AS Nancy

Nancy

Full name	Association Sportive Nancy-Lorraine
Nickname(s)	ASNL, les Chardons (the thistles)
Founded	1967
Ground	Stade Marcel Picot, Tomblaine (Capacity: 20,085)
Chairman	Jacques Rousselot
Manager	Pablo Correa
League	Ligue 1
2009–10	Ligue 1, 12th
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Association Sportive Nancy-Lorraine (French pronunciation: [a.sɔ.sja.sjɔ̃ spɔrtɪv nɑ̃si-lɔʁɛn], commonly known as AS Nancy or simply Nancy) is a French football club based in Nancy. The club was founded in 1967 as a successor of the defunct FC Nancy, which collapsed in 1965. Nancy was promoted to Ligue 1 for the 2005–06 season. One of the club's more notable players was French football legend Michel Platini who began his career at the club and played there from 1972–1979. Nancy play their home games at Stade Marcel Picot. In the 2005–06 season, the won the Coupe de la Ligue, thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

History

Platini Era

Author of the winning goal against OGC Nice in the Coupe de France final at the Parc des Princes in 1978, Michel Platini, was the son of Italian immigrants, Anna and Aldo Platini. He joined Nancy after being rejected by FC Metz. The following year, in 1978–79, the club participated in its first European competition for. Nancy reached the quarterfinals where they were eliminated by Swiss club Servette FC after beating Danish Superliga powerhouse FC Copenhagen. Platini was injured for much of that season, but he was able to take part in the latter stages of the European campaign. The early 1980s saw Nancy moved to the top half of the championship table in Ligue 1. Platini departed the club in 1979.

1986–Present

After the descent to Ligue 2 at the end of the 1986–87 season, Nancy went into a difficult period. The only ray of sunshine on the club was the dedication held for Michel Platini on 23 May 1988 following the players' club and international retirement. That evening, fans were treated to an exhibition that featured not only Platini, but also Pele and Diego Maradona.

Nancy was unable to maintain sustained success in Ligue 1 until the early 2000s. The team has stayed in Ligue 1 since the 2004–2005 season where the team won the Ligue 2 championship for the fourth time. The following year, thanks to the work of Uruguayan coach Pablo Correa and a solid group of young players developed from the club's youth system, the club was able to lift the Coupe de la Ligue title for the first time in its history beating OGC Nice 2–1 at the Stade de France. Nancy supporters arrived at the match courtesy of 11 special trains, while more than 300 buses and thousands of cars from the city also arrived in Paris. The cup victory allowed Nancy to participate in the UEFA Cup with the club eventually making it to the Round of 32 before losing to Shakhtar Donetsk.

The first half of the 2007–08 season for Nancy was their best ever start to a season in the top division with 35 points after 19 games and sitting in 2nd place position. On 4 November 2007 in a match against Bordeaux, the club celebrated its 40th anniversary of existence with a special event involving many of the club's former players, club officials, presidents, and coaches. After a good second half start, Nancy sat in 3rd place on the final match day of the season. However, the club finished one spot short of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League losing 3–2 to Rennes, while 4th place Marseille defeated Strasbourg 4–3 to claim the spot. Nancy still managed to claim the league's best defense, alongside OGC Nice. The 30 goals conceded equaled the club's record achieved in the 1976–77 season.

Players

Current squad

As of 29 June 2010^[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Gennaro Bracigliano (captain) 3 DF Joël Sami 4 MF Chris Malonga 5 DF André Luiz 6 MF Pascal Berenguer 7 MF Landry N'Guemo 8 DF Jordan Lotiès 9 MF Aatif Chahechouhe 11 FW Djamel Bakar 12 MF Bakaye Traoré 14 FW Paul Alo'o Efoulou 15 FW Youssouf Hadji

No. Position Player 16 GK Damien Gregorini 18 MF Julien Féret 19 FW Marama Vahirua 20 DF Mickaël Chrétien 21 MF Samba Diakité 22 MF Alexandre Cuvillier (on loan from Boulogne) 23 MF Jonathan Brison 24 MF Benjamin Gavanon 25 DF Reynald Lemaître 29 MF Alfred N'Diaye 30 GK Rémi Pillot

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player 7 MF Bocundji Ca (on loan at Tours until the end of the 2010–11 Ligue 2 season) 17 DF Jean Calvé (on loan at Sheffield United until end of the 2010–11 Football League Championship season)

Notable former players

For a complete list of AS Nancy Lorraine players, see Category:AS Nancy players.

Coaching staff

• Head coach: Pablo Correa
• Assistant coach: Paul Fischer
• First-Team coach: Lauren Moracchini

Honours

• Ligue 2
  • Winners (4): 1974/75, 1989/90, 1997/98, 2004/05
  • Runners-up (1): 1969/70
• French Cup
  • Winners (1): 1977/78
• French League Cup
  • Winners (1): 2005/06

Managers

^[2]

References

See also

• FC Nancy

External links

• (French) Official website