User:Kingsif/R. Duparc

R. Duparc (1880 – unknown death) was a French footballer who competed in the 1900 Olympic Games, winning a silver medal as a member of the USFSA team, which was primarily Club Français players. With Club Français he reached the finals of the 1900 Challenge International du Nord, and the 1899 and 1900 Championnat de Paris, and won the Coupe Manier several times.

Career
Duparc began his career playing at U.S. Puteaux before joining Club Français when he was eighteen, in 1898. His mentor was said to be Club Français midfielder Alfred Bloch.

He was listed as a forward for the USFSA (French amateur) team, composed mostly of Club Français players, at the 1900 Olympic Games; competing against Great Britain and Belgium, the French team came second. In 1900, he played for Club Français as a midfielder. A match summary in L'Auto of a 16 October 1900 game wrote that he was a change to the team's midfield, but as "a good player who knows his job", it marked an improvement.

He would continue in the midfield when the team began competing in the Championnat de Paris, the top level division tournament, later that month, playing in all but one match (during which his absence, despite replacement, was noted). The team confidently won all their games. Continuing to see success in the tournament, L'Auto noted that Duparc was one of the youngest players on the team and that he showed a lot of promise but was already "a good player, very resistant, very tough". He played in the final against Standard Athletic Club, but was injured in the first half. The match ended as a 1–1 draw.

Duparc was also in the winning Club Français line-up, playing in each match, for the 1900 Coupe Manier, which took place later in December. After winning the Coupe Manier, Club Français's first (including Duparc) and second teams played international friendlies against Croydon and their reserves. Duparc's performance in this match was praised, with his intelligent ball-passing in the first half said to break up Croydon attacks and his "beautiful" passes to the team's forwards in the second half often drawing applause. It ended in a 3–3 draw.

In January 1901, Club Français took on Standard Athletic Club again, this time in the Challenge International du Nord. With the referee getting lost in the game, the play turned brutal, mostly perpetrated by Standard Athletic Club, who targeted the Club Français midfielders; Bloch was kicked so hard in the stomach he had to go off, with Duparc as well as Louis Bach and Cuny also noted as being "badly hit". Club Français wrote a letter of complaint to the football association. Duparc's misfortune continued; when travelling to compete in another match in January 1901, a group called "la bande noire" burgled him, taking his shoes and bag.

In the 1901 Championnat de Paris, Duparc began playing as a forward again, still with Club Français.