Prominent French league goalscorer Jack Vergnes passes away
He began his career near his place of birth at Montpellier HSC before featuring at Red Star FC, Nîmes Olympique, SC Bastia, Stade de Reims, Stade Lavallois, RC Strasbourg Alsace and Girondins de Bordeaux.
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Vergnes ended his career where it all began at Montpellier before retiring in 1982. His original club announced the sad news of his passing on their X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday.
While he was a consistent goalscorer throughout his career in the French top flight, Vergnes only earned one selection for the French national team, with Georges Boulogne calling him for a match against Norway in 1971. He would find the back of the net on that occasion, helping Les Bleus claim a 3-1 triumph.
One of his most notable matches came at Bordeaux in December 1978, netting a quadruple at the Parc des Princes, enabling his side to defeat Paris Saint-Germain on their home field 5-2.
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While he never won a league title during his playing career, Vergnes was often effective and found the back of the net with plenty of regularity domestically.
In 328 top-flight matches played in France, Vergnes scored 153 times between 1968 and 1982, which is a scoring rate of 0.47. He's currently the 21st all-time leading goalscorer in Ligue 1, netting three fewer than former Ballon d'Or winner Jean-Pierre Papin. Vergnes was 76.
GFFN | Joel Lefevre
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