Michel Jacques


Michel Albert Georges Jacques was a French footballer who played as a forward for Sochaux-Montbéliard in the 1940s. He also made one appearance for the French national team in 1944.

Playing career

Club career

Born on 9 January 1924 in the Doubs town of Sochaux, Jacques began his football career at his hometown club Sochaux-Montbéliard in 1942, aged 18. Together with Georges Sesia, Roger Guérin, and Roger Magnin, he was a member of the short-lived Nancy-Lorraine federal team that won the 1944 [Coupe de France final] against Reims-Champagne at the Parc des Princes on 7 May, scoring his side's third goal in an eventual 4–0 victory. After the final, the 20-year-old Jacques stated that "he had the most beautiful day of his life".
After a short stint with Rouen, Jacques returned to Sochaux-Montbéliard, remaining there for five seasons, until 1950, four in the top-flight and one in the second division. In 1950, he signed for Strasbourg, where he had an imidiate impact, because in his first season at the club, they won the Coupe de France, beating Valenciennes 3–0 in the final. On the following day, the journalists of L'Équipe described him as a "hard-working and unrepentant left-winger", who "deserves the citation for his constant activity in all situations; it is a shame he lacks the use of his right foot".
After leaving Strasbourg in 1952, Jacques joined Racing Besançon, with whom he played for five years, until 1957, when he moved to Pays d'Aix, where he retired in 1958, aged 34. In total, he scored 57 goals in 172 matches in Ligue 1.

International career

On 23 March 1947, the 23-year-old Jacques earned his first international cap for France in a friendly match against Portugal at the Colombes, helping his side keep a clean-sheet in a 1–0 win. He later stated that he was so nervous when he walked into the field that "You could have cracked nuts with my legs". After the match, Gaston Barreau, the France [national football team manager|national team manager], publicly stated that Jacques lacked maturity

Death

Michel Jacques died in Montbéliard on 1 March 1997, at the age of 73.

Honours

;Reims-Champagne
;RC Strasbourg