Eugène Maës

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Eugène Maës (born September 15, 1890 in Paris, France and died March 30, 1945 in Ellrich, Germany) was a French footballer.

A young prodigy of the Lost Generation, Maës is the first true goalscorer for the French national team. With a great combat injury during World War I which obliged him to retire from professional football, Maës would certainly have been one of the best players for the tricolors, because in less than two years of his international career, he scored 15 goals in just 11 caps. His most glorious day remains March 17, 1912 in Turin, where, against Italy, after having arrived at 5 A.M., he scored a hat trick, and the French team defeated the Italians for the first time in their history, 4-3. The Red Star striker also holds another record with the blue shirt, thanks to the 5 goals he scored against Luxembourg in 1913, in an 8-0 victory. Only Thadée Cisowski would equal this accomplishment in 1956.

During the Second World War, Maës was deported in 1943 and died two years later in the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp in Ellrich.