AS Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne

Full name	Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire
Nickname(s)	Les Verts (The Greens), Sainté ASSE
Founded	1919
Ground	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Capacity	42,000[1]
Chairman	Bernard Caiazzo Roland Romeyer
Manager	Christophe Galtier
League	Ligue 1
2015–16	Ligue 1, 6th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (French pronunciation: ​[asɔsjasjɔ̃ spɔrtɪv də sɛ̃t‿etjɛn lwaʁ]; commonly known as AS Saint-Étienne, ASSE, or simply Saint-Étienne) is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city. The team is managed by Christophe Galtier and captained by Loïc Perrin, who started his career at the club in 1996.^[2] Saint-Étienne is known as Les Verts meaning "the Greens" due to its home colours.

Saint-Étienne is, arguably, the most successful club in French football history having won ten Ligue 1 titles, six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions (the French Super Cup). The club's ten league titles are the most professional league titles won by a French club, while the six cup victories places the club third among most Coupe de France titles. Saint-Étienne has also won the second division championship on three occasions. The club achieved most of its honours in the 1960s and 1970s when the club was led by managers Jean Snella, Albert Batteux, and Robert Herbin. Saint-Étienne's primary rivals are Olympique Lyonnais, who are based in nearby Lyon. The two teams annually contest the Derby Rhône-Alpes. In 2009, the club added a female section to the football club.

Saint-Étienne have produced several notable players, mostly during its dynastic run in the 1960s and 1970s, who have gone on to have coaching careers domestically and internationally. The club unearthed players and managers such as Aimé Jacquet, Jacques Santini, Laurent Blanc and Michel Platini. Each player went on to have a managerial stint with the France national team. Jacquet coached the team to victory at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, while Santini won the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. Blanc was the manager of the national team for two years between 2010 and 2012.

History

AS Saint-Étienne was founded in 1919 by employees of the Saint-Étienne-based grocery store chain Groupe Casino under the name Amicale des Employés de la Société des Magasins Casino (ASC). The club adopted green as its primary color mainly due to it being the principal color of Casino. In 1920, due to the French Football Federation prohibiting the use of trademarks in sports club, the club dropped Casino from its name and changed its name to simply Amical Sporting Club to retain the ASC acronym. In 1927, Pierre Guichard took over as president of the club and, after merging with local club Stade Forézien Universitaire, changed its name to Association sportive Stéphanoise.

In July 1930, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. In 1933, Stéphanoise turned professional and changed its name to its current version. The club was inserted into the second division and became inaugural members of the league after finishing runner-up in the South Group. Saint-Étienne remained in Division 2 for four more seasons before earning promotion to Division 1 for the 1938–39 season under the leadership of the Scot William Duckworth. The team's debut appearance in the first division was, however, short-lived due to the onset of World War II. Saint-Étienne returned to the first division after the war under the Austrian-born Frenchman Ignace Tax and surprised many by finishing runner-up to Lille in the first season after the war. The club failed to improve upon that finish in following seasons under Tax and, ahead of the 1950–51 season, was let go and replaced by former Saint-Étienne player Jean Snella.

Georges Bereta won six league titles while playing for Saint-Étienne.

Under Snella, Saint-Étienne achieved its first honour after winning the Coupe Charles Drago in 1955. Two seasons later, the club won its first domestic league title. Led by goalkeeper Claude Abbes, defender Robert Herbin, as well as midfielders René Ferrier and Kees Rijvers, and striker Georges Peyroche, Saint-Étienne won the league by four points over Lens. In 1958, Saint-Étienne won the Coupe Drago for the second time. After the following season, in which the club finished 6th, Snella departed the club. He was replaced by René Vernier. In the team's first season under Vernier, Saint-Étienne finished 12th, the club's worst finish since finishing 11th eight seasons ago. In the following season, François Wicart joined the coaching staff. In 1961, Roger Rocher became president of the club and quickly became one of the club's chief investors. After two seasons under Wicart, Saint-Étienne were relegated after finishing 17th in the 1961–62 season. Wicart did, however, lead the club to its first Coupe de France title in 1962, alongside co-manager Henri Guérin with the team defeating FC Nancy 1–0 in the final. He also led the club back to Division 1 after one season in the second division, but after the season, Wicart was replaced by Snella, who returned as manager after a successful stint in Switzerland with Servette.

