RC Lens
| RC Lens | ||||
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| Basic data | ||||
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| Surname | Racing Club de Lens | |||
| Seat | Lens , Pas-de-Calais | |||
| founding | 1906 | |||
| Colours | Red Yellow | |||
| president | Joseph Oughourlian | |||
| Website | rclens.fr | |||
| First soccer team | ||||
| Head coach | Franck Haise | |||
| Venue | Stade Bollaert-Delelis | |||
| Places | 38,223 | |||
| league | Ligue 1 | |||
| 2019/20 | 2nd place, Ligue 2 | |||
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The Racing Club de Lens is a French football club from the northern French city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department . The greatest success in the club's history so far was achieved in 1998 by winning the championship.
The club colors are red and yellow. Fans and the press refer to them as "blood and gold" ( French: Sang et Or ). The team plays their games at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis . Since 2018 club president and successor to long-time incumbent Gervais Martel is Joseph Oughourlian, a fund manager . The league team has been training Franck Haise , who replaced Philippe Montanier , since the beginning of 2020 . Lens has played in Ligue 2 since relegation in 2015, but managed to get promoted again in the 2019/20 season .
history
The first years
The origin of the club goes back to 1905 when students in Lens started playing football on the "Place Verte". The club was founded just a year later. The name Racing Club Lens was chosen based on the historic Racing Club de France when it was founded . The club is known today for its red and yellow jerseys. The first jerseys, however, had the colors green and black, based on the mining industry, from which the whole region lived and whose history is closely allied with the club. Until around the turn of the 20th to the 21st century - and thus well beyond the end of coal mining - racing was considered the French “ buddies' club ”; the French use the term "Gueules noires" ("black eaters"), which has no negative connotations. The club, supporters, city fathers and the media have long spread this image. In fact, however, it was more the club of the local Lens-Lievin mining company: members of the management steered and financed the club for decades, built the stadium on the company's premises and employed a large proportion of the players until the 1960s - for whom a move up in the Professional roster often meant a change from underground to surface employment - and they also supported Racing's official fan club, Les Sang et Or . During the First World War the game was stopped. In 1919 this was then resumed, where the club colors were changed for the first time. The green and black have been replaced by sky blue jerseys.
Blood and gold
These colors were then changed a second time in 1924. From now on and until today, the club appeared in red and yellow. Legend has it that the colors were chosen by the then President Moglia (1923–1930) based on the colors of the Spanish flag. Here, too, a connection to mining can be made, as it is further claimed that the red for the blood in the mining and the yellow for the gold. The club motto, which the club still proudly lives today, was born. On a sporting level, the first notable success was achieved in 1929, when the northern French championship was won for the first time. Nevertheless, Lens was not one of the founding clubs of Division 1, which was founded in 1932 . Another milestone was the construction of the Stade Félix-Bollaert , where the club still plays its home games today.
First years in professional football
In the first division Lens played for the first time in 1937. In the fight for promotion they managed to leave the US Valenciennes and AS Saint-Etienne behind. The first season you finished in 14th place, the second season you could even finish in seventh place. With the beginning of the Second World War , French football also suffered a major break. Due to the German occupation, it was no longer possible to hold a national championship. Therefore, the zone championship was held between 1939/40 and 1944/45. The championship title was not officially played, but the zone championship was won four times in a row between 1941 and 1944. In addition, the Racing Club managed to reach the semi-finals of the Coupe de France for the first time in 1940 . However, the game against Olympique Marseille was clearly lost 9-1. In the first season after the Second World War, the 6th place achieved the best result in Division 1 history at that time. The big disappointment followed, however, in the 1947 season , where at the end of the season you had to accept relegation to the 2nd division as 17th. After ten years in professional football, the club was only second rate. In the first season in the lower house, the promotion failed quite clearly with eighth place at the end of the season. However, “Les Sang et Or” caused a sensation in the cup. The second division managed to cause a surprise in the first round with a 3-0 win over the first division AS Saint-Etienne. After further victories against AS Bayeux, Stade Rennes and Stade Français , Lens was in the cup final for the first time in the club's history and was close to winning its first important title. In the final there was a clash with arch rivals OSC Lille . Lille was one of the best teams in France at the time and won the final 3-2. In 1949 he returned to Division 1 with 1st place in the 2nd division after two years of abstinence.
