Cliff Bastin

1928/29 Exeter City (ENG) 17 games, 6 goals

1929/47 Arsenal (ENG) 396 games, 178 goals

(English Premier League: 350 games, 150 goals)

(English Cup: 40 games, 26 goals)

(Charity Shield: 6 games, 2 goals)

With the National Team :

21 caps, 12 goals

(Friendly matches: 10 caps, 7 goals)

(British Home Championship: 11 caps, 5 goals)

1st cap: 18 November 1931 against Wales (3-1)

Last cap: 26 May 1938 against France (4-2)

Football League: 4 caps, 3 goals

Schoolboys: 1 cap

Clifford Sidney Bastin

Born March 14, 1912 in Devon (ENG)

Died December 4, 1991 in Exeter (ENG)

English, Left-winger, Attacking-midfielder 1m74

Nickname: "Boy"

Cliff Bastin was born on March 14, 1912 in Devon, England. He joined the first team of the Exeter City club in 1928, he was then 16 years old. A week after his debut he scored twice and won his first man of the match award in a 5-1 victory against Newport County.

Having only played 17 games for 6 goals at Exter City, he was spotted by one of the best coaches in history, Herbert Chapman. He then signed with Arsenal FC when he was only 17 years old. Chapman saw in the kid a huge potential that would prove completely true.

Bastin debuted with Arsenal on October 5, 1929 and quickly became an undisputed starter for one of the best clubs in England. A young player of the highest level, he is nicknamed "Boy", but the player has great maturity on the pitch, remarkable composure and sniper precision in front of goal.

Served many times by Alex James, it is on the left wing that he will establish himself as one of the best English players of his time. Within a Dream-team, he will win 5 English Championships during the 30s and 2 FA Cups. Cliff Bastin would prove to be one of the most effective players of his time in his position in all competitions:

1930/31: 45 games, 29 goals

1931/32: 46 games, 21 goals

1932/33: 43 games, 33 goals

1933/34: 38 games, 13 goals

1934/35: 40 games, 21 goals

With the arrival of Ted Drake in 1934, he lost his place as the team's main striker. This arrival and Alex James' injuries pushed the player to play in the left-side position during the 1935/36 season. The following season, he returned to his left wing position. But an injury to his right leg during the 1938/39 season ended his season.

The Second World War, like this leg injury, prevented what should have been the peak of his career. Bastin was exempted from his military service because he failed the army's hearing test due to increasing deafness. He played a total of 241 matches during the War period, scoring 70 goals, matches that would be classified as unofficial.

His leg injury limiting his abilities, he was forced to end his career following the Second World War, the player only playing 7 matches after the conflict. He then retired in June 1947, with his last match against Manchester United on September 28, 1946.

An England international since 1931, he played a total of 21 matches for his country, scoring 12 goals. Great numbers for a winger. In an English selection that did not play in the World Cup, Hugo Meisl, coach of Austria in 1934, said that he could have won this edition of the World Cup if he had had Cliff Bastin in his team.

- Included among the 100 Legends of the Football League

- Inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2009

- Inducted into the Exeter City Hall of Fame in 2014

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