Georges Mérignac

Georges Mérignac (10 July 1921 – 30 October 1992) was a New Caledonian footballer who played as a central-defender.

Early life
Born in Poya, New Caledonia, to a Melanesian mother and European father, Mérignac spent his childhood between Poya and Nouméa, where he took an interest in tennis, boxing, athletics and football. He worked as a farmer during his time on the islands.

Club career
Having played football in his native New Caledonia with Indépendante de Nouméa, Mérignac enlisted in the Free French Forces in September 1941, and took part in the Battle of Bir Hakeim in Libya the following year. It was here that he met René Gallice, who had played for French side Bordeaux before the war. Following the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945, Gallice suggested to Bordeaux's coaches, who were looking for a new central-defender, that they sign Mérignac, and the New Caledonian joined the club the following year.

Despite being relegated in his first season with the club, he spent two seasons in the French Division 2, before returning to the French Division 1 for the 1949–50 season, in which Bordeaux won the title. In the same season, he featured in the Latin Cup, where Bordeaux lost in the final to Portuguese side Benfica after an extra-time replay loss following a draw in the first game. He retired in 1953.

International career
Mérignac represented the New Caledonia national football team in 1939.

Coaching career
Following his retirement and return to New Caledonia, he managed the national football team.

Death
Mérignac died in October 1992. In 2007, a sports complex in Tina-sur-Mer in the capital of New Caledonia, Nouméa, was named in his honour.

Club

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