2014–15 Ligue 2

Ligue 2

Season	2014–15
Champions	Troyes
Promoted	Troyes Gazélec Ajaccio Angers
Relegated	Orléans Châteauroux Arles-Avignon
Matches played	380
Goals scored	855 (2.25 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mickaël Le Bihan (18 goals)
Highest attendance	20,136 Troyes 4–1 Châteauroux (22 May 2015)[1]
Average attendance	6,159[1]
← 2013–14 2015–16 →

The 2014–15 Ligue 2 season was the 76th season since its establishment.

Teams

There were three promoted teams from Championnat National, replacing the three teams that were promoted to Ligue 1 following the 2013–14 season. A total of 20 teams competed in the league with three clubs relegated to the third division, the National. All clubs that secured Ligue 2 status for the season were subject to approval by the DNCG before becoming eligible to participate.

On 18 April 2014, Luzenac became the first team to secure a spot in the Ligue 2 following a 1–0 victory over Boulogne-sur-Mer, which gave them an advance on the 4th placed team, Red Star, that couldn't be surpassed in the last games.^[2] By gaining promotion for a professional level for the first time in its history, Luzenac, the club of a village of 600 inhabitants in Southern France, became the smallest club in the history of professional football in France.^[3] Orléans was the second team to gain promotion to Ligue 2 on 2 May after a 2–0 victory against Paris FC. This marked a return for Orléans in the professional leagues after a twenty-two-years absence.^[4] Gazélec Ajaccio was the third and last team to achieve promotion on 9 May 2014.^[5] This means that for the first time since the 1997–98 season, a Derby of Ajaccio will be contested between Gazélec and AC Ajaccio.

On 20 April, Ajaccio officially suffered relegation from Ligue 1 after a 2–1 defeat in the Derby Corse against archrivals Bastia.^[6] This ended a three-year stint for Ajaccio in Ligue 1. Valenciennes FC were the second team to suffer relegation on 4 May.^[7] On 5 June, Luzenac's promotion was revoked by DNCG for financial reasons, but the club decided to appeal.^[8]

On 25 June, the DNCG relegated Valenciennes FC to the Championnat National because of their approximate amount of €8 million in debts, this allowing Châteauroux to remain in Ligue 2.^[9] On 4 July, DNCG confirmed its denial of Luzenac's promotion despite the appeal,^[10] allowing Istres also to remain in Ligue 2. On 11 July the ruling against Valenciennes FC was revoked and FC Istres was once again relegated.^[11] Luzenac was found to have an inadequate stadium, thus they were denied promotion. They were also denied re-entry to the Championnat National, so they later entered the regional leagues.

Stadia and locations

ACA

Gazélec

Arles

Angers

Auxerre

Brest

Clermont

Créteil

Dijon

Laval

Le Havre

Nancy

Nîmes

Niort

Orléans

Sochaux

Tours

Troyes

Châteauroux

Valenciennes

Location of teams in 2014–15 Ligue 2

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
Ajaccio	Ajaccio	Stade François Coty	10,660
Gazélec Ajaccio	Ajaccio	Stade Ange Casanova	5,000
Angers	Angers	Stade Jean Bouin	17,835
Arles-Avignon	Avignon	Parc des Sports	17,518
Auxerre	Auxerre	Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps	21,379
Brest	Brest	Stade Francis-Le Blé	15,583
Châteauroux	Châteauroux	Stade Gaston Petit	17,072
Clermont	Clermont-Ferrand	Stade Gabriel Montpied	11,980
Créteil	Créteil	Stade Dominique Duvauchelle	12,150
Dijon	Dijon	Stade Gaston Gérard	16,098
Laval	Laval	Stade Francis Le Basser	18,467
Le Havre	Le Havre	Stade Océane	25,278
Nancy	Tomblaine	Stade Marcel Picot	20,087
Nîmes	Nîmes	Stade des Costières	18,482
Niort	Niort	Stade René Gaillard	10,406
Orléans	Orléans	Stade de la Source	8,000
Sochaux	Montbéliard	Stade Auguste Bonal	20,005
Tours	Tours	Stade de la Vallée du Cher	16,327
Troyes	Troyes	Stade de l'Aube	20,842
Valenciennes	Valenciennes	Stade du Hainaut	25,172

