Behind the Bastards

Episode: Part One: The Evilest Football Player of All Time

Release Date: August 19, 2025
Host: (likely Robert Evans)
Guest: Dana Schwartz (Hoax! and Noble Blood podcasts)
Producer/Co-host: Sophie

Overview of the Episode

This engaging episode of Behind the Bastards dives into the life and context behind Alexander Villaplane, labeled “the evilest football player of all time.” However, before detailing his personal villainy and Nazi collaboration, the hosts explore the colonial fabric that produced him—specifically, the brutal French occupation of Algeria. The episode weaves together themes of colonialism, racism, shifting identities, and the cyclical and interconnected nature of European and World War II-era atrocities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing the Guest and Thematic Framing

• Dana Schwartz, host of "Hoax!" and "Noble Blood," joins to introduce the episode's focus: why society is so fascinated by villains and the mechanisms of believing “bullshit” through history.
  • “We just get into these conversations about why we believe things that aren't true, which feels unfortunately very pertinent these days.” (Dana Schwartz, 02:45)

2. Villains Through History: The Context of Evil

• Brief digression on how humanity, past and present, is susceptible to hoaxes and false beliefs:
  • “People are as dumb as they ever were and people are no dumber than.” (Host, 03:49)
• Framed as relevant to the episode's subject, Alexander Villaplane.

3. Who is Alexander Villaplane? Setting the Stage

• Not a simple "bad sportsman"—Villaplane transitions from football celebrity to notorious Nazi collaborator and SS enforcer during Occupied France.
  • “This guy is a footballer who becomes a brutal enforcer for the SS during the Nazi occupation of France. A real piece of shit, okay? His name is Alexander Villaplaine.” (Host, 08:23)
• To explain Villaplane’s origins, the episode steps back to French colonial Algeria.

4. Deep Dive: The Colonial Background of Algeria and French Attitudes (10:05–54:49)

French Conquest and Brutality in Algeria (10:05–28:30)

• Algeria, ruled for centuries by Ottoman proxies, becomes a French colony starting in 1830 after a diplomatic slight (flyswatter incident).
  • “In April of 1827, the Dey smacks the French consul to Algeria in the face with a flyswatter.” (Host, 22:38)
• French invasion is rationalized as bringing civilization and order, but, in practice, is motivated by ego, debt, and national humiliation after Napoleonic failures.

Colonial Policy and Ethnic Cleansing (28:32–43:54)

• French see themselves as owners of Algerian land, not as caretakers of the people; Algerians are systematically dispossessed and dehumanized.
  • “France only wants to help them, and they really hope they'll obey their new overlords. And if they don't, this guy warns, God will inflict, ‘the most rigorous punishments on those who commit damage against the land and who ruin the country and its inhabitants.’...” (Host, 30:12)
• Colonization becomes marked by resistance, and the French respond with military brutality, genocide (1.6 million Algerians dead in a few decades), and the attempted settlement of “more trustworthy” Europeans.
  • “More than 1.6 million Algerians will be killed by the French... along with at least 100,000 French soldiers.” (Host, 35:55)
• Even after slavery is formally abolished in 1848, quasi-forced labor and selective non-enforcement persist. Ethical arguments are used to justify ethnic cleansing using freed slaves.
  • “Such colonists could be best found by diverting captives from the Saharan slave trade...” (Beaudichon, via Host, 41:33)

Establishing a Permanent Underclass & Lasting Racial Hierarchy (43:54–54:49)

• French intellectuals and policies solidify: Algeria’s land is French, its people are not.
• Systemic barriers prevent actual integration, and Algerians, even those moving to Paris, are denied full citizenship and rights—creating an enduring, exploited underclass.
  • “The final establishment of French policy is that Algerian land is ours and the people don’t belong anywhere, right? They can move to Paris...but they won’t have rights there. They can’t vote. They’re not citizens, right?” (Host, 44:45)
• The report by Emilien Chatroux underscores official racism and anti-Semitism:
  • “Because we conquered Algeria, we must make it a colony. That is for neither the Arabs nor the foreigners, nor the Jews, but for the French...” (Host quoting Chatroux, 54:49)

5. From Context to Villaplane: Colonial Identity and Social Mobility (54:49–73:27)

Alexander Villaplane’s Background (57:26–65:09)

