RC Lens




























































RC Lens
RC Lens logo.svg
Full name Le Racing Club de Lens
Nickname(s)
Sang et Or (Blood and Gold)
Founded 1906; 113 years ago (1906)
Ground Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Capacity 38,223
Owner Amber Capital LP
Chairman Joseph Oughourlian
Manager Philippe Montanier
League Ligue 2
2017–18 Ligue 2, 14th
Website Club website


















Home colours














Away colours














Third colours




Current season

Racing Club de Lens (French pronunciation: ​[ʁasiŋ klœb də lɑ̃s], commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens), is a French football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or (blood and gold), comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbours Lille, with whom they contest the Derby du Nord.




Contents






  • 1 History


    • 1.1 Origin of the club


    • 1.2 Of blood and gold


    • 1.3 The first victories


    • 1.4 The good years and the fall


    • 1.5 Martel's takeover




  • 2 Honours


  • 3 Records


  • 4 Current squad


    • 4.1 First team


    • 4.2 Out on loan


    • 4.3 Reserve team


    • 4.4 Retired numbers




  • 5 Notable players


  • 6 Former players


    • 6.1 French internationals




  • 7 Presidents


  • 8 Managers


  • 9 See also


  • 10 References


  • 11 External links





History



Origin of the club


The club's origins date back to 1906 in Lens and lie with students playing football on the Place Verte (the current Place de la République). The name "Racing Club de Lens" was a reference to Racing Club de Roubaix and Racing Club de France, both popular at the time.


The club's first board of directors was formed by the parents of those students under the name of Racing Club de Lens in 1906. The club originally played in green and black to represent the founding location. They wore green to represent the name, "Verte", which means green in French, and black to represent the omnipresence of coal mines in the surrounding area.


Between 1907 and 1912, the players were forced to change sports grounds twice before settling at the actual Parc des Glissoires, between Avion and Lens.


During World War I, the club's activities were stopped, only restarting in 1919. Lens was then playing in sky blue.



Of blood and gold


It was in 1924 that the red and gold colours appeared. The legend says that Pierre Moglia, president of the club from 1923 to 1930, chose the colours of the Spanish flag after someone from the club remarked that the Saint-Léger church ruins they walked by that night were the last remains of the Spanish domination in 1648. People also say that the colours come from the coal mines: the red for the blood of the miners and the gold for the coal which was valuable at the time.


It was also in 1924 that the club was authorised to play at the newly built municipal stadium Raoul Briquet (nowadays Léo Lagrange). The first match with the new colours was played for the inauguration of the stadium.


In 1926, British footballer Kid Fenton was the first star who played for Lens, staying for eight seasons. It was also the year the first supporters group was formed, and – finally – Lens first capture of the Championnat d'Artois.


In 1929, Lens won the North championship and won promotion for the first time to the Division d'Honneur of the Ligue du Nord with the clubs Olympique Lillois, RC Roubaix, Excelsior Athlétic Club de Roubaix and AC Amiens.


In the Artois League, the club gained prestige, and in 1932, the club inaugurated the Stade Félix Bollaert.



The first victories


In 1937, Lens gained access to the first division after finishing first in the second division, led by such players as Stefan Dembicki and Spechtl. Lens even managed to reach the last 16 of the Coupe de France, although the team was eventually eliminated by the Red Star, 3–2.


In 1943, Lens won the first division of the Northern Zone thanks to Dembicki, who scored 43 goals in 30 games. A year earlier, in a Coupe de France match, he scored 17 goals, still the world record today.


After World War II, Lens finished in sixth place in the 1945–46 season, but they were relegated the following year. In 1948, the club played its first Coupe de France final, which they lost 3–2 against Lille. A year later, Lens was promoted to the first division, and Maryan Wisnieski was recruited, in 1953. Problems with the board, however, made him quit the club; he joined Italian club UC Sampdoria Genoa, though without much success.


In 1962, the city of Lens' mines were shut down and the club was at stake given that most of the players were miners. Between 1956 and 1968, survival was hard. Nevertheless, in 1964, Lens finished third, with Ahmed Oudjani the top scorer with 30 goals. Another famous player, Georges Lech, joined Lens, although the club was relegated in 1968. The following year, the mine's administrators rescinded their ownership of Lens, and it was the end of professional football at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis. Lens was once again an amateur club, one year after its relegation.



The good years and the fall


Better days arrived in 1960 after the town council bet on the Racing Club de Lens. Lens's mayor, André Delelis, wanted to see the club continue thrilling the fans. With the future president, Jean Bondoux, the mayor brought together volunteers and subscriptions to make the club survive. Moreover, the city recovered the stadium from the closing mine industry.