Establishment in professional football
The first years after returning were marked by relegation battle. Lens played for three years downstairs in the basement, sometimes only barely able to keep the class and prevent another relegation. The most successful period began in 1955 with 3rd place. This was even surpassed in the two following years when Lens was runner-up in each case. In 1957 it was particularly close when at the end of the season only one point was missing from OGC Nice to win the first championship title. In 1958, the successful previous years could not be repeated and the season ended in eleventh place. However, they caused a sensation again in the cup, where they reached the semi-finals and were only thrown out against Stade Reims . The following years were marked by many ups and downs. Lens shuttled mostly between midfield and relegation battle, but with the exception of 3rd place in 1964 could no longer build on the successes of the 50s. This was followed by relegation in the 1968 season, after 20 years the club was only second class again.
The difficult 70s and 80s
The sporting descent of the club was closely linked to the end of the coal era. Due to the financial problems one could not establish oneself in the top group. After relegation, the first season in Division 2 was finished in seventh place. Nevertheless, Lens rose in the end, because the club should start a rebuilding as an amateur club due to the financial difficulties. After two relegations in a row, Lens started in 1970 only in the third-class amateur league, where the rebuilding should start. However, it remained in one season, as the fourth succeeded in direct promotion to Division 2 and the return to professional football. In Division 2, Lens played a good role right from the start and was third and narrowly missed promotion twice. In 1972, as a second division team, they caused a sensation again in the cup, where they only narrowly failed in the semi-finals against the first division club SC Bastia . The first leg was still clearly lost 3-0, but in the second leg they had a big fight and managed to almost equalize the result from the away game with a 2-0 win. In 1973, after five years in the 2nd and 3rd league, with 1st place, the longed-for return to the upper house of French football. Unlike after the last promotion to Division 1, this time Lens managed to play a good role from the start. The first season ended in tenth place, but the second season was already in a strong seventh place. To top it off, they made it into the French Cup final for the second time. 27 years after losing to Lille, however, Saint-Etienne was also beaten. In the end it was 0-2. However, since ASSE was already able to qualify as champions for the European Cup , Lens inherited the place for the European Cup Winners' Cup . In the 1976 season they played internationally for the first time. In the first round, the Irish representative Home Farm was drawn. After a 1: 1 in the away game at home with a 6: 0 win, they confidently made it into the next round. In the round of 16 it was against the Dutch representative ADO Den Haag , where both games were narrowly lost. In 1976, Lens played against relegation for a long time, then managed to play a very strong season again in 1977 and win the runner-up for the third time in the club's history. In the end, FC Nantes were missing nine points for the title . The deep fall came just a year later. As runner-up, Lens was entitled to compete in the UEFA Cup for the first time , where they failed in the round of 16 at 1. FC Magdeburg after some furious victories over Malmö FF and Lazio Rome . More disappointing was the performance in the championship, where you started as runner-up in the end because of the worse goal difference compared to Olympique Lyon and had to go into Division 2 for the third time in 18th place. The relegation was straightened out again in the first season as the second with the direct re-promotion. In 1981 Lens failed again in the semi-finals of the Cup. In 1983 they qualified again for the UEFA Cup as fourth in Division 1. After two Belgian representatives had already been eliminated, they failed in the round of 16 at RSC Anderlecht . Also in 1986 they managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup, but failed in the first round at Dundee United .
