| Full name | Association Sportive Saint-Étienne Loire |
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| Nickname(s) | Les Verts (The Greens), Stéphanois, ASSE | ||
| Founded | 1919 | ||
| Ground | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint Étienne (Capacity: 35,616[1]) |
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| Chairman | Bernard Caiazzo Roland Romeyer |
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| Manager | Christophe Galtier | ||
| League | Ligue 1 | ||
| 2010–11 | 10th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (French pronunciation: [asɔsjasjɔ̃ spɔrtɪv də sɛ̃t‿etjɛn lwaʁ]; commonly known as AS Saint-Étienne, ASSE, or simply Saint-Étienne) is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city. The team is managed by Christophe Galtier and captained by Loïc Perrin, who started his career at the club in 1996.[2]
Saint-Étienne is, arguably, the most successful club in French football history having won ten Ligue 1 titles, six Coupe de France titles, and five Trophée des champions. The club's ten league titles is the most professional league titles won by a French club, while the six cup victories places the club third among most Coupe de France titles. Saint-Étienne has also won the second division on three occasions. The club achieved most of its honours in the 1960s and 70s when the club was led by managers Jean Snella, Albert Batteux, and Robert Herbin. Saint-Étienne's primary rivals are Olympique Lyonnais, who are based in nearby Lyon. The two teams annually contest the Derby du Rhône. In 2009, the club added a female section to the football club.
Saint-Étienne have produced several notable players, mostly during its dynastic run in the 1960s and 70s, who have gone on to have coaching careers domestically and internationally. The club unearthed players and managers such as Aimé Jacquet, Jacques Santini, Laurent Blanc, and Michel Platini. Each player went on to have a managerial stint with the France national team. Jacquet coached the team to victory at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, while Santini won the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. Blanc is the current manager of the national team.
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AS Saint-Étienne was founded in 1919 by employees of the Saint-Étienne-based grocery store chain Groupe Casino under the name Amicale des Employés de la Société des Magasins Casino (ASC). The club adopted green as its primary color mainly due to it being the principle color of Casino. In 1920, due to the French Football Federation prohibiting the use of trademarks in sports club, the club dropped Casino from its name and changed its name to simply Amical Sporting Club in order to retain the ASC acronym. In 1927, Pierre Guichard took over as president of the club and, after merging with local club Stade Forézien Universitaire, changed its name to Association sportive Stéphanoise.
In July 1930, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. In 1933, Stéphanoise turned professional and changed its name to its current version. The club was inserted into the second division and became inaugural members of the league after finishing runner-up in the South Group. Saint-Étienne remained in Division 2 for four more seasons before earning promotion to Division 1 for the 1938–39 season under the leadership of the Scot William Duckworth. The team's debut appearance in the first division was, however, short-lived due to the onset of World War II. Saint-Étienne returned to the first division after the war under the Austrian-born Frenchman Ignace Tax and surprise many by finishing runner-up to Lille in the first season after the war. The club failed to improve upon that finish in following seasons under Tax and, ahead of the 1950–51 season, was let go and replaced by former Saint-Étienne player Jean Snella.
Under Snella, Saint-Étienne achieved its first honour after winning the Coupe Charles Drago in 1955. Two seasons later, the club won its first domestic league title. Led by goalkeeper Claude Abbes, defender Robert Herbin, as well as midfielders René Ferrier and Kees Rijvers, and striker Georges Peyroche, Saint-Étienne won the league by four points over Lens. In 1958, Saint-Étienne won the Coupe Drago for the second time. After the following season, in which the club finished 6th, Snella departed the club. He was replaced by René Vernier. In the team's first season under Vernier, Saint-Étienne finished 12th, the club's worst finish since finishing 11th eight seasons ago. In the following season, François Wicart joined the coaching staff. In 1961, Roger Rocher became president of the club and quickly became one of the club's chief investors. After two seasons under Wicart, Saint-Étienne were relegated after finishing 17th in the 1961–62 season. Wicart did, however, lead the club to its first Coupe de France title in 1962, alongside co-manager Henri Guérin with the team defeating FC Nancy 1–0 in the final. He also led the club back to Division 1 after one season in the second division, but after the season, Wicart was replaced by Snella, who returned as manager after a successful stint in Switzerland with Servette.
