Ernest VAAST

Ernest Vaast was an attacking player who was born in Paris. He began playing football as a youngster in several amateur clubs in the Paris region, before establishing himself as a footballer with Levallois for nine years. A technically-gifted left-winger by trade, he was quickly scouted by several professional clubs, and he would subsequently sign for RC Paris in 1942. With Racing Club, he would go on to win the French Cup in 1945 and 1949. His years in Paris would help him to get called up to the French National Team, where he would be awarded 15 caps, scoring 11 goals (including a hat-trick against Portugal in 1947). Considered as a legend of French football, he would also become known as the first Frenchman to score a goal at the mythical Wembley Stadium (2-2 draw against England on 26th May 1945). During the 1948/1949 season, he would sustain an injury to his abdomen, and was forced to go to Switzerland for treatment and convalescence. During his stay there, he would make a couple of appearances for Servette in Geneva, despite being registered with RC Paris, and thus not qualified to play in Switzerland. That error would cost him a suspension of several months from playing, and thus he returned to Racing Club to finish the season. In 1951, the player (nicknamed "Nénesse") left Paris to sign for Stade Rennais. There he would play alongside the likes of Grumellon, Le Gall, Nicolitch and Maiseau. He would be one of the mainstays in the Rennes attack, making 48 appearances and scoring 9 goals in his two seasons at the club. He would return to Paris to join Red Star, where he would play out the final days of his professional playing career in the Second Division, alas his time was cut short by a ruptured achilles tendon injury a couple of months into the 1953/1954 season. Unable to continue playing at the highest level, he hung up his boots and did his coaching badges to become a manager. He would go on to manager several clubs in Normandy, in the Auvergne region as well in the Pyrénées, even lacing up his boots to make the odd appearance from time-to-time.