In 1972, Lens reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France, and the arrival of two Polish players helped the club to the first division. In 1975, Lens once again reached the final of the Coupe de France against Saint-Étienne. But les Verts won the game 2–0, with an anthology goal by Jean-Michel Larqué.



As finalist of the Coupe de France, Lens had the opportunity to participate in its first UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but the team was knocked out quickly by the Dutch club ADO Den Haag.





Stade Félix Bollaert


Lens' progress continued, and after finishing second in the league behind Nantes, they managed to qualify to the UEFA Cup. They knocked out Malmö FF, and above all, the Lazio. After an away defeat (2–0), they won 6–0 at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis after extra-time. Unfortunately, after this rare exploit for a French club, they were eliminated by East German side 1. FC Magdeburg. Worse, the club went back to the second division in 1978.


The return among the elite was in 1979 with Roger Lemerre as head coach. During the 1980s, Gérard Houllier and Joachim Marx succeeded him. These were great gains to the team, even though the club lost players such as Didier Sénac, Gaëtan Huard and Philippe Vercruysse.



Martel's takeover


In 1988, a local businessman took over the club, with the help of Serge Doré. During the same year, Arnaud Dos Santos was named head coach of the club, and led the club back to the first division in 1991.


In 1993 and 1994, Lens played in the top of the league, and the team qualified for the UEFA Cup twice in a row. Lens even reached the semi-final of the Coupe de France after knocking out Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, although the team lost to Montpellier.


In 1998, es Sang et Or wrote the best page of their history under Daniel Leclercq ("the Druid"): French champions, Coupe de la Ligue semi-finalists and finalists of the Coupe de France (against PSG, a 2–1 defeat). Like a symbol, it is a player who started his career in Lens, Yohan Lachor, who scored the goal in Auxerre giving Lens the title in front of Metz. Under the "Druid", Lens won its second major title in 1999 with the Coupe de la Ligue against Metz, with a goal from Daniel Moreira. That year, in the UEFA Champions League, Lens also became the only club to have beaten Arsenal at Wembley Stadium (1–0, with a goal from Mickaël Debève), although they were knocked out.


During the next season, Leclercq was fired, but Lens nonetheless reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. François Brisson's men were eliminated by Arsenal, but they won against 1. FC Kaiserslautern (a 4–1 win in Germany), Atlético Madrid and Celta de Vigo.


In the 2001–02 season, Joël Muller was named head coach. Lens finished second that season and qualified for its second Champions League campaign. The club, however, finished in eighth for the next two years. Muller was replaced during his fourth season by Francis Gillot, who managed to qualify Lens for the UEFA Intertoto Cup, which Lens won, ensuring qualification for the UEFA Cup.


During the 2006–07 season, the Sang et Or finished the first part of the season in second, behind Lyon. But due to a chaotic second half, however, they only finished fifth. A few days later, Francis Gillot resigned.


On 5 June 2007, Guy Roux made his comeback, although it only lasted three months: He resigned after a 2–1 defeat at Strasbourg. Jean-Pierre Papin took over, but Lens could not make up any ground throughout the season, finishing 18th, two points behind Toulouse, resulting in relegation to Ligue 2 for the next season. Lens finished the season with just 40 points, winning only 9 times in 38 matches.


After a slow start in their only year in Ligue 2, they managed to finish as leaders during the first half of the season. Earning 13 out of 15 points in their first five games of the second half, everything looked set for a quick return to the first league. After only taking five points of the next six games, however, the promotion race was open again, although Lens recovered and became champions, securing promotion to Ligue 1 for 2009–10. After the 2010–11 season, however, they again dropped to Ligue 2.


On 16 May 2014, Lens sealed promotion back to Ligue 1 on the final day of the season following a 2–0 win at Bastia. On 27 June, however, the League's National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG) blocked Lens' promotion to the top flight due to irregularities in the club's proposed budget for its next season. The issue was a €10 million payment due from major shareholder Hafiz Mammadov that was missing from the accounts. Lens president Gervais Martel claimed a public holiday in Mammadov's native Azerbaijan had resulted in the delay and said the club would appeal. On 15 July, however, their promotion was in jeopardy after an appeal commission upheld their appeal since the missing funds still had not yet arrived in the club's accounts. Lens immediately declared their intention to appeal to the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF), which has the power to overrule the DNCG. On 25 July, the CNSOF recommended Lens should be allowed to play in Ligue 1. Because the Stade Bollaert-Delelis was being renovated for UEFA Euro 2016, Lens played their home matches for the 2014–15 Ligue 1 season at the Stade de la Licorne, home of Amiens, and at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.