Number of teams by regions

Number of teams	Region	Team(s)
3	Centre	Châteauroux, Orléans and Tours
2	Burgundy	Auxerre and Dijon
	Corsica	Ajaccio and Gazélec Ajaccio
	Pays de la Loire	Angers and Laval
1	Auvergne	Clermont
	Brittany	Brest
	Champagne-Ardenne	Troyes
	Franche-Comté	Sochaux
	Île-de-France	Créteil
	Languedoc-Roussillon	Nîmes
	Lorraine	Nancy
	Nord-Pas-de-Calais	Valenciennes
	Poitou-Charentes	Niort
	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	Arles-Avignon
	Upper Normandy	Le Havre

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager^1	Captain^1	Kit Manufacturer^1	Main Sponsor^1
Ajaccio	Pantaloni, OlivierOlivier Pantaloni	Cavalli, JohanJohan Cavalli	Macron	Suite Home
Gazélec Ajaccio	Laurey, ThierryThierry Laurey	Poggi, LouisLouis Poggi	Macron	Carrefour
Angers	Moulin, StéphaneStéphane Moulin	Auriac, OlivierOlivier Auriac	Kappa	Scania
Arles-Avignon	Zvunka, VictorVictor Zvunka	Quintin, ErwanErwan Quintin	Legea	Groupe Nicollin
Auxerre	Vannuchi, Jean-LucJean-Luc Vannuchi	Puygrenier, SébastienSébastien Puygrenier	Airness	Remarques LOUALT,Vitrans
Brest	Dupont, AlexAlex Dupont	Grougi, BrunoBruno Grougi	Nike	Quéguiner
Châteauroux	Daury, CédricCédric Daury	Roudet, SébastienSébastien Roudet	Nike
Clermont	Diacre, CorinneCorinne Diacre	Ekobo, EugèneEugène Ekobo	Patrick	Crédit Mutuel
Créteil	Froger, ThierryThierry Froger	Lesage, Jean-MichelJean-Michel Lesage	Nike	SFB Béton,Holcim
Dijon	Dall'Oglio, OlivierOlivier Dall'Oglio	Varrault, CédricCédric Varrault	Kappa	DVF, Doras,IPS
Laval	Zanko, DenisDenis Zanko	Gonçalves, AnthonyAnthony Gonçalves	Kappa	Lactel
Le Havre	Goudet, ThierryThierry Goudet	Rivière, YohannYohann Rivière	Nike	Api
Nancy	Correa, PabloPablo Correa	Bellugou, FrançoisFrançois Bellugou	Nike	Dane Elec
Nîmes	Pasqualetti, JoséJosé Pasqualetti	Maoulida, ToifilouToifilou Maoulida	Erreà	Marie Blachère
Niort	Brouard, RégisRégis Brouard	Diaw, MouhamadouMouhamadou Diaw	Puma	Restaurant Le Billon (home), Cheminées Poujoulat (away)
Orléans	Frapolli, OlivierOlivier Frapolli	Maxime Brillault	Kappa	CTVL
Sochaux	Echouafni, OlivierOlivier Echouafni	Butin, ÉdouardÉdouard Butin	Lotto	Peugeot
Tours	Zoonekynd, GilbertGilbert Zoonekynd	Bergougnoux, BryanBryan Bergougnoux	Nike	Corsicatours
Troyes	Furlan, Jean-MarcJean-Marc Furlan	Nivet, BenjaminBenjamin Nivet	Kappa	Babeau Seguin,FSE
Valenciennes	Le Frapper, DavidDavid Le Frapper	Coulibaly, AdamaAdama Coulibaly	Uhlsport	GDE Recyclage

¹Subject to change during the season.

