Marcel Artelesa, France captain at 1966 World Cup and Troyes legend, remembered ten years after his death

Espérance sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC) commemorates on Wednesday the tenth anniversary of Marcel Artelesa’s death on September 23, 2016, at age 78. The Aube club hails in him « the greatest footballer from Aube of all time », a major figure in French football in the 1960s who remained largely unknown to the general public.

Native of Troyes, Artelesa grew up within AS Troyes-Savinienne, with which he won the Coupe Gambardella in 1956 before playing in Division 2. It was by joining AS Monaco that he established himself among the elite. A central defender nicknamed « the imperial defender of the Rock », he spent five seasons in Monaco and secured the Championship-French Cup double in 1963. The following year, France Football named him French Player of the Year — a rare distinction for a defender.

Selected for the France team from 1963 onwards, Artelesa accumulated 21 caps and one goal. Promoted captain in 1965, he led the Bleus to the 1966 World Cup in England. France, which had in its ranks Franco-Argentine striker Nestor Combin, who had played for Juventus, lost to Uruguay and then to the host nation and exited the tournament in the first round.

Nicknamed « The Mason » — the trade he was initially destined for before starting in D2 — Artelesa continued his career at Olympique de Marseille and then OGC Nice, before closing the loop in 1970 by joining his hometown club, renamed Troyes Aube Football. He hung up his boots as player-coach at USM Romilly, a club in the Troyes region, where he remained on the bench until 1997.

« A man of great moral value and modesty, Marcel Artelesa remains one of the greatest defenders in French football », ESTAC recalled in its tribute. An exemplary career, from the Coupe Gambardella to the English pitches of the World Cup, which Troyes intends not to let fade into oblivion.