Snella's first season back, Saint-Étienne won its second league title and, two seasons later, captured its third. Snella's third and final title with the club coincided with the arrival of Georges Bereta, Bernard Bosquier, Gérard Farison, and Hervé Revelli to the team. After the season, Snella returned to Servette and former Stade Reims manager Albert Batteux replaced him. In Batteux's first season in 1967, Saint-Étienne captured the double after winning the league and the Coupe de France. In the next season, Batteux won the league and, in the ensuing season, won the double again. The club's fast rise into French football led to a high-level of confidence from the club's ownership and supporters and, following two seasons without a trophy, Batteux was let go and replaced by former Saint-Étienne player Robert Herbin.

In Herbin's first season in charge, Saint-Étienne finished fourth in the league and reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France. In the next two seasons, the club won the double, its seventh and eighth career league title and its third and fourth Coupe de France title. In 1976, Saint-Étienne became the first French club since Reims in 1959 to reach the final of the European Cup. In the match, played at Hampden Park in Scotland, Saint-Étienne faced German club Bayern Munich, who were the reigning champions and arguably the world's best team at the time. The match was hotly contested with Saint-Étienne failing to score on numerous chances by Jacques Santini, Dominique Bathenay, and Osvaldo Piazza, among others. A single goal by Franz Roth eventually decided the outcome and Saint-Étienne supporters departed Scotland in tears; however, not without nicknaming the goalposts "les poteaux carrés" (the square posts). Saint-Étienne did earn a consolation prize by winning the league to cap off a successful season and, in the following season, the team won the Coupe de France. In 1981, Saint-Étienne, captained by Michel Platini, won its final league title to date after winning the league for the tenth time. After two more seasons in charge, Herbin departed the club for archrivals Lyon.

Loïc Perrin is the current captain of Saint-Étienne.

In 1982, a financial scandal involving a controversial slush fund led to the departure and eventual jailing of long-time president Roger Rocher. Saint-Étienne subsequently suffered a free-fall with the club suffering relegation in the 1983–84 season. The club returned to the first division in 1986 under the leadership of goalkeeper Jean Castaneda who had remained with the club, despite its current financial state. Saint-Étienne kept its place in the first division for nearly a decade with the club reaching the semi-finals of the Coupe de France in 1990 and 1993 during the stint. In 1996, Saint-Étienne was relegated to the second division and returned to Division 1 in 1999. In the 2000–01 season, the club was, amazingly, supervised by five different managers and had to deal with a scandal that involved two players (Brazilian Alex Dias and Ukrainian goalkeeper Maksym Levytsky) who utilised fake Portuguese and Greek passports. Both players were suspended for four months and, at the end of a judicial inquiry, which linked some of the club's management staff to the passport forgeries, Saint-Étienne was docked seven league points and were, unsurprisingly, relegated.

Saint-Étienne played three seasons in the second division and returned to the first division, now called Ligue 1, for the 2004–05 season. The club's best finish during its current stint in the first division was a surprising 5th-place finish in the 2007–08 season, which resulted in the club qualifying for the UEFA Cup, for the first time since 1982. Saint-Étienne was influenced by several youngsters within the team such as Bafétimbi Gomis, Loïc Perrin, Blaise Matuidi, and Dimitri Payet. The heightened excitement by supporters was soon quelled after the club followed up its 5th-place finish by concluding the next two seasons in 17th place. ^[3]

Having won the French League Cup in April 2013, their first major domestic trophy for more than thirty years, Saint Etienne qualified for the third preliminary round of the 2013–14 Europa League campaign.

Following crowd trouble towards the end of the 2012–13 season Saint Etienne were handed a one match stadium ban which would have forced the team to open their campaign behind closed doors. However, on 23 July 2013 this ban was lifted. ^[4]

Players

Current squad

As of 31 August 2016.^[5]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Anthony Maisonnial 2 DF Kévin Théophile-Catherine 3 DF Pierre-Yves Polomat 4 DF Léo Lacroix 5 MF Vincent Pajot 6 MF Jérémy Clément 7 MF Bryan Dabo 8 MF Benjamin Corgnet 9 FW Nolan Roux 10 FW Oussama Tannane 11 MF Henri Saivet (on loan from Newcastle United) 12 DF Cheikh M'Bengue 14 MF Jordan Veretout (on loan from Aston Villa)

No. Position Player 16 GK Stéphane Ruffier 17 MF Ole Selnæs 18 MF Fabien Lemoine 19 DF Florentin Pogba 21 FW Romain Hamouma 22 FW Kévin Monnet-Paquet 23 FW Alexander Søderlund 24 DF Loïc Perrin (captain) 25 DF Kévin Malcuit 27 FW Robert Berić 30 GK Jessy Moulin 32 DF Benjamin Karamoko 33 DF Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel

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 — FW Jonathan Bamba (on loan to Sint-Truidense) — FW Neal Maupay (on loan to Brest)

No. Position Player — FW Dylan Saint-Louis (on loan to Laval)

Records and statistics

Most appearances

#	Name	Matches
1°	René Domingo	518
2°	Robert Herbin	489
3°	Christian Lopez	453
4°	Gérard Farison	412
5°	Hervé Revelli	405
6°	Jean-Michel Larqué	403
7°	Gérard Janvion	392
8°	Jean Castaneda	378
9°	Georges Bereta	339
10°	Georges Polny	329

Top scorers

#	Name	Goals
1°	Hervé Revelli	204
2°	Rachid Mekhloufi	150
3°	Salif Keïta	143
4°	Ignace Tax	119
5°	Antoine Rodriguez	109
6°	Eugène N'Jo Léa	101
7°	Robert Herbin	99
8°	Jean-Michel Larqué	99
9°	Michel Platini	82
10°	Patrick Revelli	78

Honours

Domestic

• Ligue 1

Winners (10): 1956–57, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1980–81

• Ligue 2

Winners (3): 1962–63, 1998–99, 2003–04

• Coupe de France

Winners (6): 1961–62, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1976–77

• Coupe de la Ligue

Winners (1): 2012–13

• Trophée des Champions

Winners (5): 1957, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1969

• Coupe Gambardella

Winners (3): 1963, 1970, 1998

• Coupe Charles Drago

Winners (2): 1955, 1958

Europe

• European Cup

  • Runners-up (1): 1975-76

Management and staff

Club officials

Senior club staff

• President: Bernard Caiazzo & Roland Romeyer
• Vice-President: Roland Romeyer
• general manager: Dominique Rocheteau

Coaching and medical staff

• Manager: Christophe Galtier
• Assistant Manager: Alain Blachon & Romain Revelli

Academy coaching staff

• Director of Youth Academy: Bernard David

Managerial history

Dates[6] Name 1933 Albert Locke 1934 Harold Rivers 1934–1935 William Duckworth 1936–1937 Zoltán Vágó 1936–1940 William Duckworth 1940–1943 Émile Cabannes 1943–1950 Ignace Tax 1950–1959 Jean Snella 1959–1960 René Vernier 1960–1961 François Wicart 1961–1962 Henri Guérin 1962–1963 François Wicart 1963–1967 Jean Snella July 1, 1967 – June 30, 1972 Albert Batteux July 1, 1972 – February 1, 1983 Robert Herbin 1983 Guy Briet 1983–1984 Jean Djorkaeff 1984 Robert Philippe 1984–1987 Henryk Kasperczak July 1, 1987 – June 30, 1990 Robert Herbin

Dates Name July 1, 1989 – June 30, 1992 Christian Sarramagna July 1, 1992 – June 30, 1994 Jacques Santini 1994–1996 Élie Baup 1996 Maxime Bossis 1996 – June 30, 1996 Dominique Bathenay 1996–1997 Pierre Mankowski July 1, 1997 – June 30, 1998 Pierre Repellini July 1, 1998 – September 30, 2000 Robert Nouzaret 2000 Gérard Soler October 1, 2000 – December 21, 2000 John Toshack January 5, 2001 – June 30, 2001 Rudi Garcia Jean-Guy Wallemme July 1, 2001 – October 9, 2001 Alain Michel October 9, 2001 – June 30, 2004 Frédéric Antonetti June 7, 2004 – June 30, 2006 Élie Baup July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007 Ivan Hašek July 1, 2007 – November 10, 2008 Laurent Roussey November 11, 2008 – December 15, 2009 Alain Perrin December 15, 2009 – present Christophe Galtier

References

1. http://www.worldofstadiums.com/europe/france/stade-geoffroy-guichard/
2. "Biographie: Loïc Perrin". Loïc Perrin. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
3. "ASSE Stade Plan" (in French). AS Saint-Étienne. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
4. "Etienne Stadium Ban Lifted". Stadia Directory. Retrieved 23 July 2013. In 2016 Saint Etienne faced a disgracing elimination from AEK Athens losing 5-1 on aggregate on the 3rd qualifying round of Europa League
5. "Effectif professionnel" (in French). asse.fr. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
6. "France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 8 February 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2011.

External links

• Official website (French)