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Clermont Foot	Régis Brouard	End of contract	16 May 2014	Pre-season	Helena Costa	16 May 2014
Chamois Niortais	Pascal Gastien	End of contract	16 May 2014		Régis Brouard	21 May 2014
Sochaux	Hervé Renard	End of contract	17 May 2014		Olivier Echouafni	17 June 2014
Châteauroux	Jean-Louis Garcia	Resigned	29 May 2014		Pascal Gastien	4 June 2014
Créteil	Jean-Luc Vasseur	Signed by Reims	14 June 2014		Philippe Hinschberger	17 June 2014
Clermont Foot	Helena Costa	Mutual consent	24 June 2014		Corinne Diacre	28 June 2014
Nîmes	René Marsiglia	Mutual consent	24 June 2014[12]		José Pasqualetti	25 June 2014[13]
Valenciennes	Ariël Jacobs	Resigned	11 July 2014[14]		Bernard Casoni	17 July 2014[15]
Arles-Avignon	Franck Dumas	Resigned	22 August 2014[16]	18th	Bruno Irles	22 August 2014
Arles-Avignon	Bruno Irles	Sacked	20 October 2014	19th	Stéphane Crucet	20 October 2014
Ajaccio	Christian Bracconi	Sacked	18 October 2014[17]	12th	Olivier Pantaloni	6 November 2014[18]
Tours	Olivier Pantaloni	Resigned	21 October 2014[19]	20th	Gilbert Zoonekynd	21 October 2014[20]
Créteil	Philippe Hinschberger	Sacked	18 November 2014[21]	18th	Thierry Froger	18 November 2014
Le Havre	Erick Mombaerts	Resigned	10 December 2014[22]	8th	Thierry Goudet	28 December 2014[23]
Arles-Avignon	Stéphane Crucet	Sacked	29 December 2014[24]	20th	Victor Zvunka	1 January 2015
Châteauroux	Pascal Gastien	Sacked	9 February 2015[25]	19th	Cédric Daury	16 February 2015[26]
Valenciennes	Bernard Casoni	Resigned	24 February 2015[27]	17th	David Le Frapper	25 February 2015[28]

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or Relegation
1	Troyes (C, P)	38	24	6	8	61	24	+37	78	Promotion to Ligue 1
2	Gazélec Ajaccio (P)	38	18	11	9	49	37	+12	65
3	Angers (P)	38	18	10	10	47	30	+17	64
4	Dijon	38	17	10	11	44	34	+10	61
5	Nancy	38	15	13	10	53	39	+14	58
6	Brest	38	14	15	9	41	27	+14	57
7	Le Havre	38	14	13	11	47	37	+10	55
8	Laval	38	11	21	6	41	34	+7	54
9	Auxerre	38	12	16	10	48	42	+6	52
10	Sochaux	38	13	13	12	39	37	+2	52
11	Niort	38	11	17	10	41	42	−1	50
12	Clermont	38	12	13	13	43	47	−4	49
13	Nîmes[lower-alpha 1]	38	12	10	16	44	57	−13	46
14	Créteil	38	10	15	13	44	52	−8	45
15	Tours	38	12	8	18	49	54	−5	44
16	Valenciennes	38	10	12	16	34	51	−17	42
17	Ajaccio	38	9	14	15	32	42	−10	41
18	Orléans (R)	38	9	13	16	36	47	−11	40	Relegation to Championnat National
19	Châteauroux (R)	38	7	11	20	31	63	−32	32
20	Arles-Avignon (R)[lower-alpha 2]	38	7	9	22	31	59	−28	30	Relegation to 2015–16 CFA

Updated to match(es) played on 22 May 2015. Source: Ligue de Football Professionel
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Notes:

1. It was announced on 17 March 2015 that Nîmes would be relegated to the next lower level at the end of the season, as a sanction for match fixing the previous season.^[29] The decision was overturned on 20 May 2015.^[30]
2. Administratively relegated to Championnat de France Amateur for failing to guarantee sufficient capital.^[31]

