Profile of Raymond Braine on Famous Like Me

Raymond Braine (born April 28, 1907 - died December 25, 1978) was one of the greatest Belgian football striker. He is also known as the first Belgian professional player when he obtained a transfer at Sparta Prague in 1930. Braine was played 54 matches for the Belgium national football team and scored 26 times, which make him Belgian 5th best top scorer ever.

His first club was the Beerschot in Antwerp. He made his Belgian Championship debut on February 11, 1923 against Daring Club de Bruxelles (lost 3-0). He scored 4 times in 4 appearances that season and Beerschot finished second. Raymond's brother, Pierre, was also part of the team. The next year, Brain lifted his first trophy with a Championship title. Three more titles followed in 1925, 1926 and 1928.

At the time, the Belgian football was still not professional. Though, certain players did receive money (unofficially) for their good matches. Some others ran a café to raise some money. At such a point that the Belgian Football Association published a paper stating: "Considering it is important to stop the progression of player-café owners, the executive Commitee takes the decision that at this day, except for a player whose parents ran the café for more than 5 years, the authorisation to open a café will be subordinated to the condition that the player will not be a part of the first team."

Braine, who just opened a café in December 1929, decided then to go and play abroad. He first tried his luck in England where he could not obtain a work permit. So he signed in 1930 at Sparta Prague a lucrative contract and subsequently became the first Belgian professional player. Braine there won two championship titles and finished top scorer twice. His displays earned him a selection for the first World Cup to be played in Uruguay.

Before the 1934 World Cup, Braine had received an offer of 100,000 Kronen from the Czechoslovak FA to become a citizen of Czechoslovakia but the striker refused. Afterwards, Czechoslovakia lost the final game at the hands of Italy. Braine was not even selected for Belgium. He came back to Beerschot in 1937 and lifted the Championship twice again. This time, he played in the 1938 World Cup.

In 1943, Braine was transferred to C.S. La Forestoise as a defender for one season, a team that had just promoted a year before to the first division, thanks to the War.

Honours

Club honours

• Jupiler League - 1924, 1926, 1926, 1928, 1938, 1939
• Czechoslovakia championship - 1932, 1936
• Mitropa Cup - 1935

Individual honours

• Jupiler League top scorer - 1928, 1929
• Czechoslovakia championship top scorer - 1932, 1934

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