Manouchian’s group: who was Rino Della Negra, Red Star staunch footballer?

The grandstand at the Bauer Stadium in St. Ouen bears his name. His facial features are depicted on the banners and shirts of the supporters of Red Star Star. But what do we really know about Rino Della Negra, this stalwart World War II footballer?

A member of the Manushian group, he was shot by the Nazis on February 21, 1944 in Mont-Valérien, only 75 years ago.

Two historians, Jean Vigret and Dimitri Manessis, decided to study his career. Their book will be released this fall. The first, a specialist in communism and lecturer at the University of Burgundy, is the supervisor of the second, a student … and supporter of the Red Star.

“Once Dmitry wore a scarf Tribune Rino Della Negra, Jean Vigret says I asked him who this Reno was and we started wondering about the work that had been done on him. We had his biography in Shot Master (Editor’s note: biographical dictionary of those shot during the occupation), but it was very incomplete. »

“Mbappe of that time”

The two researchers then went through the archives of World War II and reconstructed the career of a young man born on August 18, 1923 in Vimy (Pas de Calais). His father, a bricklayer, was from Udine, in Friul (Italy).

Reno and his parents quickly moved to Argenteuil (Val d’Oise), in the Mazagran area, home to 3,000 northeastern Italians fleeing Mussolini’s regime. “This is very important because this immigration was built around the anti-fascist pole,” explains Dimitri Manessis. And if his parents were not particularly dedicated to this cause, Reno will associate with many people who will accustom him to this culture. »

But at 14, he is only a locksmith’s apprentice at the Chausson factories in Asnieres (Hauts-de-Seine). And in his free time, he shines in many disciplines of the sports club Argenteuil. “It was not just a footballer,” the researcher continues. In particular, he posted a time of 11 seconds for the 100m. “In terms of speed, it was a bit like the Mbappe of the time! smiles Jean Vigret.

He was also known for his superstition. “His mother said that he always kissed his boots before games, saying that they would bring him victory,” smiles Yolanda Della Negra, Reno’s sister-in-law, who still lives in Val-d’Oise.

“Shock Activist” of the Resistance

Rino was playing on the right flank when he was spotted by Crvena Zvezda, one of the biggest French clubs of the time. Championship winner in 1941, he won his fifth cup in 1942. Reno was transferred there the following summer.

If Leon Fonkinos, his captain at the time, said of him that he was then “one of the biggest hopes” of French football, too young, he would not play in the first team in the 1942-1943 season.

And his career ended in February 1943. Reno refused to be drafted into the SRT, for forced labor, and joined the resistance. In police archives, historians have found that the footballer, known by several aliases, including “Robin”, participated in about fifteen armed operations between May and November 1943.

The proposal of his writ of execution was erased

In yet another discovery, the authors were able to reconstruct two letters sent by Rino to his family before his execution, at the age of twenty. His reproductions walked … But one end was erased. “This is a proposal in which Rino asked his relatives to arrange a banquet,” explains Dimitri Manessis. But then he adds: And everyone gets drunk thinking of me! »

Why were these words hidden for 75 years? “There are several hypotheses,” he continues. Whether the family wanted to remove them out of modesty. Either it was the associations of the resistance, or even the communist party, which felt that this did not correspond to a certain pattern of the last letter of the executed resistance, and who wanted to erase this reference in order to drink. »

“HE HAD UNUSUAL COURAGE”

How could a football player who has not played a single match for Red Star Zvezda penetrate the hearts of Audonian fans?

On the Reno stand, we support Red Star, but we also support a commitment well entrenched on the left, anti-fascist songs and banners quickly stir up the news, denounce police violence, and support the reception. refugees in France.

It wasn’t until 2004 that a plaque commemorating Rino Della Negra was unveiled at the entrance to Bauer Stadium. “But for almost a decade, the wreath was laid only once a year,” explains Vincent Schute-Mezance, team president of the Red Star Bauer, the club’s supporters’ association.

Who wished since 2013 to “revive” the memory of Reno. “We didn’t want these tributes to be left without a future,” he continues. The collective then organizes a conference on their journey and applies for an official renaming of their platform.

“More than a footballer”

“He was never abandoned, but he was left without a future,” lamented the president, who intends to bring this theme back after the reconstruction of the stadium.

“Rino Della Negra was more than just a footballer,” he continues. Because in addition to his athletic qualities, his values ​​​​have a very strong influence on us. He could very well have made his career and never endangered himself. No, he decided to enlist in the military and paid for it with his life. He had extraordinary courage. »

Therefore, in this stadium, which already bears the name of a staunch Jewish doctor who was shot in 1942, Dmitry Manessis saw “fertile ground” for honoring the spirit of Reno: “The club is distinguished by its communist, working culture, popular, well blended into the red outskirts,” — explains the researcher.

It also belonged to Jean-Baptiste Doumeng, a famous red-skinned billionaire. “And Georges Marchais, whose son-in-law was the team’s goalkeeper, also frequented the stands.”

AL