Results

Home ╲ Away

ACA

GAZ

ANG

ACAA

AUX

BRS

CHA

CLR

CRE

DIJ

LVL

HAC

NAL

NMS

NRT

ORL

SOC

TOU

TRO

VAL

Ajaccio

0–3

1–1

2–1

1–1

2–1

1–1

1–2

0–1

1–0

0–0

0–1

2–0

0–1

0–0

2–3

0–2

1–0

2–1

2–1

Gazélec Ajaccio

0–2

1–0

3–1

1–1

1–1

1–0

1–1

2–0

2–0

1–0

1–0

1–0

2–0

3–2

3–2

3–0

1–1

0–4

2–0

Angers

1–0

2–0

2–0

0–0

1–2

1–1

3–0

3–0

1–0

2–0

1–0

3–1

3–0

0–0

2–1

0–0

2–0

0–3

0–0

Arles-Avignon

0–0

0–0

1–3

2–4

1–0

0–1

0–0

2–0

0–2

2–3

0–1

1–0

0–1

1–0

4–1

2–2

1–0

0–4

1–2

Auxerre

1–1

0–0

0–1

2–1

0–3

3–1

1–1

2–2

3–0

1–1

2–0

2–2

3–1

1–1

0–1

1–0

2–3

0–1

1–2

Brest

2–1

3–0

0–0

1–0

0–1

3–0

2–1

2–2

0–0

0–0

1–0

2–0

3–1

0–0

1–1

1–1

2–0

2–1

1–0

Châteauroux

0–0

0–2

0–1

1–2

2–1

1–1

3–2

2–2

1–1

1–1

0–0

2–5

2–1

0–1

0–0

1–4

2–1

0–1

3–0

Clermont

1–1

3–4

2–0

3–1

1–1

1–0

3–3

1–0

2–5

0–0

1–0

0–1

3–0

1–1

1–0

0–0

2–2

1–0

0–0

Créteil

3–2

1–1

0–1

2–0

2–2

2–1

3–0

2–2

0–2

1–0

0–0

1–1

2–0

1–1

1–0

1–2

1–4

1–1

0–0

Dijon

3–0

1–1

1–1

1–0

1–0

1–0

0–1

1–0

2–1

1–0

1–1

3–1

4–5

1–0

2–1

1–0

0–3

0–1

1–1

Laval

0–0

0–2

3–2

1–0

1–1

2–2

1–0

3–1

1–1

1–0

1–1

1–1

0–1

1–1

1–1

2–2

2–1

2–1

3–1

Le Havre

2–1

1–1

1–0

2–0

2–1

1–1

1–1

3–1

1–1

1–0

0–1

0–1

2–0

1–1

3–1

1–1

0–1

3–2

3–1

Nancy

2–0

1–0

0–0

1–1

2–1

2–1

6–0

1–2

3–1

1–1

1–1

2–1

0–0

1–2

2–2

1–1

2–1

2–0

0–1

Nîmes

1–1

2–0

3–2

2–2

0–1

0–0

1–0

0–1

0–1

2–2

0–0

3–3

1–1

3–2

0–1

2–1

3–2

1–2

2–0

Niort

1–0

1–1

2–1

1–1

1–1

0–0

3–0

0–0

1–3

1–1

0–3

1–0

1–4

3–2

1–1

0–1

1–1

1–0

3–0

Orléans

1–1

0–1

2–3

1–1

0–0

1–0

1–0

2–1

1–1

0–1

1–1

2–2

0–1

1–1

0–0

1–0

2–1

0–1

0–1

Sochaux

1–1

2–1

1–1

1–0

0–0

0–0

3–0

1–0

2–1

0–1

1–1

0–1

0–2

2–0

2–3

0–1

2–1

0–2

1–1

Tours

0–2

2–1

1–2

2–2

2–3

1–1

1–0

0–1

4–2

0–0

1–1

3–2

1–1

1–2

1–0

4–3

0–1

0–2

1–0

Troyes

2–0

1–1

2–1

4–0

1–2

1–0

4–1

2–0

2–0

1–0

0–0

2–2

1–0

2–0

4–1

1–0

2–0

1–0

0–0

Valenciennes

1–1

2–1

1–0

3–0

1–2

0–1

1–0

2–1

1–1

0–3

2–2

0–4

1–1

2–2

1–3

2–0

1–2

1–2

1–1

Last updated: 22 May 2015
Source: Ligue de Football Professionnel

Season statistics

Top goalscorers As of matches played 22 May 2015 Rank Player Club Goals 1 Mickaël Le Bihan Le Havre 18 2 Jonathan Kodjia Angers 15 Seydou Koné Niort 4 Youssouf Hadji Nancy 14 Karl Toko Ekambi Sochaux 6 Youssef Adnane Tours / Brest 13 Anthony Le Tallec Valenciennes 8 Nicolas Fauvergue Ajaccio 12 Mana Dembélé Nancy 10 Idriss Saadi Clermont 11 Benjamin Nivet Troyes Source: Official Goalscorers' Standings

