AS Monaco FC

Monaco
Full name Association Sportive de
Monaco Football Club
Nickname(s) Les Monégasques (The Monégasques)
Les Rouges et Blancs (The Red and Whites)
Short name ASM
Founded 23 August 1924 (1924-08-23)
Ground Stade Louis II
Ground Capacity 18,523
Owner Dmitry Rybolovlev (66.67%)
House of Grimaldi (33.33%)[1]
Chairman Dmitry Rybolovlev
Manager Leonardo Jardim
League Ligue 1
2016–17 Ligue 1, 1st
Website Club website
Departments of AS Monaco
Football
Basketball

Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (pronounced [ɑ ɛs mɔnako]) or simply Monaco, is a Monaco-based football club.[2] Founded in 1924 and competing in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, the team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II in Fontvieille. Monaco is managed by Leonardo Jardim and captained by Radamel Falcao.

Though based in Monaco, the club plays in the French football league system. Monaco is one of the most successful clubs in France, having won eight league titles and five Coupe de France trophies. The club has also competed in European football having been runners-up in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1992 and the UEFA Champions League in 2004.

The club's traditional colours are red and white, and the club is known as Les Rouges et Blancs (The Red and Whites). Monaco is a member of the European Club Association. In December 2011, two-thirds of the club was sold to an investment group led by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.[3] With Rybolovlev's financial backing, the club quickly returned to Ligue 1 and won the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season for the first time in 17 years.

History

Early history

AS Monaco FC was founded on 1 August 1919 as a unification of numerous local clubs based in France and the principality. Then, the multiple sports club of the Association Sportive de Monaco was founded on the 23rd August 1924. AS Monaco FC was then absorbed by the latter and became the football section of the enlarged Monegasque sporting club.[4]

The club's early years were spent in the amateur regional divisions of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, rising rapidly between the leagues in the 1920s. In 1933, Monaco were invited by the French Football Federation to turn professional. The Monégasques' first year of second division football ended in failure, however, as they were relegated to the amateur leagues the following year. By 1948, Monaco re-acquired its professional status and returned to the French second division; they subsequently consistently finished in its upper echelons, with this sustained effort resulting in promotion to the French first division for the first time in 1953.

Domestic successes (1960–1986)

Lucien Leduc guided Monaco to three league titles and two domestic cups

In 1960, Monaco coach Lucien Leduc led the club to its first professional trophy, the Coupe de France, beating Saint-Étienne 4–2 in extra time. This initial success was bettered in the following year with the club winning the French Championship for the first time in its history, qualifying for the European Cup. Leduc subsequently led the club to its first League and Cup Double in 1963. Upon Leduc's departure in 1963, Monaco endured a barren run, entrenched in the middle half of the league for the best part of the next decade and alternating between the first and second divisions after 1963. In 1975, Jean-Louis Campora, son of former president Charles Campora, became chairman of the club. In his second season, he brought back Leduc, who immediately won the club promotion to the first division and won them the championship the following year in 1978. Leduc subsequently left the club again in 1979, to be succeeded by Lucien Muller and Gérard Banide, both of whom were unable to halt the club's decline.

The early 1980s saw a steady stream of successes in national competitions. Monaco won a title almost every other year; the Coupe de France in 1980 and 1985, the French Championship in 1982, was Coupe de France finalist in 1984. In the 1985–86 season, Monaco hammered Bordeaux 9–0, one of the biggest wins in club history.[5]

Disappointingly for Monaco fans, the club could not translate its domestic leadership into European success. Up to this point, Monaco had never passed the first round of any European competition. Monaco lost to Dundee United (1981), CSKA Sofia twice (1982 and 1984) and Universitatea Craiova.[6]

1990s: Wenger and Tigana

Arsène Wenger led Monaco to the 1987–88 league title.
The former AS Monaco logo used until 2013.

