Jacques FAIVRE

Jacques Faivre, nicknamed "Jacky", was born in Bourg-en-Bresse, and developed by FC Sochaux from 1950 onwards. After getting little game-time in his first two seasons in the Doubs region, he was loaned out to Besançon in 1952, where he would see much more action in the Second Division. Thanks to his good season with them, he returned to Sochaux and earned himself a spot in the starting line-up until 1956. This elegant striker would then head off to Nice, who had just been crowned French Champions the previous season in 1955/1956, and he proved to be clinical in front of goal (especially in the European Cup). He won his first title at the club in 1959, winning the First Division championship. After three very good seasons with Nice, (except for the 1957/1958 season, where he missed a lot of the season after a serious accident), he was signed up by Stade Rennais in 1960. At Rennes, he was deployed in all the positions on the attacking lines. He would miss just one match in the 1960/1961 season, owing to illness. It would be a particularly fruitful season him, scoring 20 goals in 37 matches, finishing 5th in the First Division's league top goalscorer table. In September 1961, he followed manager Henri Guérin to Saint-Etienne. With "the Greens" he won the French Cup in 1962, and finished Champion of the Second Division in 1963. His years with Saint-Etienne opened the door to the French National Team, with whom he would win two caps, even scoring a brace against Finland on his debut for France. He ended his playing career in 1963 with Saint-Etienne in 1963, before returning to his home town, where he ran a sport's shop. He passed away, aged 87, on 12th August 2020.