Snella's first season back, Saint-Étienne won its second league title and, two seasons later, captured its third. Snella's third and final title with the club coincided with the arrival of Georges Bereta, Bernard Bosquier, Gérard Farison, and Hervé Revelli to the team. After the season, Snella returned to Servette and former Stade Reims manager Albert Batteux replaced him. In Batteux's first season in 1967, Saint-Étienne captured the double after winning the league and the Coupe de France. In the next season, Batteux won the league and, in the ensuing season, won the double again. The club's fast rise into French football led to a high-level of confidence from the club's ownership and supporters and, following two seasons without a trophy, Batteux was let go and replaced by former Saint-Étienne player Robert Herbin.
In Herbin's first season in charge, Saint-Étienne finished fourth in the league and reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France. In the next two seasons, the club won the double, its seventh and eighth career league title and its third and fourth Coupe de France title. In 1976, Saint-Étienne became the first French club since Reims in 1959 to reach the final of the European Cup. In the match, played at Hampden Park in Scotland, Saint-Étienne faced German club Bayern Munich. The match was hotly contested with Saint-Étienne failing to score on numerous chances by Jacques Santini, Dominique Bathenay, and Osvaldo Piazza, among others. A single goal by Franz Roth eventually decided the outcome and Saint-Étienne supporters departed Scotland in tears; however, not without nicknaming the goalposts "les poteaux carrés" (English: the square posts). Saint-Étienne did earn a consolation prize by winning the league to cap off a successful season and, in the following season, the team won the Coupe de France. In 1981, Saint-Étienne, now led by Michel Platini, won its final meaningful title to date after winning the league for the tenth time. After two more seasons in charge, Herbin departed the club for rivals Lyon.
In 1982, a financial scandal involving a controversial slush fund led to the departure and eventual jailing of long-time president Roger Rocher. Saint-Étienne subsequently suffered a free-fall with the club suffering relegation in the 1983–84 season. The club returned to the first division in 1986 under the leadership of goalkeeper Jean Castaneda who had remained with the club, despite its current financial state. Saint-Étienne kept its place in the first division for nearly a decade with the club reaching the semi-finals of the Coupe de France in 1990 and 1993 during the stint. In 1996, Saint-Étienne was relegated to the second division and returned to Division 1 in 1999. In the 2000–01 season, the club was, amazingly, supervised by five different managers and had to deal with a scandal that involved two players (Brazilian Alex Dias and Ukrainian goalkeeper Maksym Levytsky) who utilized fake Portuguese and Greek passports. Both players were suspended for four months and, at the end of a judicial inquiry, which linked some of the club's management staff to the passport forgeries, Saint-Étienne was deducted seven league points and were, unsurprisingly, relegated.
Saint-Étienne played three seasons in the second division and returned to the first division, now called Ligue 1, for the 2004–05 season. The club's best finish during its current stint in the first division was a surprising 5th place finish in the 2007–08 season, which resulted in the club qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Saint-Étienne was influenced by several youngsters within the team such as Bafétimbi Gomis, Loïc Perrin, Blaise Matuidi, and Dimitri Payet. The heightened excitement by supporters was soon quelled after the club followed up its 5th place finish by concluded the next two seasons in 17th place.
As of 10 August 2011[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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As of 2. September 2011[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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88.188.163.124 (talk) 18:41, 17 December 2011 (UTC)=== Notable players === Below are the notable former and current players who have represented Saint-Étienne in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1919. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club.
For a complete list of AS Saint-Étienne players, see Category:AS Saint-Étienne players.
88.188.163.124 (talk) 18:43, 17 December 2011 (UTC)=== Notable players === Below are the notable former and current players who have represented Saint-Étienne in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1919. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club.
For a complete list of AS Saint-Étienne players, see Category:AS Saint-Étienne players.
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