Fabien Mercadal

Fabien Mercadal
Personal information
Date of birth	29 February 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth	Manosque, France
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team
1989–1991	AC Digne
1991–1994	Marseille B
1994–1995	Gap
1995–1997	Évry FC
1997–1999	Saint-Georges
1999–2000	Gap
2000–2002	Manosque
2002–2004	Gap
Managerial career
2004–2005	Gap (assistant)
2005–2008	Gap
2008–2012	Amiens (assistant)
2012–2016	Dunkerque
2016–2017	Tours
2017–2018	Paris FC
2018–2019	Caen
2019	Cercle Brugge
2020–2021	Dunkerque
2022	Quevilly-Rouen
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fabien Mercadal (born 29 February 1972) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a defender.

After an amateur playing career, he began managing in the fourth tier with Gap, going on to spend one season in Ligue 1 with Caen in 2018–19. He also led Tours, Paris FC, Dunkerque and Quevilly-Rouen in Ligue 2 and had a brief spell in the Belgian First Division A with Cercle Brugge.

Playing career

Mercadal was born in Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, to a Corsican father who had played in Division 3 for AJ Auxerre. Mercadal himself was in the youth ranks of Olympique de Marseille but suffered an injury that limited him to playing in the third and fourth divisions.^[1]

Managerial career

Early years and Tours

Mercadal began his managerial career as an assistant at his final playing club, Gap FC, before being their head coach between 2005 and 2008 in the fourth-tier Championnat de France Amateur. For the next four years he was assistant at Amiens SC in Ligue 2 and the Championnat National;^[2] he was interim manager on 23 October 2009 in a 1–0 loss at ES Troyes AC. Known for his passion, he vomited after defeat in his early career.^[3]

In June 2012, Mercadal was hired at fourth-tier USL Dunkerque, winning promotion in his first season.^[4] After coming 5th, 6th and 6th in the third tier, he was appointed at Tours FC in Ligue 2 in June 2016.^[5] He drew 0–0 at home to Ajaccio on his professional career debut on 29 July, and was dismissed on 18 February 2017 with his team in last.^[6]

Paris FC

Mercadal found another job in Ligue 2 in June 2017, being hired by Paris FC, who had been restored to the division after the administrative relegation of SC Bastia.^[7] He came 8th in his one season at the Stade Charléty, and was eliminated from the eighth round of the Coupe de France 3–2 at third-tier Entente SSG.^[8]

Caen

On 8 June 2018, Mercadal was announced as the manager of Ligue 1 side Stade Malherbe Caen on a three-year deal, with Paris FC being compensated for the last year of his contract.^[9] His top-flight debut on 12 August was a 3–0 loss at reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain FC.^[10] His team reached the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France via a 7–5 win at Bastia on 5 February 2019.^[11] He left by mutual consent on 25 May, after a 1–0 home loss to FC Girondins de Bordeaux on the final day and relegation to Ligue 2.^[12]

Cercle Brugge and Ligue 2 return

In July 2019, Mercadal was hired in the first foreign job of his career, at Cercle Brugge K.S.V. in the Belgian First Division A.^[13] He was fired on 7 October after losing nine of ten league games and losing 1–0 at home to fourth-tier R.U.S. Rebecquoise in the sixth round of the Belgian Cup.^[14]

On 16 May 2020, Mercadal returned to Dunkerque on a two-year contract, with the team newly promoted to Ligue 2.^[15] Having avoided the relegation play-off on goal difference in his one season back at the Stade Marcel-Tribut, he left by mutual consent.^[16]

Mercadal returned to work in Ligue 2 on 4 January 2022 at Quevilly-Rouen, signing an 18-month deal at the 11th-placed club.^[17] In May he received a four-match ban, of which two were suspended, for an obscene gesture on his return to Caen.^[18] He left for personal reasons at the end of the month.^[19]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 5 October 2019

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team	Nat	From	To	Record
Team	Nat	From	To	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Gap		1 July 2005	1 July 2008	104	42	38	24	150	110	+40	040.38
Dunkerque		3 June 2012	7 June 2016	155	73	45	37	227	142	+85	047.10
Tours		13 June 2016	18 February 2017	27	4	9	14	30	45	−15	014.81
Paris FC		21 June 2017	2 June 2018	42	17	14	11	51	41	+10	040.48
Caen		8 June 2018	25 May 2019	43	9	13	21	40	62	−22	020.93
Cercle Brugge		19 June 2019	7 October 2019	11	1	0	10	8	28	−20	009.09
Total				382	146	119	117	506	428	+78	038.22