In 1986, former Ajax manager Ștefan Kovács, who succeeded Rinus Michels and honed his Total Football ideals with the Dutch champions, came out of a three-year "retirement" to manage Monaco, but even he could not bring them success. With the club facing a second barren spell, they signed Arsène Wenger, who had hitherto been relatively unknown, managing Nancy without much success. Wenger's reign saw the club enjoy one of its most successful periods, with several inspired signings, including George Weah, Glenn Hoddle, Jürgen Klinsmann, and Youri Djorkaeff. Youth team policies produced future World Cup winners Emmanuel Petit, Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry. Under Wenger, they won the league in his first season in charge (1988) and the Coupe de France in 1991, with the club consistently competing in the latter stages of the European Cup and regularly challenging for the league title.[7] The club could have had even greater success in this period, as it emerged in 1993 that bitter rivals Marseille had indulged in match fixing and numerous improprieties, a view that Wenger had long held.[7] In 1994, after being blocked by the Monaco board from opening discussions with German powerhouse Bayern Munich for their vacant managerial post after being shortlisted for the role, Wenger was released from the club, several weeks after the post had already been filled.[7][8]

After Wenger's departure, the club went on to record two further league championships; under Jean Tigana in 1997 and under Claude Puel in 2000. However, as the decade came to an end, rumours were surfacing that the club was facing numerous financial difficulties. In 2003, these financial problems came to a head. Despite finishing second in the league, the club was relegated to Ligue 2 by the French Professional League for amassing a €50 million ($68 million) debt.[9] Whilst this was reduced on appeal to a ban on purchasing players, it was enough to force President Jean-Louis Campora, who had been in charge for 28 years, to step aside. He was replaced by Pierre Svara, an administrator considered to be close to the principality's princely family but with no footballing experience.[10]

The following season saw remarkable success on the field, given the club's financial strife. The team, coached by former French national team captain Didier Deschamps and featuring stalwarts such as Fernando Morientes, Ludovic Giuly, Jérôme Rothen and Dado Pršo, finished third in Ligue 1 and enjoyed a remarkable run to the final of the UEFA Champions League, beating Real Madrid and Chelsea along the way. However, despite the on-field success, the 2003–04 season was the club's worst financial year in its history. Within 12 months, Deschamps had left as coach and Svara had been replaced by Michel Pastor.[9]

Relegation and takeover

Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev bought the club in 2011 and has made it one of the biggest spenders in the football world.

With Francesco Guidolin hired to replace Deschamps, one of Pastor's first tasks was to hold on to the players who had turned the club into one of the best in Europe. However, he failed to convince them to stay and their replacements were unable to replicate previous successes. Guidolin lasted only one year, before being replaced by assistant coach Laurent Banide who, in turn, only lasted a year, before being replaced by Brazilian Ricardo Gomes. In 2008, after four years at the club featuring six coaches and only mid-table finishes, Pastor left the club amid severe criticism of his management skills.

In 2008, Jérôme de Bontin, a leading shareholder of the club since 2003, took charge of the club, promising a complete shake-up. Under his reign as president, the club brought in players such as Park Chu-young and Freddy Adu, so they did not find much success on the pitch, going through a torrid season and only managing a mid-table finish. De Bontin resigned at the end of the season, replaced by banker Étienne Franzi and a new board of directors.[11]

In July 2009, Ricardo Gomes was replaced by former Cannes and Rennes coach Guy Lacombe, inheriting a youthful squad featuring numerous highly lauded youth team prospects, including Cédric Mongongu, Serge Gakpé, Vincent Muratori, Frédéric Nimani, Nicolas N'Koulou, Park Chu-young, Yohan Mollo and Yohann Thuram-Ulien.[12] Lacombe led Monaco to eighth place in Ligue 1 in his first season in charge, but he was unable to replicate this performance in his second season and was sacked in January 2011, with Monaco in 17th place in Ligue 1. He was replaced by former coach Laurent Banide, who was unable to turn around the club's fortunes; Monaco finished the 2010–11 season in 18th, thus becoming relegated to Ligue 2.

In December 2011, 66.67% of the club was sold to the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev while the club were bottom of Ligue 2.[3] Banide was sacked due to this poor start to the 2011–12 season, and was replaced by Italian manager Marco Simone. Although he lifted the club to eighth by the end of the season, the club's board targeted promotion for the upcoming season and so fired him and appointed his compatriot Claudio Ranieri, whose attacking style of football saw the club score 64 goals in the 2012–13 season. With the club only losing four times, Monaco finished the season as champions, earning promotion back to Ligue 1. Using Rybolovlev's funds, Monaco were one of the biggest spenders in Europe in 2013, spending roughly £140 million, including a club-record £50 million for Radamel Falcao from Atlético Madrid.[13]

2016–17 season

Monaco won the Ligue 1 title on 17 May 2017 by defeating AS Saint-Étienne 2-0. Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappé scored 27 and 22 goals respectively to ensure Monaco won their first Ligue 1 title in 17 years.