• Born 1904 in Algiers to a Spanish-descended father and French mother.
• Family considers themselves “working poor Algerians”—distinct within colonial society, animosity toward rich French elites.
  • “He [Joseph, Alexander’s father] sees himself as a European Algerian. So he certainly does...see himself as probably better or at least different from the Arab Algerians. But he still sees himself as a...Because he’s poor, right?...he identifies as ‘I am of the common people of Algeria.’” (Host, 60:24)
• Villaplane’s childhood is spent moving between Algeria and France, giving him unusual mobility and exposure.
• Football as social mobility: early football exposure due to privileged family connections; quickly becomes a prodigious, passionate player
  • “He’s just born to play football, right? The instant he gets a ball in his hand, right, he’s just losing his mind over the sport. You can’t stop him.” (Host, 63:00)

Football & the Shadow Economy of Professional ‘Amateurism’ (65:09–70:09)

• Describes the hypocrisy of the “amateur” football system in France between World Wars—a business involving secret payments and provided “jobs” as a way to skirt rules.
• Villaplane is among the first Algerians to make a name as a professional-level footballer in France, quickly becoming rich, famous, and successful.
  • “In this first wave of football stars, he’s one of the brightest stars...Alexander becomes the first Algerian pro football player in France.” (Host, 68:41)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “People are as dumb as they ever were and people are no dumber than.” (Host, 03:49)
• “This guy is a footballer who becomes a brutal enforcer for the SS during the Nazi occupation of France. A real piece of shit, okay? His name is Alexander Villaplaine.” (Host, 08:23)
• “In April of 1827, the Dey smacks the French consul to Algeria in the face with a flyswatter.” (Host, 22:38)
• “More than 1.6 million Algerians will be killed by the French...along with at least 100,000 French soldiers.” (Host, 35:55)
• “Because we conquered Algeria, we must make it a colony. That is for neither the Arabs nor the foreigners, nor the Jews, but for the French.” (Host quoting Chatroux, 54:49)
• “He is rich, he's famous. He has succeeded...and then he's going to become a Nazi.” (Host, 71:10–71:21)
• “What if I did fascism? That sounds...yeah, yeah, yeah.” (Sophie, 71:40)
• “He doesn’t even have the moral consistency to be, like, an ethical—not ethical—but like, he’s not a fascist ideologically. It's just where the money is. He doesn’t even give a shit about fascism...he doesn’t even have an ethos, you know?” (Host, 71:45)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:10 – Dana Schwartz introduction & discussion of new podcast "Hoax!"
• 03:49 – “People are as dumb as they ever were…” – Human credulity over time
• 04:13 – Introduction of the subject: “the most evil football player of all time,” Alexander Villaplane
• 10:05–54:49 – Detailed history of French Algeria, conquest, genocide, and policy towards Algerian people
• 54:49 – Antisemitism and French racial ideology in Algeria
• 57:26 – Birth and family background of Alexander Villaplane
• 63:00 – Early childhood and football obsession
• 65:09 – Amateur/professional football landscape in France
• 68:41 – Villaplane’s rise as a football star
• 71:10 – Foreboding: “He’s going to become a huge fucking Nazi...He’s going to nuke it because he's an asshole, then he's going to become a Nazi.”
• 72:13 – Guest pluggables and humorous encouragement to “conquer France”

Tone & Style

• Casual, irreverent, and darkly humorous—even (“I think you’re capable of conquering France!”)
• Intellectually aggressive: not afraid to call out whitewashing of European colonial crimes or challenge listeners’ preconceptions
• Deeply researched but also accessible through analogies (e.g., comparing French colonial ambition to US adventures in Iraq/Afghanistan, or likening racist pronouncements to future Nazi ideology)

Summary & Takeaways

If you missed the episode:
This installment of Behind the Bastards lays the groundwork for understanding Alexander Villaplane’s path from celebrated footballer to actual war criminal for the Nazis—by focusing on the environment that could produce such a person. The episode excels at illuminating how the cruelty, dehumanization, and racism of the French colonial project in Algeria become a breeding ground for further bastardry. Villaplane’s own trajectory—alienated from both French and Algerian communities, entering football as a lonely but passionate outsider, ascending into fame and riches in a corrupt “amateur” system—all sets up his later transformation into a collaborator and enforcer during WWII.

Next Episode Preview

The next part promises to explore Villaplane’s actual war crimes and Nazi collaboration in occupied France.

For a full, historically grounded picture of how one of football’s brightest stars became one of European history’s most despicable villains, don’t miss this episode or the continuation of Villaplane’s story in Part Two.