Francisco Mateo (15 May 1917 – 21 July 1979) was a Spanish-French football defender who played as a professional for Valencia, Bordeaux and Strasbourg.
Towards the end of the conflict, he was imprisoned due to his political leanings[1] but was released on the insistence of the Girondins de Bordeaux and was therefore able to emigrate to France shortly before the outbreak of World War II.
In Bordeaux, Mateo played for the Girondins in a local league as the French Championship had been disbanded due to the war.
[1] When the war was terminated, he accompanied his wife back to Alsace and quickly joined RC Strasbourg where he played until the end of the decade, reaching the final of the cup in 1947.
After the end of his playing career, Mateo continued as a youth coach for RC Strasbourg where he taught the likes of Gilbert Gress, Gérard Hausser, Albert Gemmrich or Léonard Specht.