Le Mans FC
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| Full name | Le Mans Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | MUC 72 | ||
| Founded | 12 June 1985 | ||
| Ground | MMArena, Le Mans | ||
| Capacity | 25,000 | ||
| Chairman | Jean-Piere Pasquier | ||
| Manager | Richard Déziré | ||
| League | Championnat National | ||
| 2017–18 | National 2 Group D, 1st (promoted) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Le Mans Football Club (French pronunciation: [ləmɑ̃]; commonly referred to as Le MUC or simply Le Mans) is a French association football club based in Le Mans. The club was founded in 1985 as a result of a merger under the name Le Mans Union Club 72. In 2010, Le Mans changed its name to Le Mans FC to coincide with the re-modeling of the club, which includes moving into a new stadium, MMArena, which opened in January 2011.[1] The club played in Ligue 2, the second level of French football having suffered relegation from Ligue 1 following the 2009–10 season. Due to financial difficulties, the club lost its professional status in 2013, went bankrupt, and reformed in the Division d'Honneur, Maine for the 2013–14 season. The club won promotion back to CFA 2 at the first time of asking, won promotion again to the new Championnat National 2 in 2017, and again to the Championnat National in 2018.
History
Le Mans Sports Club were founded in 1900, but it was not until 1908 that a football club existed within it. In 1910, Le Mans qualified for the Championnat de la France in 1910, but were heavily overturned by Saint-Servan. Gaining a huge reputation up to World War I, Le Mans SC plunged into obscurity by World War II before joining the war league in 1942.
The football section of Union Sportive du Mans was founded in 1903.
The current club was formed as a result of a merger between Union Sportive du Mans and Le Mans Sports Club, on 12 June 1985. Upon its foundation, former football player Bernard Deferrez was installed as manager. Le Mans UC spent the majority of its infancy in Ligue 2. In the 2003–04 season, the club achieved promotion to Ligue 1 for the first time, but were immediately relegated. Le Mans returned to the first division for the 2005–06 season and successfully remained in the league for the next four seasons. The club suffered relegated back to Ligue 2 in the 2009–10 season. Midway through the campaign, on 2 December 2009, Le Mans announced that it was changing its name from Le Mans Union Club 72 to Le Mans FC.
Le Mans moved to the MMArena midway through the 2010–11 season, comfortably in the promotion spots for a return to Ligue 1, but a bad run sees them finish 4th, missing promotion on goal difference. The failure to achieve promotion is costly, as the club sees it's payroll limited by the DNCG. Many players leave, and relegation is only narrowly avoided. The club survives by appeal an attempt by DNCG to relegate them to Championnat National. The following season they are relegated on the field, and a long summer of legal battles sees them liqudated and reforming in Maine (province) Division d'Honneur as an amateur club.[2]
Promotion to Championnat de France Amateur 2 was achieved at the first attempt, and promotion from that division was only narrowly missed in 2014–15 and 2015–16. At the third attempt, promotion to the new Championnat National 2 was obtained in 2016–17, when Le Mans finished as one of the best runners up in the competition. Le Mans was promoted for the second season in a row winning Group D and being promoted to the 2018–19 Championnat National.
Players
Current squad
As of 30 August 2018.[3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
Below are the notable former players who have represented Le Mans and its predecessors in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1985. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club.
For a complete list of Le Mans players, see Category:Le Mans FC players
Former managers
- Mony Braustein (1945–46)
- ? (1946–47)
- Émile Rummelhardt (1947–51)
- Gaston Choulet (1951–52)
- Gabriel Corsaletti (1952–53)
- Camille Libar (1953–57)
- André Grillon (1957–64)
- René Dereuddre (1964–76)
- Alain Laurier (1976–79)
- Michel Rodriguez (1979–81)
- André Guttierez (1981–85)
- Bernard Deferrez (1985–86)
- Christian Gourcuff (Jun 86 – Jan 89)
- Christian Létard (Jan 1989 – Jan 94)
- Thierry Froger (Jan 1994 – May 97)
- Slavo Muslin (Jun 1997 – Nov 97)
- Marc Westerloppe (Nov 1997 – Nov 2000)
- Alain Pascalou (Nov 2000 – Dec 2000)
- Thierry Goudet (Dec 2000 – Feb 2004)
- Daniel Jeandupeux (Feb 2004 – Dec 2004)
- Frédéric Hantz (Dec 2004–07)
- Rudi Garcia (2007–08)
- Yves Bertucci (2008–09)
- Daniel Jeandupeux (2009)
- Arnaud Cormier (2009)
- Paulo Duarte (2009)
- Arnaud Cormier (2009–2011)
- Denis Zanko (2011–2013)
- Régis Beunardeau (2013)
- Stéphane Guédet (2013–2014)
- Alexandre Clément (2014–2015)
Honours
- Division d'Honneur Ouest
- Winners (2): 1961, 1965
- Division d'Honneur Maine
- Winnser (1): 2014
- Coupe Gambardella
- Winners (1): 2004
References
- ^ Le MUC 72 devient LEMANS FC Archived 4 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "L'épopée Sang et OR" (in French). Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "Équipe National 2". Le Mans FC. Retrieved 9 October 2017.