René BESSE

Born in Normandy, René Besse was a defender by trade, and he made his debut during the Second World War, in 1943, with the Equipe Fédèrale Clermont-Auvergne. He would mainly be deployed as a central defender, and he spent the majority of his career with Rouen, between 1944 and 1950. Playing for the "Red Devils" of Rouen, he won a French Champions medal in 1945, when his side finished top of the Northern Group, and they went on to beat Lyon (who were Champions in the Southern Group) 4-0 in the Play-Off Final. During his six seasons with Rouen, he would experience life in the top flight, but also the Second Division, after they were relegated in 1947. For the 1950/1951 season, he signed for Le Havre, with whom he would finish third in the First Division. The following season, he signed for Stade Rennais, the last club of his playing days. With the Red and Blacks, he would have to wait until the second half of the 1951/1952 season before making the breakthrough to become a regular in the starting line-up at the heart of the Rennes defence. He picked up in the 1952/1953 season, where he had left off the previous campaign, and played in numerous matches at the start of the year, only to be stopped by an eye-injury, which ruled him out of action for several months. He would only return to playing duties at the end of the season, surprisingly used as a striker. In parallel to his playing career, he also ran a sports shop in Rouen, which meant that he was forced to train with Quevilly during the week. The 1953/1954 would prove to be his last, totalling 68 appearances and three goals in his three seasons with Rennes. He passed away, aged 90, on 9th February 2012.