Racing Levallois 92

Racing Club de France – Levallois 92 (French pronunciation: [ʁasiŋ klœb də fʁɑ̃s]; also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Racing Club, or simply Racing) is a French association football club formerly based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. In 2009, the club moved to nearby Levallois-Perret after the club reached a financial agreement with the commune. Racing was founded in 1882 as a sports club and is one of the oldest clubs in French football history. The team currently plays in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth level of French football. Racing is managed by former football player Azzedine Meguellatti and hosts its home matches at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in nearby Colombes.^[1][2]

Racing Club de France was founded in 1882 and has a rich history, despite the club's current status as an amateur club. Racing was one of the founding members of the French Division 1 and is one of the most successful clubs in French football history. However, despite the moniker, Racing has only won one Ligue 1 title, which came during the infancy of the league in the 1935–36 season. The club has also won five Coupe de France titles, which is tied for fourth-best among clubs. Racing also played in the USFSA-sanctioned league, which was France's first-ever league championship. Racing made its debut in the league in 1899 and won the league in 1907 having previously finished as runner-up in 1902 and 1903.

Racing have unearthed several talented players during its early existence. Notably players who played at the club include Roger Marche, Enzo Francescoli, Oscar Heisserer, Thadée Cisowski, and Raoul Diagne, among others. Diagne spent a decade with the club from 1930–1940 and, in 1931, became the first black player to play in the French national team. He later played on the team at the 1938 FIFA World Cup alongside Abdelkader Ben Bouali, his Racing teammate, who was one of the first players of North African descent to play for the national team.

History

Racing Club de France is a historic team of French football, however, with a complicated history. During the 1900 Summer Olympics, the club hosted the athletic events at Croix-Catelan Stadium, which was the club's previous home.^[3] Racing's days at its zenith were in the 1930s and 40s, when the club won the Division 1 in 1936, and the Coupe de France in 1936, 1939, 1940, 1945 and 1949. The club was also successful at the beginning of the 1960s, finishing runner-up of the first division in 1961 and 1962. However, midway through the decade, Racing became a significant focal point of the financial crisis that affected French football. The club's financial struggles resulted in its relegation to the lower divisions.

Racing was bought in the 1980s by French businessman Jean-Luc Lagardère who wanted to build a team of stars, however the purchase and notion turned out to be a failure and Lagardère sold the team shortly after. Since its relegation to the amateur levels, Racing is still seeking financial resources to develop the club. In December 2008, Georgios Kintis sought to buy the club, but failed to reach an agreement.^[4] Ahead of the 2009–10 season, the club reached a financial agreement with the city of Levallois. The club's association and support from the commune resulted in Racing changing its name to Racing Club de France Levallois 92.^[5]

However, despite assistance from Levallois, in July 2010, Racing was administratively relegated to the Championnat de France amateur 2 by the DNCG after it was determined that the club had a €500,000 financial debt. On 21 November 2010, Racing Levallois and UJA Alfortville announced plans to merge together, starting next season. However, the merger is dependent on Alfortville maintaining its spot in the Championnat National.^[6]

Players

Current squad

As of 29 December 2010.^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Racing in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1882. 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 RCF Paris players, see Category:RCF Paris players.

Club officials

Racing Club de France Football

• Association President: Jean-Michel Jaquot
• President (SASP): Bruno Texier and Denis Marsault
• Vice-President: Dominique La Maout
• Honorary Vice-President: Jacky Barreau
• Treasurer: Olivier Amsallem
• General Secretary: Alain Lemoine
• Directors: Jacky Barreau, Jean-Louis Brost, François Drape, Daniel Jacquet, Romain Jacquet, Bruno Texier

Coaching and medical staff

• Manager: Azzedine Meguellatti
• Assistant manager: Vincent Bordot, José Freitas, Robert Leveque
• Goalkeeping coach: Hassan Aït-Tighjdine
• Fitness coach: Jean Moussour
• Reserve team manager: Vincent Bordot, Djiby Badianne

Academy coaching staff

• Under 17s, 19s Technical Coordinator: Alain Lemoine
• Under 19s head coach: Ali Tabti, Corentin Bataille, Oualid Khenfri
• Under 17s head coach: Didier Tardiveau, Daniel Jacquet, Alain Lemoine
• Under 12s–15s Technical Coordinator: Robert Hadmar
• Under 15s head coach: Olivier Alberola, Manuel Rocha, Samuel Abokunwa
• Under 14s head coach: Grégory Scacchi
• Under 13s head coach: Didier Jousse, Teggy Trebiliphe, Silver Maga
• Under 12s head coach: Amine Dancourt, Malik Faradji, Job Phil Bellebcir, Remi Marsal
• Under 7s–11s Technical Coordinator: Alexander Gavache
• Under 11s head coach: Zahir Sadi, Gérémy Guicheron, Sébastien Colle, Guy Grognet
• Under 10s head coach: Joël Rachel, Abdelkader Boudour, Yohan Cairo, Farid Cherifi
• Under 9s head coach: Vincent Negrier
• Under 8s head coach: Frédéric Hedouin
• Under 7s head coach: Jean-François Robin, Abdelkader Boudour, Emmanuel Mahe, Yves Morin, Christophe Dedouche, Carlos Lopes,
  Claude Ekoka, Badr Belamine, Himed Redgil, Christian Gasrel, Kais Zouaoui, Faycel Oukhemanou, Nicolas Moreau
• Director of goalkeeping training: Hervé Charenton, Claude Million, Robert Hadmar, Réda Taberhinas, Zakaria Labidi

Managers

Honours

League

• Ligue 1
  • Champions (1): 1936
• Ligue 2
  • Champions (1): 1986
• Championnat de France amateur
  • Winners (1): 2004 (Group D)
• Championnat de France amateur 2
  • Winners (1): 2007 (Group F)
• Division d'Honneur (Paris Île-de-France)
  • Champions (1): 1973

Cup

• Coupe de France
  • Champions (5): 1936, 1939, 1940, 1945, 1949
  • Runners-Up (3): 1930, 1950, 1990
• Coupe Gambardella
  • Champions (2): 1959, 1987

Other

• USFSA Championnat
  • Champions (1): 1907
• USFSA Paris Championnat
  • Champions (6): 1902, 1903, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1919
• FFFA Ligue de Paris
  • Champions (2): 1931, 1932
• Coupe Dewar
  • Champions (4): 1905, 1906, 1907, 1912
  • Runners-Up (1): 1901

References

External links

• Official site (French)