Ernest Clère
{{Short description|French footballer (1897–1967)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Ernest Clère
| image = Ernest Clere.jpg
| upright =
| caption =
| full_name = Ernest Victor Clère
| birth_date = {{birth date|1897|01|22|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Brassy, Nièvre, France
| death_date = {{death date and age|1967|03|05|1897|01|22|df=yes}}
| death_place = Suresnes, Paris France
| position = Midfielder
| youthyears1 = |youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 1918–1920 | clubs1 = Olympique de Pantin | caps1 = | goals1 =
| years2 = 1920–1921 | clubs2 = Clichy Olympique | caps2 = | goals2 =
| years3 = 1921–1925 | clubs3 = Olympique de Pantin | caps3 = | goals3 =
| years4 = 1925–1928 | clubs4 = Olympique de Marseille | caps4 = | goals4 =
| years5 = 1928–1929 | clubs5 = FEC Levallois | caps5 = | goals5 =
| years6 = 1929–1931 | clubs6 = CASG Marseille | caps6 = | goals6 =
| years7 = 1931–1934 | clubs7 = Olympique de Marseille
(reserve) | caps7 = | goals7 =
| nationalyears1 = 1924
| nationalteam1 = France
| nationalcaps1 = 1
| nationalgoals1 = 0
}}
Ernest Victor Clère (22 January 1897 – 3 May 1967) was a French footballer who played as a midfielder for Olympique de Pantin, Olympique de Marseille, and the French national team in the 1920s.{{cite web |url=https://om1899.com/joueurs.php?id=272 |title=Ernest CLERE dit "Nénesse" |trans-title=Ernest CLERE known as "Nénesse" |website=om1899.com |access-date=19 December 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/ernest-clere/ |title=Ernest Clere |website=www.worldfootball.net |access-date=19 December 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=3684 |title=Ernest Clere, international footballer |website=eu-football.info |access-date=19 December 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.fff.fr/equipe-nationale/joueur/7895-clere-ernest/fiche.html |title=Ernest Clere |language=fr |website=www.fff.fr |access-date=19 December 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/51720/Ernest_Clere.html |title=Ernest Clere (Player) |website=www.national-football-teams.com |access-date=19 December 2024}}
Biography
File:L'Olympique de Marseille en mars 1926.jpg
Born in Brassy, Nièvre, on 22 January 1897,{{efn|Some sources wrongly state that he was born on 13 December 1901.{{cite web |url=https://www.ohaime-passion.com/joueurs/fiche-319-ernest-clere.html |title=Ernest Clère - Fiche de l'ancien joueur de l'OM |trans-title=Ernest Clère - Profile of the former OM player |language=fr |website=www.ohaime-passion.com |access-date=19 December 2024}}}} Clère received the War Crosses of both 1914–1918 and 1939–1945, and later a Knight of the Legion of Honour.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} When the First World War ended in 1918, the 21-year-old Clère began his football career at Olympique de Pantin (currently known as Olympique de Paris), and after a short stint at Clichy Olympique, he returned to Pantin. He stayed loyal to this club for four years, from 1921 to 1925, when Olympique de Marseille signed him.
On 23 March 1924, the 27-year-old Clère earned his first (and only) international cap for France in a friendly match against Switzerland at Geneve, which ended in a 3–0 loss.
Together with Edouard Crut, Jean Boyer, and Jules Dewaquez, he was a member of the OM team coached by Victor Gibson that won back-to-back Coupe de France titles in 1926 and 1927, the latter as the team's captain.{{cite web |url=https://www.pari-et-gagne.com/equipe/equipe-marseille.html |title=Grandes Equipes del Olympique Marseille |trans-title=Great teams of Olympique Marseille |language=fr |website=www.pari-et-gagne.com |access-date=19 December 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.om4ever.com/CoupeFrance/1920/Coupe1925-1926.html |title=Saison 1925-1926 OM Vainqueur |trans-title=1925-1926 Season OM Winner |language=fr |website=www.om4ever.com |access-date=19 December 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.om4ever.com/CoupeFrance/1920/Coupe1926-1927.html |title=Saison 1926-1927 OM Vainqueur |trans-title=1926-1927 Season OM Winner |language=fr |website=www.om4ever.com |access-date=19 December 2024}} In the semifinals of the 1926 edition, OM defeated Stade Français 5–0, but the local press stated that "Clère, whose main quality was to mow down his opponents in any position, was immediately asked to stop his game" by the firm refereeing of Mr. Jones.{{cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k97881899/f208.image.r=clere.zoom |title=L'Olympique de Marseille bat le Stade Français a Lyon et s'avère de nouveau grand favori de la Coupe de France |trans-title=Olympique de Marseille beat Stade Français in Lyon and once again become big favourites for the Coupe de France |language=fr |website=gallica.bnf.fr |publisher=Le Miroir des sports |page=208 |date=31 March 1926 |access-date=19 December 2024}} He stayed at OM for four years, from 1925 to 1929, having scored a total of 3 goals in 13 cup matches.
File:Ernest Clere Capitaine OM.jpg, President of France, greeting the OM footballers, and Clère, OM's captain, in the background (1927).]]
Clère played his last seasons of football at FEC Levallois (1928–29), {{ill|Club athlétique de la Société générale de Marseille|fr|lt=CASG Marseille}} (1929–31), and finally the reserve team of Olympique de Marseille from 1931 to 1934, when he retired at the age of 37.
Clère died in Suresnes on 3 May 1967, at the age of 70.
Honours
Marseille
Notes
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clère, Ernest}}
Category:Footballers from Nièvre
Category:French men's footballers
Category:France men's international footballers
Category:Olympique de Marseille players
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:20th-century French sportsmen