Stadium

The iconic nine arches of the Stade Louis II.

Monaco played at the original Stade Louis II since its construction in 1939. In 1985, the stadium was replaced with the current iteration, built on a nearby site consisting of land reclaimed from the Mediterranean, which has become a recurring feature of the stadium's seaside surroundings. The stadium is named after the former Prince of Monaco Louis II and houses a total of 18,500 supporters. The Stade Louis II is noted for its iconic nine arches and has hosted numerous athletic events and European Cup finals. Every August from 1998 to 2012, it hosted each instance of the annual UEFA Super Cup, but from 2013 onward, UEFA decided to rotate the event throughout various stadiums in Europe. The stadium has undergone renovations numerous times and, at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, underwent numerous changes, one of which was the installation of two large screens. Monaco train in nearby La Turbie, a newly built training facility featuring state-of-the-art gyms, pools and conference centres.

Players

Current squad

As of 8 August 2017[14]

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

No. Position Player
1 Croatia GK Danijel Subašić
2 Brazil MF Fabinho
4 Netherlands DF Terence Kongolo
5 Brazil DF Jemerson
6 Brazil DF Jorge
8 Portugal MF João Moutinho
9 Colombia FW Radamel Falcao (captain)
10 France FW Kylian Mbappé
11 Argentina FW Guido Carrillo
12 Algeria FW Rachid Ghezzal
14 Morocco MF Youssef Aït Bennasser
15 France FW Adama Diakhaby
16 Switzerland GK Diego Benaglio
17 Belgium MF Youri Tielemans
18 France MF Soualiho Meïté
19 France DF Djibril Sidibé
No. Position Player
20 Portugal MF Rony Lopes
21 France DF Julien Serrano
22 Spain FW Jordi Mboula
23 France DF Pierre-Daniel N'Guinda
24 Italy DF Andrea Raggi
25 Poland DF Kamil Glik
26 Brazil MF Boschilia
27 France MF Thomas Lemar
28 Mali MF Adama Traoré
30 Senegal GK Seydou Sy
31 Portugal MF Gil Dias
34 France MF Moussa Sylla
35 France DF Kévin N'Doram
38 Mali DF Almamy Touré
40 France GK Loïc Badiashile
Ivory Coast FW Lacina Traoré

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
France GK Paul Nardi (on loan to Cercle Brugge)
France DF Jordy Gaspar (on loan to Cercle Brugge)
Portugal DF Rúben Vinagre (on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers)
France MF Tristan Muyumba (on loan to Cercle Brugge)
No. Position Player
France MF Jonathan Mexique (on loan to Cercle Brugge)
France MF Guevin Tormin (on loan to Cercle Brugge)
France FW Irvin Cardona (on loan to Cercle Brugge)

Reserves

As of 8 August 2017[15]

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

No. Position Player
Spain GK Álvaro Fernández
France GK Florian Andreani
Chad GK Emmanuel Mifsud
Senegal DF Salif Dramé
Portugal DF Dinis Almeida
France DF Raphaël Diarra
Burkina Faso DF Dylan Ouédraogo
France DF Jonathan Cissé
France DF Mehdi Beneddine
France DF Yoann Etienne
No. Position Player
France DF Yannis N'Gakoutou-Yapende
Ivory Coast MF Franck Irie
France MF Ibrahima Diallo
Belgium MF Adrien Bongiovanni
Belgium MF Francesco Antonucci
France FW Kévin Appin
Netherlands FW Anderson López
France FW Ilyes Chaïbi
Central African Republic FW Quentin Ngakoutou
Guinea FW Tafsir Chérif

Notable former players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Monaco in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1924.

Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Monaco.

For a list of former and current AS Monaco players with a Wikipedia article, see here.

Monaco
France

Africa
Americas
Asia

Europe
Oceania

Management and staff

Senior club staff[16]
Club Management
Chairman Russia Dmitry Rybolovlev 
Vice-President, Chief Executive Officer Russia Vadim Vasilyev
Deputy Director General Belgium Filips Dhondt
President of the Association France Michel Aubery
Administrative Director Russia Olga Dementieva
Technical Director Italy Andrea Butti
Academy Director Monaco Frédéric Barilaro
Team Manager France Bernard Veronico
Financial Director Russia Emmanuel Blanchi
Head of Communication and PR France Bruno Skropeta
Commercial Director United States Bruce Bundrant
Press Officer France Pierre-Joseph Gadeau

