FC Metz

Metz
Full name Football Club de Metz
Nickname(s) Les Grenats (The Maroons),
Les Graoullys
Founded 1932 (1932)
Ground Stade Saint-Symphorien,
Metz
Ground Capacity 25,636[1]
Chairman Bernard Serin
Manager Philippe Hinschberger
League Ligue 1
2016–17 Ligue 1, 14th
Website Club website

Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (French pronunciation: ​[mes]), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest level in the French football league system. Metz plays its home matches at the Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien located within the city. The team is managed by Philippe Hinschberger.

History

FC Metz was founded in 1932 by the amalgamation of two amateur athletic clubs, and shortly thereafter became a professional team; it is one of the oldest professional football teams in France. Its roots trace back further, to the SpVgg Metz club, formed in 1905 when the city of Metz was part of the German Empire. SpVgg played in the tier-one Westkreis-Liga for a season in 1913–14, before the outbreak of the First World War stopped all play. Some players of this club were part of the Cercle Athlétique Messin in 1919, which went on to become FC Metz in 1932. Messin was a leading club in the Division d'Honneur – Lorraine, taking out league titles in 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1929 and 1931.[2]

The club played in the French second division north from 1933, winning the league in 1935 and earning promotion to Ligue 1 for the first time.[3] The team became a mid-table side in the first division until the outbreak of the war interfered with play once more. FCM did not take part in the top-tier regional competitions in 1939–40.[4]

During World War II, the Moselle département being annexed by Germany, the club had to play under the Germanised name of FV Metz in the Gauliga Westmark. In the three completed seasons of this league from 1941 to 1944, the club finished runners-up each year.[5]

Despite the city of Metz being retaken by allied forces in autumn 1944, the club did not take part in French league football in 1944–45 but returned to Ligue 1 in 1945–46, to come 17th out of 18 clubs. An expansion of the league to 20 clubs meant, the team was not relegated and stayed at the highest level until 1950, when a last place finish ended its Ligue 1 membership. Metz was allowed to stay within L1 as a special privilege due to its catastrophic situation in the year following the war: the stadium had been damaged, almost beyond repair. The team had to start from scratch once again.

The club rebounded immediately, finishing second in Ligue 2, behind Olympique Lyon and returned to the first division. FC Metz made a strong return to this league, finishing fifth in its first season back. After this, the club once more had to battle against relegation season-by-season, finishing second-last in 1958 and having to return to Ligue 2. It took three seasons in this league before it could manage to return to Ligue 1 in 1961, but lasted for only one year in the top flight. FC Metz spent the next five seasons at second division level.

FC Metz ascended to the top level of French football once more in 1967; the team remained in the highest division until they were relegated in 2001, although they bounced back immediately and returned to the Ligue 1 the following year.

After losing the first leg of their 1984/85 Cup Winners' Cup tie 4-2 to Barcelona at Stade Saint-Symphorien, FC Metz were widely expected to be thrashed at the Nou Camp. However, a hat-trick from Yugoslav striker Toni Kurbos gave Les Granets a shock 4-1 win in the second leg to send the French side through 6-5 on aggregate.

In 2006, FC Metz were relegated from Ligue Un, finishing at the bottom of the table, despite the regular presence of an extremely promising prospect, Miralem Pjanic, who would later be transferred to giants Lyon, for an astonishing fee of 7,5 million euros. . In 1998 the team competed in the qualifications to the UEFA Champions League finals but lost in the third round to Finnish team HJK Helsinki. Finally, Metz once finished 18th in Ligue 2 and were relegated to the Championnat National, the third tier of French football after 1–1 draw with FC Tours at home match on 20 May 2012, in very tense circumstances. Metz spend only one season at this level, rebuilding a team with iconic former player Albert Cartier as coach, winning promotion to Ligue Deux, and then immediately finishing first and winning promotion to Ligue Un. Unfortunately the team was relegated again to Ligue 2, but won again promotion the next season. This time, Metz managed to secure a 14th place, synonym of a second season in Ligue 1 in a row.

FC Metz plays its home matches at the stade Saint-Symphorien, which has a capacity of 26,700. Thus, it is the largest venue dedicated to football in Lorraine. Its official colours are grenat (maroon) and white, from which the team derives its nickname Les Grenats. The team's crest features the Lorraine cross, symbolic of the team's regional affiliation, and the dragon called the Graoully, which in local legend was tamed by Saint Clement of Metz.[6] pr FC Metz also gained recognition in France and Europe for its successful youth academy, which produced star players including: Rigobert Song, Robert Pirès, Louis Saha, Emmanuel Adebayor, Papiss Cissé, Miralem Pjanić, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sadio Mané. The city's proximity to Luxembourg (about 55 km) plays a significant role in the importation of young prospects. The club's board has close ties with the Luxembourgish Football Federation. Nicolas "Nico" Braun, the team's top all-time goalscorer, as well as Miralem Pjanic or, closer to our times, Chris Philipps, have played in the G-D's amateur leagues before joining "les Grenats". Despite this, not all Luxembourgers enjoy success with Metz, with Robert "Robby" Langers as the best example of that, however.

