Roger Gaston Louis Marche (5 March 1924 – 1 November 1997) was a French footballer who played as a defender. He was part of the France national team during the 1954 and 1958 World Cup tournaments. He was nicknamed Le Sanglier des Ardennes ("the Boar of the Ardenne") for the region from which he came.
Career
Marche, born in Villers-Semeuse, Ardennes, is one of the players with the most appearances in the French top division, having played 542 matches for the clubs Stade Reims and RC Paris.
He was a member of the France national team from 1947 to 1959, and became the most-capped player ever for France with 63 international matches played, surpassing Étienne Mattler's previous record of 46 caps set in 1940. Marche held the record until 1983, when the also defender Marius Trésor established a new mark with his 64th cap. Several players since have surpassed that cap total. He was also the nation's oldest goalscorer at 35 years and 287 days, until Olivier Giroud surpassed his record on 22 September 2022.
Marche died in 1997 in Charleville-Mézières.
Honours
Reims
- Division 1: 1948–49, 1952–53; runner-up: 1946–47, 1953–54
- Coupe de France: 1949–50
- Trophée des Champions: 1949
- Latin Cup: 1953
France
- FIFA World Cup third place: 1958
References
External links
- Roger Marche at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Roger Marche at the French Football Federation (archived) (in French)
- Illustrated profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 2007-03-25)
- List of international appearances