It was announced on 29 January 2015 that Lens' promotion from Ligue 2 at the end of the 2013–14 season has been ruled invalid, and will thus be automatically relegated to Ligue 2 for the 2015–16 season, regardless of where the team places. Thus, in August 2015 Lens returned to Ligue 2, albeit playing at the renovated Stade Bollaert-Delelis. They drew an average home attendance of 28,996 in the 2016-17 season, the highest in Ligue 2 but missed promotion to the Ligue 1 during an tumultuous last day of the season .[1]


In the 2017-2018 Ligue 2 season, Lens lost their first seven matches in a row, the worst start to a season in the club's history. On September 18, Lens finally got their first win of the season over US Quevilly-Rouen 2-0.[2][3]



Honours


  • Ligue 1



Winners: 1997–98


Runners-up: 1955–56, 1956–57, 1976–77, 2001–02


  • Ligue 2


Winners: 1936–37, 1948–49, 1972–73, 2008–09

  • Coupe de France


Runners-up: 1948, 1975, 1998

  • Coupe de la Ligue



Winners: 1994, 1999


Runners-up: 2008


  • Coupe Drago



Winners: 1959, 1960, 1965


Runners-up: 1957


  • Coupe Gambardella



Winners: 1957, 1958, 1992


Runners-up: 1979, 1983, 1993, 1995


  • UEFA Cup


Semi-finalists: 2000

  • UEFA Intertoto Cup


Winners: 2005, 2007 (joint winner)[4]


Records




  • Record league win : 10–2 (v. RC Paris, 1963–64).


  • Record European Cup win : 0–7 (v. Avenir-Beggen, 1995–96).


  • The European exploit : v. Lazio (6–0 after extra time, 2 November 1977).


  • Most goals in a single match : 16, Stefan Dembicki, which is a world record, (v. Auby Asturies, French Cup, 13 December 1942). Final score: 32–0.


  • Most league appearances with Lens : 497, Éric Sikora and 377, Bernard Placzek.


  • Most league goals in a season : 30, Ahmed Oudjani (1963–64) and 20, Roger Boli (1993–94).


  • Top scorer : 94, Ahmed Oudjani.


  • Highest attendance at a home match : 48, 912, (v. Marseille, Ligue 1, 15 February 1992) at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. Lens won 2–1.



Current squad



First team


As of 31 January 2019.[5]


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








































































































No.

Position
Player
2

France

DF

Jean-Kévin Duverne
3

France

DF

Modibo Sagnan (on loan from Real Sociedad)
4

Tunisia

DF

Seif Teka
5

Algeria

DF

Mehdi Tahrat
6

France

MF

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde
7

France

MF

El Hadji Ba
8

Mali

MF

Souleymane Diarra
9

France

FW

Thierry Ambrose (on loan from Manchester City)
10

Algeria

MF

Walid Mesloub
11

France

FW

Mouaad Madri
14

Senegal

FW

Yannick Gomis
15

Cape Verde

DF

Steven Fortes (on loan from Toulouse)
16

France

GK

Jean-Louis Leca
18

France

MF

Fabien Centonze
19

Senegal

DF

Arial Mendy






























































































No.

Position
Player
20

Morocco

MF

Achraf Bencharki (on loan from Al-Hilal)
21

France

DF

Massadio Haïdara
22

Serbia

MF

Filip Marković
24

France

FW

Simon Banza
26

Serbia

DF

Aleksandar Radovanović
27

Belgium

MF

Guillaume Gillet
28

Mali

MF

Cheick Doucouré
29

France

FW

Grejohn Kyei (on loan from Reims)
30

France

GK

Jérémy Vachoux
33

France

FW

Mounir Chouiar
35

France

DF

Valentin Wojtkowiak
40

France

GK

Valentin Belon


France

MF

Nsana Simon


Senegal

FW

Ansou Sow



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

Didier Desprez (to Drancy)


France

DF

Maxence Carlier (to Tours)


France

DF

Moussa Sylla (to Bourg-en-Bresse)


France

MF

Guillaume Beghin (to Boulogne)




























No.

Position
Player
31

Burkina Faso

MF

Cyrille Bayala (to Sochaux)


Morocco

FW

Bilal Bari (to Nahdat Berkane)


France

FW

Benjamin Gomel (to Drancy)



Reserve team


As of 6 October 2018[6][7]

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

Bryan Bernard


France

GK

Tommy Plumain


France

GK

Yannick Pandor


France

DF

Ismael Boura


France

DF

Corentin Cal


France

DF

Enzo Ebosse


France

DF

Hugo Mahieu


France

DF

Randy Mavinga


Morocco

DF

Yanis Salmi


France

DF

Gregoire Pineau


France

MF

Yassine Chah


France

MF

Charles Boli












































































No.