Top assists As of matches played 22 May 2015 Rank Player Club Assists 1 Johan Cavalli Ajaccio 11 Florian Martin Niort 3 Maurice Dalé Nancy 10 4 Benjamin Nivet Troyes 8 5 Júlio Tavares Dijon 7 6 Alexandre Bonnet Le Havre 6 Rémy Dugimont Clermont Loïc Puyo Orléans Source: Official Assists' Table

References

1. "Attendances". Ligue de Football Professionel. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
2. "Luzenac en Ligue 2 !" [Luzenac in Ligue 2!] (in French). lequipe.fr. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
3. "Football : le club de Luzenac, village de 650 habitants, accède à la Ligue 2" [Football: Luzenac, from village with 650 inhabitants, reaches Ligue 2] (in French). leparisien.fr. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
4. "Orléans valide sa montée en Ligue 2" [Orléans validates its promotion to Ligue 2] (in French). lequipe.fr. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
5. "Le Gazélec Ajaccio en Ligue 2 !" [Gazélec Ajaccio in Ligue 2!] (in French). lequipe.fr. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
6. "L'AC Ajaccio officiellement relégué" [AC Ajaccio officially relegated] (in French). lequipe.fr. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
7. "Valenciennes relégué !" [Valenciennes relegated!] (in French). lequipe.fr. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
8. "Luzenac refused promotion to Ligue 2, will appeal" (in French). 5 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
9. "Le club de Valenciennes en redressement judiciaire, le Racing n'échappe pas plus au CFA" [Valenciennes in judicial receivership, Racing doesn't escape CFA] (in French). dna.fr. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
10. "Ligue 2 : La DNCG confirme son refus d'accepter Luzenac en L2" (in French). Eurosport. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
11. "VAFC en Ligue 2, Borloo président en attendant Dayan: toutes les réactions" (in French). 11 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
12. "Marsiglia et Nîmes, c'est fini" (in French). Le Figaro. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
13. "Le journal du mercato (25/06)" (in French). Le Figaro. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
14. "Ariël Jacobs quitte Valenciennes" (in French). Le Figaro. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
15. "Casoni à Valenciennes (off.)" (in French). Le Figaro. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
16. "Dumas quitte Arles-Avignon" (in French). Le Figaro. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
17. "Bracconi limogé d'Ajaccio" (in French). Le Figaro. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
18. "Pantaloni retrouve Ajaccio" (in French). Le Figaro. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
19. "Pantaloni démissionne" (in French). Le Figaro. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
20. "Tours : Dujeux confirmé" (in French). Le Figaro. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
21. "Créteil : Hinschberger s'en va" (in French). Le Figaro. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
22. "Mombaerts quitte le Havre !" (in French). Le Figaro. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
23. "Officiel pour Goudet au Havre" (in French). Le Figaro. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
24. "Un nouvel entraîneur à l'ACA" (in French). AVI. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
25. "Châteauroux limoge Pascal Gastien" (in French). Le Figaro. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
26. "Châteauroux : Daury entraîneur" (in French). Le Figaro. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
27. "Casoni quitte VA" (in French). Le Figaro. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
28. "Le Frapper remplace Casoni" (in French). Le Figaro. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
29. "Nîmes rétrogradé". lequipe.fr (in French). 17 March 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
30. "Matches truqués: Des points de pénalité pour Nîmes, qui n'est plus rétrogradé". lequipe.fr (in French). 20 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
31. "Arles-Avignon rétrogradé en CFA". ledauphine.com (in French). 10 July 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.