Victor Gibson
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Arthur Henry Gibson | ||
| Date of birth | 18 July 1888 | ||
| Place of birth | Woolwich, England | ||
| Date of death | 8 April 1958 (aged 69) | ||
| Place of death | Ruislip, England | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Morton | |||
| Falkirk | |||
| Plumstead | |||
| 1911–1912 | Espanyol | ||
| 1912–1924 | Olympique Cettois | ||
| 1924–1926 | Montpellier | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1911–1912 | Espanyol | ||
| 1912 | Catalonia | ||
| 1914–1924 | Olympique Cettois | ||
| 1924–1925 | Montpellier | ||
| 1925–1929 | Marseille | ||
| 1929–1934 | Sochaux | ||
| 1934 | SC Bastidienne | ||
| 1934–1935 | Hispano-Bastidienne | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Arthur Henry Gibson, also known as Victor Raine Gibson (18 July 1888 – 8 April 1958) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder for RCD Espanyol, and later a coach active in Spain and France.[1][2]
Early and personal life
[edit]Arthur Henry Gibson was born in Woolwich in 1888.[3][4] He married in 1910 and had an infant daughter who died.[4] He divorced his English wife in 1938 and married a Frenchwoman in 1939, with whom he also had a daughter.[4]
Playing career
[edit]Gibson played for Morton, Falkirk, and Plumstead, and in 1911 he toured Catalonia with the latter club; in a match against Espanyol on 18 May 1911, he impressed the Catalan club and they signed him, along with Frank Allack and William Hodge.[2][3][5][6]
Gibson quickly became the team's captain, and took on the role of manager.[2] In July 1912, Allack and Gibson were dismissed from Espanyol for various acts of indiscipline, and he moved to French side Olympique Cettois.[3][4] On 5 April 1914, Gibson started as a defender in the final of the 1914 USFSA Football Championship, which ended in a 0–3 loss to Olympique lillois.[7] He stayed at the club for 12 years until 1924, when he moved to Montpellier, where he retired two years later in 1926, at the age of 38.[citation needed]
Coaching career
[edit]While in Spain, Gibson performed the functions of a coach with the Catalonia national team once, in what was the team's first-ever game recognized by FIFA on 20 February 1912, which ended in a 7–0 loss to France.[2][3][8] In France, Gibson coached the club sides of FC Cette,[9] Montpellier, Marseille,[9] Sochaux,[10] SC Bastidienne and Hispano-Bastidienne.[11]
Gibson led FC Cette to back-to-back finals in the Coupe de France in 1923 and 1924, but lost both, the first as coach (4–2 to Red Star Olympique), and the second as player and coach (3–2 to Marseille).[3][12] However, he achieved his revenge by winning this cup twice in a row in 1926 and 1927 with Olympique de Marseille, beating AS Valentigney 4–1 in the former and US Quevilly 3–0 in the latter.[3] He also led Sochaux to a title in the 1931 Peugeot Cup.[3]
Later life and death
[edit]Gibson returned to England in the 1930s, working as a gardener and groundsman.[4] He divorced his English wife in 1938 and married a Frenchwoman in 1939, with whom he also had a daughter.[4] He died in Ruislip 8 April 1958, at the age of 69.[3][4]
Honours
[edit]As a player
[edit]- FC Sète
As a manager
[edit]- FC Sète
- Olympique de Marseille
- Sochaux
- Peugeot Cup
- Champions (1): 1931[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "Gibson, Victor Raine Gibson – Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Arthur Henry GIBSON". periquito.cat (in Catalan). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Gibson: el primer entrenador oficial de la selecció catalana. Ni era escocès, ni es deia Victor" [Gibson: the first official coach of the Catalan national team. He was neither Scottish, nor was his name Victor]. memoriesfutbolcatala.com (in Catalan). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Revealed: the true identity of Victor Gibson". www.scottishsporthistory.com.
- ^ "Plumstead FC de Londres contra CD Español" [Plumstead FC London v Spanish CD] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 18 May 1911. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "CD Español ingressa refuerzos del Plumstead FC" [CD Español joins reinforcements from Plumstead FC] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 1 June 1911. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ a b "L'Olympique Lillois devient champion de France" [Olympique Lillois becomes champion of France]. gallica.bnf.fr (in French). Le Matin. 6 April 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "Catalonia 0–7 France". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Hemeroteca. 22 February 1912. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ a b "France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- ^ "Les anciens entraîneurs du FCSM" [Former FCSM coaches]. www.fcsochaux.fr (in French). Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- ^ "Scots in opposition: Peter Farmer and Victor Gibson at the French Cup Final of 1924". www.scottishsporthistory.com.
- ^ "1923 Coupe de France Final Report" (in French). Archived from the original on 29 November 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
- 1888 births
- 1958 deaths
- English men's footballers
- Greenock Morton F.C. players
- Falkirk F.C. players
- RCD Espanyol footballers
- FC Sète 34 players
- English football managers
- FC Sète 34 managers
- Montpellier HSC managers
- Olympique de Marseille managers
- FC Sochaux-Montbéliard managers
- English expatriate men's footballers
- English expatriate football managers
- English expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
- English expatriate sportspeople in France
- Expatriate men's footballers in France
- Expatriate football managers in France
- English gardeners
- Footballers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
- People from Woolwich
- Association football defenders
- Montpellier HSC players
- RCD Espanyol managers