References

^ Pruneta, Laurent (24 December 2017). "« Pour Fabien, le football est d'abord une aventure humaine »" ["For Fabien, football is first of all a human adventure]. Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Jacquin, Alexandre (6 October 2018). "OM-Caen - Mercadal : d'entraîneur de Gap au banc du stade Malherbe" [OM-Caen - Mercadal: from manager of Gap to the Stade Malherbe bench]. La Provence (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Brigand, Maxime; Lefèvre, Florian (26 January 2018). "Fabien Mercadal : « C'est important de se cultiver, de ne pas être con »" [Fabien Mercadal: "It's important to cultivate yourself and to not be a fool"]. So Foot (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "Une si longue attente" [Such a long wait]. Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace (in French). 19 September 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Louvel, Xavier (29 June 2016). "Fabien Mercadal, officiellement entraîneur du Tours FC" [Fabien Mercadal, officially manager of Tours FC] (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Mazure, Laurent (18 February 2017). "Officiel : Fabien Mercadal remercié au Tours FC" [Official: Fabien Mercadal dismissed by Tours FC] (in French). Ma Ligue 2. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Frémin, Cyril (21 June 2017). "Fabien Mercadal rebondit au Paris FC" [Fabien Mercadal rebounds at Paris FC] (in French). Delta FM. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Pruneta, Laurent (8 December 2017). "Football, Ligue 2: Le Paris FC veut finir en beauté contre Lens" [Football, Ligue 2: Paris FC want to finish in beauty against Lens]. Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Canivenc, Clovis (8 June 2018). "Officiel : Fabien Mercadal quitte le Paris FC et rejoint Caen" [Official: Fabien Mercadal leaves Paris FC and joins Caen] (in French). Ma Ligue 2. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "PSG claim opening day win but Thomas Tuchel warns there's plenty more to come from reigning Ligue 1 champions". The Independent. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Saint-Marc, Jean (6 February 2019). "VIDEO. Bastia-Caen: Le volcan Furiani s'est-il apaisé? Il est toujours chaud mais on y est «bien reçu»" [VIDEO. Bastia-Caen: Has the Furiani volcano subsided? It is always hot but we are “well received” there]. 20 minutes (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "Caen : Mercadal quitte le club, Courbis pourrait rester" [Caen: Mercadal leaves the club, Courbis could stay] (in French). Foot National. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "Mercadal : « Je suis heureux d'avoir quitté la France »" [Mercadal: "I'm happy to have left France"]. So Foot (in French). 28 July 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Lizin, Cédric (7 October 2019). "Le Cercle de Bruges se sépare de son entraîneur Fabien Mercadal" [Cercle Brugge separate from their manager Fabien Mercadal] (in French). RTBF. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "Dunkerque : Fabien Mercadal nommé entraîneur" [Dunkerque: Fabien Mercadal named manager]. L'Équipe (in French). 16 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ Bijotat, Arthur (31 May 2021). "Ligue 2 : Fabien Mercadal et Dunkerque se séparent, Romain Revelli nouveau coach" [Ligue 2: Fabien Mercadal and Dunkerque go separate ways, Romain Revelli new coach]. La Voix du Nord (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "Fabien Mercadal succède à Bruno Irles comme entraîneur de Quevilly-Rouen (L2)" [Fabien Mercadal succeeds Bruno Irles as manager of Quevilly-Rouen (L2)]. L'Équipe (in French). 4 January 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ "Commission de discipline : deux matches ferme pour Thiago Mendes et Fabien Mercadal" [Discipline Commission: two-game suspensions for Thiago Mendes and Fabien Mercadal]. L'Équipe (in French). 11 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
^ de Souza, Bradley (30 May 2022). "Ligue 2 : Fabien Mercadal l'entraîneur de QRM quitte le club" [Ligue 2: Fabien Mercadal manager of QRM leaves the club] (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 8 May 2023.