Jean-Jacques Lucien Élie Antoine Marcel (13 June 1931 – 3 October 2014) 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 defender. He was an integral part of the French national teams of the 1950s.

Early life

Jean-Jacques Lucien Élie Antoine Marcel was born on 13 June 1931 in

Brignoles Brignoles (; ) 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 Provence; their ...

, Var.

Club career

Marcel 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 Paki ...

and in their youth team but fast played to the first. 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 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 ...

. Still playing for France U-21, he was for the first time called to France's first team in 1953 due to his constant achievements. In 1954, he moved to his homeland region with

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

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

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

before ending his professional career in 1965 with

RCF Paris Racing Club de France Football, commonly known as Racing Club de France (), is a French football club based in the Paris suburb of Colombes. The club was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline sports club, and is one of the oldest clubs in Fr ...

. He won no titles, for not playing for big teams of the French championship, contrary to his teams in France national football team.Jean-Jacques Marcel, de Brignoles à l'Olympique de Marseille et l'Equipe de France 1958 en Suede
/ref>

International career

Between May 1953 and October 1961, Marcel appeared in 44 international matches for the France national football team (10 in his time with Sochaux, 24 with Marseille, 3 with Toulon and 7 with Paris). He scored three goals and was in four meetings as captain. His 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 5th 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. Switzerland ...

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 thir ...

. The third place with France in Sweden was the largest success of his career. He also played at the first European championship (1960 in France). Until 1959, he formed a talented middle row together with

Armand Penverne Armand Pierre Adolphe Penverne (26 November 1926 – 27 February 2012) was a French professional footballer, who played as a midfielder, and coach. He played the majority of his professional career for Reims, winning four French championships an ...

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

Personal life

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

, 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 sportswear and sports equipment manufacturer based in Entzheim. Founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset, the brand first issued items branded with its now-famous rooster trademark in 1948. The com ...

. Marcel lived withdrawn, but still in the small town between

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, Var, Saint-Raphaël ...

and

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

Death

Marcel died on 3 October 2014 in the

13th arrondissement of Marseille In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor . A thirteenth chord is the ...

, Bouches-du-Rhône, at the age of 83.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcel, Jean-Jacques 1931 births 2014 deaths Footballers from Var (department) French men's footballers Men's association football defenders FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Olympique de Marseille players SC Toulon players Racing Club de France Football players Ligue 1 players France men's international footballers 1954 FIFA World Cup players 1958 FIFA World Cup players 1960 European Nations' Cup players 20th-century French sportsmen Occitan sportspeople