Daniel Mercier

Playing career Mercier began his football career in late 1909, aged 17, playing as a defender for the Étoile club, one of the many Catholic clubs affiliated with the Gymnastic and Sports Federation of French Patronages (FGSPF), whose general secretary Charles Simon, was also the head of the Étoile club. Together with Henri Mouton, Henri Bellocq, Maurice Olivier, and Jean Ducret, he was a member of the Étoile team that faced the English Wanders in October 1910, which ended in a 12–0 loss.

Mercier was a combative and fiery player who often played on the volley, not only to clear, but also to shoot, executing both of these techniques powerfully, so much so, that the local press once stated that he "should play less hard". On his debut against the Belgians, the press stated that "the best full-back was undoubtedly Mercier, skillful and very fast". Two months later, in July 1910, he volunteered to military service for three years, but was nonetheless a substitute for France in a friendly against Luxembourg in October 1911.

Mercier was posthumously decorated with the Military Medal and the War Cross with bronze star.