Honours

FC Metz has never won the French championship; its best result was a second-place finish in 1998, behind RC Lens. The title race lasted until the ultimate fixture, however Metz never recovered from a 0-2 loss against Lens on their home turf. Metz won the Coupe de France twice, in 1984 and 1988, the first of these victories enabled it to qualify for the European Cup Winners' Cup where it achieved arguably the team's greatest moment, an upset of FC Barcelona in the first round of the competition in October 1984. It lost 4–2 at home in the first leg but won 4–1 away in the return leg, thus qualifying 6–5 on aggregate, making the FC Metz unique among the French teams who have beaten Barcelona at the Nou Camp. FC Metz also won the Coupe de la Ligue twice, in 1986 and 1996, and has made a total of ten appearances in European tournaments.

Domestic

Runners-up (1): 1997–98
Winners (3): 1934–35, 2006–07, 2013–14
Winners (2): 1983–84, 1987–88
Runners-up (1): 1937–38
Winners (2): 1985–86, 1995–96
Runners-up (1): 1998–99

European

Season Round Competition Club Home Away Aggregate
1984–85 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round Spain Barcelona 2-4 4-1 6-5
1984–85 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Second round East Germany Dynamo Dresden 1-3 0-0 1-3
1985-86 UEFA Cup First round Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Hajduk Split 1-5 2-2 3-7
1988-89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round Belgium Anderlecht 1-3 0-2 1-5
1996–97 UEFA Cup First round Austria Tirol Innsbruck 0-0 1-0 1-0
1996–97 UEFA Cup Second round Portugal Sporting CP 2-0 1-2 3-2
1996–97 UEFA Cup Third round England Newcastle United 1-1 0-2 1-3
1997–98 UEFA Cup First round Belgium R.E. Mouscron 2-0 4-1 6-1
1997–98 UEFA Cup Second round Germany Karlsruher SC 0-2 1-1 1-3
1998-99 UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying round Finland HJK 0-1 1-1 1-2
1998–99 UEFA Cup First round Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 1-2 2-1 3-3(3–4 p)

European Matches of FC Metz

Second Qualifying Round (1): 1998-99 UEFA Champions League
Second Round (1): 1984-85 European Cup Winners' Cup
Third Round (1): 1996-97 UEFA Cup

Players

Current squad

As of 6 August 2017 [7]

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

No. Position Player
1 France GK Thomas Didillon
3 Senegal DF Fallou Diagne (on loan from Werder Bremen)
4 Serbia DF Milan Biševac (vice captain)
5 Argentina MF Gerónimo Poblete
6 French Guiana DF Simon Falette
7 France MF Gauthier Hein
8 France MF Yann Jouffre
9 France FW Nolan Roux
11 Senegal FW Opa Nguette
12 France DF Matthieu Udol
13 The Gambia MF Ablie Jallow
14 Senegal FW Ibrahima Niane
15 France FW Thibaut Vion
16 Japan GK Eiji Kawashima
17 Senegal FW Habib Diallo
19 France MF Florent Mollet
No. Position Player
20 Senegal MF Lemouya Goudiaby
21 France DF Moussa Niakhate
22 France MF Kévin Lejeune (captain)
23 Luxembourg MF Chris Philipps
24 France MF Renaud Cohade
25 Spain DF Iván Balliu
26 Portugal MF Cafú
27 Cameroon DF Théodore Efouba Ayissi
28 France DF Jonathan Rivierez
29 Luxembourg FW Vincent Thill
30 France GK Quentin Beunardeau
32 Cameroon DF Benoît Assou-Ekotto
— France DF Oumar Gonzalez
— Serbia DF Vahid Selimovic
— France MF Lucas Toussaint

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 MF Alexis Larriere (on loan to US Avranches)
Morocco MF Hamza Sakhi (on loan to AJ Auxerre)
No. Position Player
Burkina Faso FW Moustapha Kaboré (on loan to Seraing United)

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Metz in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1932. To appear in the section below, a player must have played at least a full season for the club.

Current technical staff

Position Name
Head Coach Philippe Hinschberger
Assistant coaches Gilles Bourges
Goalkeeping coach Christophe Marichez
Physical trainer Hugo Cabouret
Head doctor André Marie

Managerial history

References

  1. ↑ www.fcmetz.com
  2. ↑ France – Division d'Honneur – Lorraine 1919–1932 RSSSF.com, accessed: 17 May 2009
  3. ↑ France – List of Final Tables Second Level RSSSF.com, accessed: 17 May 2009
  4. ↑ France – First Division Results and Tables 1932–1998 RSSSF.com, accessed: 17 May 2009
  5. ↑ French clubs in the German football structure 1940–1944 RSSSF.com, accessed: 31 May 2008
  6. ↑ The Graoully, symbol of Metz
  7. ↑ "FC Metz - Saison 2016-2017 - Les joueurs". FC Metz. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  8. ↑ France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs
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