Ownership history

List of presidents

1952–1953 Monaco Roger-Félix Médecin
1954 Monaco Joseph Fissore
1955–1956 Monaco Charles Campora
1956–1957 Monaco Roger-Félix Médecin
1958–1959 Monaco Charles Campora
1960–1963 Monaco Antoine Romagnan
1964–1968 Monaco Max Principale
1969 Monaco Edmond Aubert
1970–1972 Monaco Henry Rey
1973–1974 Monaco Henri Orengo
1975 Monaco Henri Corvetto
1976–2003 Monaco Jean-Louis Campora
2003–2004 Monaco Pierre Svara
2004–2008 Monaco Michel Pastor
2008–2009 France Jérôme de Bontin
2009–2011 Monaco Étienne Franzi
2011– Russia Dmitry Rybolovlev

Managerial history

List of Managers

1948–1950 France Jean Batmale
1950–1952 Romania Elek Schwartz
1952–1953 Italy Angelo Grizzetti
1953–1956 Czech Republic Ludwic Dupal
1956–1957 Austria Anton Marek
1957–1958 France Louis Pirroni
1958–1963 France Lucien Leduc
1963–1965 France Roger Courtois
1965–1966 France Louis Pirroni
1966–1969 France Pierre Sinibaldi
1969–1970 France Louis Pirroni / France Robert Domergue
1970–1972 France Jean Luciano
1972–1974 Argentina Ruben Bravo
1974–1975 Argentina Alberto Muro
1976–1977 Monaco Armand Forcherio
1977–1979 France Lucien Leduc
1979–1983 France Gérard Banide
1983–1986 France Lucien Muller

1986–1987 Romania Ștefan Kovács
1987–1995 France Arsène Wenger
1994 France Jean Petit
1994–1995 France Jean-Luc Ettori
1995 France Gérard Banide
1995–1999 France Jean Tigana
1999–2001 France Claude Puel
2001–2005 France Didier Deschamps
2005 France Jean Petit
2005–2006 Italy Francesco Guidolin
2006 Romania László Bölöni
2006–2007 France Laurent Banide
2007–2009 Brazil Ricardo Gomes
2009–2011 France Guy Lacombe
2011 France Laurent Banide
2011–2012 Italy Marco Simone
2012–2014 Italy Claudio Ranieri
2014– Portugal Leonardo Jardim

Honours

Domestic competitions

International competitions

Records

Delio Onnis scored a club record 223 goals for Monaco
Name Games
France Jean-Luc Ettori 755
France Claude Puel 602
France Jean Petit 428
France Manuel Amoros 349
France Christian Dalger 334
France Marcel Dib 326
France François Ludo 319
France Luc Sonor 315
France Michel Hidalgo 304
Monaco Armand Forcherio 303
Name Goals
Argentina Delio Onnis 223
France Lucien Cossou 115
France Christian Dalger 89
Nigeria Victor Ikpeba 77
France Jean Petit 76
France Yvon Douis 74
France Youri Djorkaeff 68
Democratic Republic of the Congo Shabani Nonda
Brazil Sonny Anderson
67
Liberia George Weah
France Ludovic Giuly
66

References

  1. Conn, David. "Monaco have plenty of money and ambition but not many supporters". The Guardian.
  2. "The origins (1919–1930)". AS Monaco FC. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev takes over Monaco". BBC Sport. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  4. "The origins (1919-1930)". AS Monaco.
  5. "Ligue1.com – French Football League – Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Coupe de la Ligue, Trophée des Champions". Frenchleague.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  6. "AS Monaco – Dates & results 1985/1986". Bundesliga.weltfussball.at. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 Jasper Rees (18 August 2003). "Inside the mind of Arsène Wenger (excerpt from Wenger: The Making of a Legend by Jasper Rees)". The Guardian.
  8. Arsène Wenger The Biography by Xavier Rivoire
  9. 1 2 "Monaco struggling for survival". SI.com. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  10. "Campora quits Monaco role". uefa.com. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  11. "Monaco: Etienne Franzi président". Sport.fr. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  12. "The little princes of Monaco". FIFA.com. 29 January 2009.
  13. "Radamel Falcao: Monaco sign striker from Atletico Madrid". BBC Sport. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  14. "Players". AS Monaco FC.
  15. "Reserves". AS Monaco FC.
  16. "Organigramme" (in French). AS Monaco FC. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
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