Drian François Étienne Mercier (19 July 1916 – 17 June 1996) was a French

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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Sète Sète (; , ), also historically spelled ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises'' (fem ...

and the

France national team France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

between 1936 and 1945.

Career

Born in the

Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...

town of

Palavas-les-Flots Palavas-les-Flots (; Languedocien: ''Palavàs'') is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Geography Palavas is a fishing village and seaside resort 9 km south of Montpellier at the Gulf of Lion and ...

on 19 July 1916, Mercier began his football career at Sète in 1936, with whom he played for nine years, until 1945. In his first two and a half seasons at Sète, he played a total of 74 matches in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

, helping his side win the

1938–39 French Division 1 FC Sète won Division 1 season 1938/1939, the last professional football season before World War II, of the Ligue de Football Professionnel, French Association Football League. Participating teams * FC Antibes * AS Cannes * SC Fives * Le Havre A ...

, which was the last season before the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During the conflict, Sète played in the interregional French league, winning the 1941–42 edition, and reaching the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the 1941–42 Coupe de France, which ended in a 2–0 loss to his future club

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

. After leaving Sète in 1945, he joined Red Star, where he stayed for only a single season, retiring in 1946, aged 30. On 15 March 1942, the 25-year-old Mercier earned his first (and only) international

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for France in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. He played at full-back alongside

Jules Vandooren Jules Vandooren (30 December 1908 – 7 January 1985) was a French footballer who played as a defender. He played for Olympique Lillois, Red Star FC and Stade de Reims, and was part of France in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups A world cup ...

, and even though they "stopped several dangerous situations" created by Spain's dominant attack, they were still outplayed by Epi and Mundo in an eventual 4–0 loss, with Mercier being dribbled by Mundo for Spain's second. The next day, journalists of the French newspaper ''L'Auto'' (the future ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

'') stated that Mercier "disappointed even those who had high hopes for his physical qualities, as he was never in place, made numerous blunders, and showed a complete lack of understanding". He was the fourth and last Mercier to play for France, which remains the most recurring surname in the national team; the previous three were

Daniel Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the acti ...

(1910),

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

(1919), and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

(1931).

Death

Mercier died in the

6th arrondissement of Marseille The 6th arrondissement of Marseille is one of the 16 arrondissements of Marseille This list of the sixteen arrondissements of Marseille ( French: ''Arrondissements de Marseille''), France includes their INSEE code, postal code, sector and ne ...

on 17 June 1996, at the age of 79.

Honours

;FC Sète 34 *

: **Champions (1): 1938–39 and 1941–42 *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: **Runner-up (1):

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercier, François 1916 births 1996 deaths Footballers from Paris French men's footballers France men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Sète 34 players Red Star FC players 20th-century French sportsmen