Valéry Mézague (8 December 198315 November 2014) was a Cameroonian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. A French-born player, Mézague represented

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

at international level. His most notable moment with the ''Lions Indomptables'' was at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, where he became the starter central midfielder in the lost final against host

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, after replacing the late

Marc-Vivien Foé Marc-Vivien Foé (1 May 1975 – 26 June 2003) was a Cameroonian professional footballer, who played as a defensive midfielder for both club and country. Having initially played for Canon Yaoundé, Foé went on to play professionally in Ligue 1 ...

during the victorious semi final versus Colombia. In 2003, he was involved in a serious car crash which ruled him out of the game for four months. Despite this, he fought back to reclaim his form and his performances attracted the attention of Harry Redknapp, with Mézague joining Portsmouth F.C. on loan for the 2004–05 season. However, he failed to make any sort of substantial impression and returned to France in June 2005, where he followed his former manager at Portsmouth

Alain Perrin Alain André Christian Perrin (born 7 October 1956) is a French professional football manager and former player. Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at Troyes, whom he took from the fourth tier to Ligue 1 and UEFA Cup qualification by winni ...

to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. His younger brother, Teddy, is also a footballer. He was found dead in his apartment on 15 November 2014, due to a cardiac arrest caused by a heart disease.

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* * * 1983 births 2014 deaths Cameroonian men's footballers French men's footballers Cameroon men's international footballers Cameroonian expatriate men's footballers Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in England Footballers from Marseille 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2004 African Cup of Nations players Montpellier HSC players Portsmouth F.C. players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Le Havre AC players LB Châteauroux players Panetolikos F.C. players French sportspeople of Cameroonian descent Citizens of Cameroon through descent Premier League players Ligue 1 players Vannes OC players Ligue 2 players Bury F.C. players English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Men's association football midfielders {{Cameroon-footy-midfielder-stub