| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Renato Petit de Ory | ||
| Date of birth | October 8, 1899 | ||
| Place of birth | Dax, Landes, France | ||
| Date of death | October 14, 1989 | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
Renato Petit de Ory, better known by its French name, René Petit (born in Dax, France on October 8, 1899 - dead on October 14, 1989[1]) was a Franco-Spanish engineer, known for his activity as a footballer in his youth . It was one of the most popular players in Spanish football in the 1910s, 20s and 30s. He played for Real Madrid and Real Union and became international with French national football team.
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Renato or Rene Petit lived his life traveling between Spain and France. The son of a French engineer who held the post of head of traffic at the Company of Railways in Northern Spain. His mother was Spanish, more specifically born in Madrid.
Born in Dax (France), but may be considered this as coincidence, since her mother had come to this town for treatments at the thermal waters. His childhood was spent in the Basque Country, between the towns of Irun and Hondarribia, a town the latter was the terminus of the Spanish rail network, where his father was working. Petit lived in a wealthy family and had a thorough education of the French type.
At 12 he moved to live in Madrid, where he followed the high school at the Colegio El Pilar.
Petit never considered himself a scorer, but a played based on passing and support. He could play center forward but most of his career he played as a midfielder. Many consider that Petit modernized Spanish football, by establishing passing and team play against the previously existing anarchy.
At the El Pilar college, Petit started out playing as a center forward; from there he went to Madrid FC reserve team. At the age of 14, he first debuted with the first team of Real Madrid FC.
Rene and his elder brother, John, made themselves noticed during the 1914–15 season in Madrid FC. At that time, Rene was only 15 years old. Petit did not play thirty games for the club, but were enough to become one of the stars of Real Madrid in the 1910s. Slim and powerful, he can be considered the first player of the modern era because of its ability to interpret the game.
With Petit in the first team, Madrid reached the final of the Spanish Cup on two occasions, 1916 and 1917, winning the title in 1917. The final held in 1917 against Arenas de Getxo marked the consecration of a 17-year-old Petit. A personal René occasion, dribbling all who came out against the step, allowed Madrid to equalize, and finally win with a goal from Ricardo Alvarez in extra-time.
His older brother didn't play in the match, since shortly before the final he was drafted into the French army. Juan Petit was severely injured in World War I and this put an end to his playing career prematurely.
Petit's career in Madrid FC is summarized in 29 games and 13 goals, a Spanish Cup, and two regional championships.
Petit, rather than remain connected to the Madrid FC, preferred to continue playing football for the team of his birth city, the Real Union de Irun, which was formed in 1915 by merging two football clubs from Irun.
From 1917 Petit played for Real Union. In 1918 he reaches again the Copa del Rey final, but this time with Real Union and contributes to the defeat of his former team with 2-0. It is the second Cup title for Rene.