Deep fall and golden era
In 1988 the descent could only just be prevented as 17th. Meanwhile, Gervois Martel, who pulled the strings of the association for the next few decades, became the new president. In his first season, however, he did not manage to prevent relegation from Ligue 1, so Lens was again only second class. This time, the direct return failed, in the second season, however, second place was enough to celebrate the return to Ligue 1. The most successful years began with the first important title win in the club's history. In the Coupe de la Ligue , the RC managed to make it through to the final, where the title was celebrated against FC Metz. In 1995 they managed to return to the European Cup as fifth, in the UEFA Cup they failed in the 1996 round of 16 against Slavia Prague . At the same time they repeated the 5th place in the previous year and qualified again for the UEFA Cup, but where they failed in the 1st round to Lazio. After the 1997 season ended only in 13th place and the European Cup was so missed, the most successful season in the club's history began. Because of the better goal difference compared to FC Metz , they finally won their first championship title in 1998 . They also caused a sensation in the cup competitions. In the Coupe de France the final was reached for the third time, but as in the two previous finals, Lens could not win the final. In the end, Paris Saint-Germain was a size too big, Lens lost 2-1. Also in the league cup they showed strong performances again, failed in the semi-finals. Despite the strong performances in the season, no player made it into the squad of the French national team, which won the world championship at the 1998 tournament in their own country.
The RC Lens championship team
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Years as a top club
As French champions, Lens was eligible to play in the UEFA Champions League in the 1998/99 season . For the first time, the club was represented in the most important European club competition. At the beginning there was a 1-1 draw against Arsenal . After one win and one defeat against Panathinaikos Athens , a 1-1 win against Dynamo Kiev and a 1-0 win against Arsenal, Lens had the chance to reach the quarter-finals with a 0-0 win against the Ukrainians on the last day of the match. However, the game was lost 3-1 - Lens was eliminated as second in the group. Nationally one could not build on the previous season and ended the season in sixth place. In the league cup they caused a sensation again, won the title for the second time and qualified for the UEFA Cup. The 2000 season should be the best international season in the club's history so far. The team fought their way to the semi-finals, but then failed after two defeats at Arsenal. The dream of the final was over. In 2001 they played again for a long time against relegation, but managed to stay up and soon showed better football again. In 2002 Lens played to win the second championship in the club's history and went into the direct duel with Olympique Lyon on the last day of the match as leaders of the table with one point ahead. Since fate called for a direct duel, Lens would have already had enough a draw on that day to become champions again. It was not enough, however, Lyon won the home game 3-1 and so it was only enough for Lens again for the runner-up championship. As a runner-up, however, they managed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League a second time, where they finished third in a group with AC Milan , FC Bayern Munich and Deportivo La Coruña . In the UEFA Cup they then failed with a total of 3-1 goals against the eventual winner, FC Porto . In the following years, Lens played regularly in the top flight and qualified for the UEFA Cup, where it went no further than the last sixteen in 2007. However, this season ended in a bitter way when on the last day of the match 3rd place was lost due to a defeat at the already relegated ES Troyes AC , which qualified for the Champions League qualification.
Years as an elevator crew
The 2007/08 season was ultimately an absolute disaster. The team was initially trained by legendary coach Guy Roux , who soon had to resign for health reasons. From a sporting point of view, things didn't go according to plan at all, with the UEFA Cup losing out in the first round against FC Copenhagen , the last appearance in the European Cup to this day. In the French League Cup, there was another sensation, Lens was in the final for the third time, but lost 2-1 with a goal in stoppage time against Paris Saint-Germain and thus suffered the first defeat in the third participation in the final. On May 17, after a 2-2 draw against runners-up Girondins Bordeaux, despite having scored 40 points after 18 years in Ligue 1 , the club had to return to the second division. Today the RCL belongs to the President Gervais Martel, who held this position from 1988 to 2012, and the large Azerbaijani entrepreneur Hafiz Məmmədov or his Baghlan Group , which also owns FK Baku and who made significant investments in Atlético Madrid and FC Porto . These two bought back the association's shares from Crédit Agricole in mid-2013 . Under the new owner, after two years in midfield of the 2nd division, the longed-for promotion to Ligue 1 succeeded in May 2014. The promotion was achieved in terms of sport, but financially it was long unclear whether Lens could also compete in Ligue 1. A sporting decision on this was delayed until shortly before the start of the season due to the discovery of financial inconsistencies. In the end, no transfers were allowed to be made, so that the promotion squad filled with youth players should bring relegation. The company failed, four game days before the end of the season, the next relegation to Ligue 2 was certain. After the first two French leagues were canceled on April 30, 2020 due to the corona pandemic and the point quotient was selected as the benchmark, the return to Ligue 1 was clear.
