 years after his professional debut, he was called to play with the French national team. He was also selected for the 1954 World Cup. However, he was in the shadow of François Remetter and did not play a single minute during the tournament.

In 1955, he won his first trophy with ASSE, the Charles Drago Cup, the club won 2-0 against UA Sedan-Torcy. After another excellent season in the championship during the 1955/56 season, with a magnificent 4th place, the 1956/57 season rewarded the goalkeeper who won the French championship at the end of a magnificent season as an individual: 38 matches played, 55 goals conceded and 10 clean sheets. ASSE finished this historic season as the best attack and second best defense in the championship.

The following season, he was selected for the first time as a starter for the French national team. Thus, on October 27, 1957, he played against Belgium in the qualifiers for the 1958 World Cup, a 0-0 draw that qualified the French team for the tournament.

During the 1958 World Cup, Claude Abbes was first a substitute then a starter after France's defeat against Yugoslavia 3-2. With him, France reached the semi-finals of the competition, an unfair 5-2 defeat against Brazil after Jonquet was seriously injured and there was no replacement (which did not exist at the time). France won the third-place play-off and finished in a historic 3rd place.

After the World Cup, he lost his starting place to Dominique Colonna and only wore the French jersey twice. In 1960, while still under contract with Saint-Etienne, he came to strengthen Olympique Lyonnais with the agreement of his club for a match in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. But he was injured and only played the first half against Cologne.

Once back at ASSE, he was a finalist in the 1960 Coupe de France against AS Monaco but he could not prevent his team's defeat in extra time when the club was leading until the 88th minute. A cruel defeat but which will be replaced by the happiness of winning the trophy 2 years later despite the relegation of his team.

He finally retired at the age of 35 and after 10 years of career at ASSE. A true legend of French football, he will have been a prominent face of football in the 50s, leading France to a historic 3rd place at the 1958 World Cup, the first epic in a major tournament for France.

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