Jean-Pierre Darchen

Jean-Pierre Darchen (born May 20, 1940 in Douarnenez ) is a former French football player .

Career

Beginnings in the amateur field (until 1964)

The 171 centimeter tall midfielder was already considered talented in his youth and was allowed to complete a trial week at the professional club Stade Rennes UC in 1956 , but without being accepted into the youth team. Nevertheless, joining this club, which was the best in the Brittany region at the time , remained his goal and René Billon (* 1931) was his cousin under contract there in the 1950s. As a young adult, he first played for the amateur club FC Lannion , but was still under observation by the Rennes club. After completing his military service, the now 24-year-old signed a contract with the first division club that was valid from the summer of 1964. The league rivals FC Nantes and third-class Stade Brest were also interested in signing the player.

First division with Rennes (1964-1967)

At first he was only intended as a substitute player in Rennes and therefore had to wait a few months before he made his first division debut on December 27, 1964 in a 0-1 away defeat against FC Rouen . In the following time coach Jean Prouff used him occasionally, where he next to his team the national cup competition, but he only sat on the bench and was therefore not directly involved in the success.

With the beginning of the 1965/66 season he made his breakthrough as a regular player and made his debut in European competition against Dukla Prague , even if Rennes was eliminated from the European Cup Winners' Cup after a return match against the Czechoslovaks. Darchen personally experienced a strong start to the new season, which earned him a pre-nomination for the French national team coached by Henri Guérin . It stayed that way, however, so that he could never play a game in his country's jersey. In the further course of the season he took on various roles at Rennes and even took on responsibility as a full- back in a number of games as a replacement for the injured Jean-Claude Lavaud . He also played regularly in the following hosting period 1966/67, but in the summer of 1967 the club brought a number of new players and therefore wanted to give up Darchen. After 60 first division games with eight goals, this meant his departure from Rennes, which was followed by a move to second division club FC Lorient , which is also based in Brittany .

Second division player with Lorient (1967–1971)

In 1967 Lorient was a newcomer from the amateur field, who had strengthened themselves with other first division experienced players - including the former national players Roland Guillas and Mahi Khennane . The team was able to establish itself in the second highest division and usually found itself in the middle of the table. Darchen held a regular position and from 1969 onwards also led the training of the amateur reserve team for two years. In 1971 he turned his back on Lorient after 110 second division games with eleven goals and ended his professional career at the same time at the age of 31.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jean-Pierre Darchen - Fiche et statistiques , stade-rennais-online.com
2. ^ Jean-Pierre Darchen: "Nous étions tous attirés par le Stade rennais" , stade-rennais-online.com
3. ↑ Football: Jean-Pierre Darchen , footballdatabase.eu