Marcel Pierre Marchal (2 June 1913 – 31 July 1993) 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

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

and the French national team in the 1930s.

Playing career

Club career

Marcel Marchal was born on 2 June 1913 in

Montigny-lès-Metz Montigny-lès-Metz (, literally ''Montigny near Metz''; , (1940–1944) ''Montenich'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is the largest suburb of the city of Metz, and is adjacent to it on the we ...

, in the Lorraine region, a short distance from the capital

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, which at the time, belonged to the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. He began his football career at his hometown club AS Messine in the early 1930s, where he quickly establish himself as a starter, playing a crucial role in helping the Messine team win the 1930 and 1932 Lorraine Football League. but following its relegation in 1933, the Messine club, which was also plagued by significant debts, decided to resume discussions for a merger with FC Metz, which was practically completed, but ended up being suspended for the following season; in the meantime, however, three players left ASM for FC Metz: Marchal,

Nicolas Hibst Nicolas Hibst (12 October 1915 – 21 January 1959) was a French association football player and manager. During his career, he played in Division 1 and Division 2 with FC Metz and AS Saint-Étienne and was part of the Metz side which lost the ...

, and Camille Roger. Together with Albert Rohrbacher, Charles Fosset, and Charles Zehren, Marchal played a crucial role in helping Metz win

1934–35 French Division 2 Statistics of Division 2 in the 1934–35 season. Overview It was contested by 16 teams, and Metz won the championship. League standings ReferencesFrance - List of final tables (RSSSF) {{DEFAULTSORT:1934-35 French Division 2 Ligue 2 seas ...

, thus achieve promotion to

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 ...

, and then reaching the national cup final in 1938, which ended in a 1–2 loss to league runners-up

Olympique Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French football. Founded in 1899, OM has ...

. During the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, several Metz players, such as Marchal, Hibst, and Roger Flucklinger, were mobilized for the front, joining the 162nd Infantry Regiment. When his home region was incorporated into Germany, Metz lost its professional status, being renamed Fußball Verein Metz and joining the German league; in 1941, he played four matches for Metz in the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

. He also played for

Olympic Charleroi Royal Olympic Club Charleroi, commonly referred to as Olympique Charleroi and abbreviated as ROCC, is a Belgian association football based in Charleroi, Hainaut. The club set to compete in the Challenger Pro League from 2025–26, the second t ...

in the DFB-Pokal. After the War ended in 1945, the 32-year-old Marchal returned to Metz, where he played one more season before retiring in 1946. In total, he scored 4 goals in 180 official matches, including 3 goals in 153 league matches, and 1 goal in 27

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 ...

matches.

International career

On 30 January 1938, the 24-year-old Marchal earned his first 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 ...

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 the

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

at the

Parc des Princes The Parc des Princes (, ) is an all-seater stadium, all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin (P ...

, helping his side to a 5–3 win.

Death

Marchal died in

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

on 31 July 1993, at the age of 80.

Honours

; AS Messine * Lorraine Football League **Champions (2): 1930 and 1932 ;

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

**Champions (1): 1934–35 *

**Runner-up (1):

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

Bibliography

References

External links

Marcel Marchal
at eu-football.info * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchal, Marcel 1913 births 1993 deaths Footballers from Moselle (department) French men's footballers France men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Metz players 20th-century French sportsmen