League affiliation and achievements
In the top division ( Division 1 , renamed Ligue 1 in 2002 ) Lens 1937–1943, 1944–1947, 1949–1968, 1973–1978, 1979–1989, 1991–2008 and 2009–2011 and 2014/15 were represented. The RCL is currently playing in Ligue 2 .
- French champion : 1998
- French cup finalist : 1948 , 1975 , 1998
- League cup winners : 1994, 1999 (and finalist 2008)
- Coupe Drago winners : 1959, 1960, 1965
- European Cups: UI Cup Winner 2005
The north derby
The games of Racing Lens against their neighbors Lille OSC , which was only about 25 km away and merged in 1944, are the oldest and most renowned French local derby since the introduction of professional football. From 1945 up to and including the 2014/15 season it was held 110 times. Until the decline of the two old industries in the late 1960s, it was also a symbol of the social discrepancies between the mining-proletarian Lens and the textile-industrial-bourgeois Lille .
Ten of the 110 encounters were cup games (once in the league and nine times in the national cup), including the "Ch'tis final" for the Coupe de France 1947/48 , to which around 25,000 fans of the two clubs in the Stade Olympique Yves-du -Manoir had come. The 100 derbies, in which it was all about points, always took place in the top division, with the exception of eight games. Lens has had 34 wins and as many duels have ended in a draw; The RCL was left behind the LOSC 42 times. After all, Racing managed the highest victory of this northern derby (7-0 in the third division, May 1970), and Lens also kept the points in the highest-scoring clash (5-3 in Division 1, December 1979). (As of October 2016)
Current squad 2019/20
Status: February 15, 2020
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Essential players for the club in the past
Trainer
The coaches of the RC Lens since 1934 were:
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Women's soccer
Racing has only had its own women's department since the 2020/21 season, after a fusion absorption with Arras FCF, i.e. a mixture of equal merger and the takeover of the small club by the big one. At this point, Lens took over the second division starting right from Arras. The first trainer of a red-yellow women's team is the experienced Sarah M'Barek .
literature
- Thierry Berthou / Collectif: Dictionnaire historique des clubs de football français. Pages de Foot, Créteil 1999 - Volume 1 (A-Mo), ISBN 2-913146-01-5 , Volume 2 (Mu-W), ISBN 2-913146-02-3
- Marion Fontaine: Le Racing Club de Lens et les "Gueules Noires". Essai d'histoire sociale. Les Indes savantes, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-84654-248-7
Web links
- Official website (French)
- Informative website (French)
Notes and evidence
- ^ "Mammadov - VRP grand luxe" in France Football of July 9, 2013, p. 48
- ↑ see the message from May 2013 at France Football
- ↑ LFP consensus in Ligue 1 & Ligue 2: PSG champions, Amiens and Toulouse relegate. Accessed April 30, 2020 .
- ↑ This chapter is based on Jean-Baptiste Allouard / Olivier Brochart: Histoire des derbys Lens - Lille. Les Lumières de Lille Éds., Lille 2012, ISBN 978-2-919111-01-5
- ↑ Marion Fontaine (p. 127ff.), However, relegated this view to the area of legend.
- ↑ France Football, May 6, 2014, p. 64
- ↑ Squad season 2019/20. RC Lens, accessed December 20, 2019 (French).
- ↑ Article “ Arras FCF will merge with RC Lens in 2020 ” from April 3, 2019 at footofeminin.fr