Position
Player


France

MF

Alexis Bourigeaud


France

MF

Tom Ducrocq


France

MF

Kandet Diawara


France

MF

Ismael Hmani


France

MF

Maxence Lescroart


France

MF

Adrien Louveau


France

FW

Christopher Boussemart


France

FW

Corentin Lemaire


France

FW

Kassim Sidibe


France

FW

Gaetan Laura


France

FW

Owen Maes



Retired numbers



12France Club Supporters (the 12th Man)
17Cameroon Marc-Vivien Foé, Midfielder (1994–99) – posthumous honour.



Notable players












Former players


Three Lens players won the gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games: defender Didier Sénac, as well as strikers François Brisson and Daniel Xuereb who scored a goal apiece in France's triumph over Brazil 2–0 in the final at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in front of a crowd of 103,000.


For a complete list of RC Lens players, see Category:RC Lens players



French internationals


As of January 31, 2019















































































































































































































Rank

Name

Position

Caps with Lens

Total Caps
1 Maryan Wisnieski Forward 33
33
2 Georges Lech Forward 16 35
3 Xercès Louis Midfielder 12 12
4 Didier Six Forward 11 52
5 Alou Diarra Midfielder 11 44
6 Guillaume Bieganski Defender 5 9
7 Philippe Vercruysse Midfielder 4 12
8 Ladislas Smid Midfielder 4 4
9 Tony Vairelles Forward 3 8
10 Daniel Xuereb Forward 3 8
11 Pierre Laigle Midfielder 2 8
12 Daniel Moreira Forward 2 3
13 Didier Sénac Defender 2 3
14 François Brisson Forward 2 2
15 Edmond Novicki Forward 2 2
16 Michel Stievenard Forward 2 2
17 Frédéric Déhu Defender 1 5
18 Farès Bousdira Midfielder 1 1
19 Paul Courtin Forward 1 1
20 Jean Desgranges Forward 1 1
21 Raymond François Midfielder 1 1
22 Richard Krawczyk Midfielder 1 1
23 Marcel Ourdouillié Midfielder 1 1
24
Raphaël Varane *
Defender 0 53
25
Loïc Rémy *
Forward 0 31
26 Éric Carrière Midfielder 0 11
27 Geoffrey Kondogbia Midfielder 0 5
28
Alphonse Areola *
Goalkeeper 0 2

* Still playing.



Presidents




  • 1906–07 : Jules J. Van den Weghe


  • 1907–08 : Lotin


  • 1908–12 : Jules J. Van den Weghe


  • 1912–20 : Charles Douterlinghe


  • 1920–23 : Marcel Pierron


  • 1923–30 : Pierre Moglia


  • 1930–33 : Renoult


  • 1933–34 : Jules A. Van den Weghe


  • 1934–57 : Louis Brossard


  • 1957–59 : Vital Lerat


  • 1959–68 : Albert Hus


  • 1968–72 : René Houdart


  • 1972–76 : Jean Bondoux


  • 1976–79 : Jean-Pierre Defontaine


  • 1979–86 : Jean Bondoux


  • 1986–88 : Jean Honvault


  • 1988–2012 : Gervais Martel


  • 2012-13 : Luc Dayan


  • 2013-17 : Gervais Martel


  • 2017– : Joseph Oughourlian




Managers


Former coaches include two ex France coaches: Gérard Houllier (1982–85) managed France between July 1992 and November 1993, and Roger Lemerre (second half of the 1996–97 season, then as assistant coach 1997–98), who managed France between July 1998 and July 2002.












See also


  • Derby du Nord


References





  1. ^ "Ligue 2 2016/2017 - Attendance". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ "Lens gagne enfin un match ! - Sport.fr". sport.fr. 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.


  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)


  4. ^ The UEFA Intertoto Cup: Past Winners. Listed are all 11 teams that won the Intertoto Cup, qualifying for the UEFA Cup.


  5. ^ "Equipe 1 2018-2019". rclens.fr. Retrieved 14 July 2018.


  6. ^ "JOUEURS". rclens.fr. Retrieved 6 October 2018.


  7. ^ "Effectif". rclens5962.footeo.com. Retrieved 6 October 2018.




External links








  • Official website Edit this at Wikidata(in French)


  • La Gailette: Racing Club de Lens' prolific academy – These Football Times (2015)











Popular posts from this blog

Italian cuisine

Bulgarian cuisine

Carrot