Jean-Jacques Marcel (13 June 1931 – 3 October 2014) was a French international footballer who played

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 ...

. He was an integral part of the French national teams of the 1950s.

Playing career

The south Frenchman was signed in 1949 by the

FC Sochaux FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

and in their youth team but fast played to the first. Jean Jacques Marcel was a physically strong right runner with qualities both in the defensive and in the play forward, had a hard shot and a good head ball play – 76 goals in over 420 league plays were unusual in that time for a midfielder. Still playing for France U-21, he was for the first time called in France first team1953 due to his constant achievements. In 1954 he moved to its homeland region with

Olympique Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...

and remained there for five years, playing alongside 17 years older Larbi Ben Barek. He played then one year in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

before ending his professional career in 1965 with

RCF Paris Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spo ...

. He won no titles, for not playing for big teams of the

French championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

, contrary to his teams in

France national football team The France national football team (french: Équipe de France de football) represents France in men's international football matches. It is governed by the French Football Federation (FFF; ), the governing body for football in France. It is ...

International player

Between May 1953 and October 1961 Jean-Jacques Marcel appeared in 44 international matches for the

(10 in its time with Sochaux, 24 with Marseille, 3 with Toulon and 7 with Paris). He scored three goals and was in four meetings also captain. Its place in the national team was undisputed in all the years; thus he played naturally in the

FIFA World Cup 1954 The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerla ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. The third place with

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 ...

in Sweden was at the same time the largest success of its career. He also played at the first European championship (1960 in France). Until 1959 it formed a talented middle row together with

Armand Penverne Armand Penverne (26 November 1926 – 27 February 2012) was a French football defender and coach. He played the majority of his professional career for Stade de Reims winning four French championships and appearing in one European Cup final. ...

, in which Marcel – differently than in its clubs – played usually on the left side.

Personal life

In 1965 Marcel returned to its birth city and played still some years as an amateur with the club, from which he had come out. It vocationally supported first its father, at that time mayor of

Brignoles Brignoles (; oc, Brinhòla) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Alongside Draguignan, it is one of two subprefectures in Var. It was the summer residence of the counts of Pro ...

, in its trade in wine; subsequently, he worked as a representative of the sports article manufacturer

Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif (, "the athletic rooster") is a French manufacturing company of sports equipment. Founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset and located in Entzheim, the company first issued items branded with its now-famous rooster trademark in 1948. The c ...

. Marcel lived withdrawn, but still in the small town between Fréjus and Aix-en-Provence.

Death

On 3 October 2014, it was announced by his former football club that Marcel died. He was 83.Ex-France international Jean-Jacques Marcel dies
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References

External links

Profile on French federation official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcel, Jean-Jacques 1931 births 2014 deaths Association football midfielders French footballers France international footballers France under-21 international footballers FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Olympique de Marseille players SC Toulon players Racing Club de France Football players Ligue 1 players 1954 FIFA World Cup players 1958 FIFA World Cup players 1960 European Nations' Cup players