Valenciennes FC

Valenciennes

Full name	Valenciennes Football Club
Nickname(s)	Les Athéniens (in the past)
Founded	1913
Ground	Stade Nungesser (Capacity: 16,500)
Chairman	Francis Decourrière
Manager	Philippe Montanier
League	Ligue 1
2009–10	Ligue 1, 10th
Home colours Away colours Third colours

The Valenciennes Football Club (French pronunciation: [valɑ̃sjɛn], commonly known as Valenciennes or USVA, the former acronym of the club's previous name) is a French football club based in the commune of Valenciennes in the Nord department. The club was founded in 1913. In the 2005–06 season, it competed in Ligue 2, with Francis Decourrière serving as general manager and former coach Antoine Kombouaré as head coach. In 2006, they returned to the top flight after more than a decade's exile and maintained their Ligue 1 status at the end of this season.

Trophies

• Champions Division 2 : 1971/72, 2005/06.
• Champions Division 3: 2004/05.
• Runners-up Division 2 : 1934/35, 1936/37, 1961/62, 1974/75, 1991/92.
• Division 4 Champions: 1997/98.
• French Cup: Finalists: 1950/51.

Chronology

The beginnings of the Valenciennes club

Valenciennes FC was founded in 1913 by a group of young men, notably Mssrs Colson, Joly and Bouly. With the Great War in progress, the club made little impact at first. However, in 1916 another group of sportsmen made contact with the directors of the club with a view to creating the "Union Sportive Valenciennes-Anzin" (Valenciennes-Anzin Sports Union, known by its French initials USVA) under which name they then participated in the Escaut district championships. Under the leadership of their president, M. Lélithouard, USVA attained professional status in 1933.

Timeline

• 1913: Foundation of Valenciennes Football Club (FCV).
• 1916: The club is renamed Union Sportive Valenciennes-Anzin (USVA), and retains this name until 1996.
• 1933: Creation of a professional section.
• 1993: Valenciennes and Marseille are involved in a match fixing scandal. Marseille chairman Bernard Tapie is believed to have bribed Valenciennes players to ensure a Marseille win so that the club could have more time to prepare for the UEFA Champions League final. Both clubs suffer a forced relegation as a result of this incident.
• 1994: Valenciennes relegated to Division 3.
• 1996: End of the professional section.
• 1996: The club is renamed as "Valenciennes Football Club" .
• 2005: Professional section refounded .
• 2005: Valenciennes promoted to Ligue 2
• 2006: Valenciennes promoted to Ligue 1

Current squad

As of 17 August 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 Nicolas Penneteau (vice-captain) 2 DF David Ducourtioux 3 DF Christopher Mfuyi 4 DF Bobo Baldé 5 DF Rafael Schmitz 6 DF Milan Biševac (captain) 8 MF Gael Danic 9 FW Vincent Aboubakar 10 MF Fahid Ben Khalfallah 12 MF Rémi Gomis 14 MF Foued Kadir 15 DF Siaka Tiéné 16 GK Jean-Louis Leca 17 MF Carlos Sánchez

No. Position Player 18 MF Amara Bangoura 19 MF Nam Tae-Hee 20 DF Benjamin Angoua 21 DF Nicolas Pallois 22 MF Jonathan Lacourt 23 MF José Saez 24 DF Gaëtan Bong 25 DF Rudy Mater 26 MF Renaud Cohade 27 FW Mamadou Samassa 28 FW Grégory Pujol 29 MF Seïd Khiter 30 GK Grégory Wimbée

Great players of the past

Logo used till 2008

For a complete list of Valenciennes FC players, see Category:Valenciennes FC players

International success of its players

• Foued Kadir - played for Algeria at the 2010 World Cup
• Nourredine Kourichi – played for Algeria at the 1982 World Cup and 1986 World Cup
• Jorge Burruchaga – played for Argentina at the 1986 World Cup and 1990 World Cup
• Didier Six – last Valenciennes team member to date to play for France
• Thomas Dossevi – played for Togo at the 2006 World Cup
• David Regis – played for USA at the 1998 World Cup

Managerial history

Trivia

• Attendance record: 21,268 spectators (14 March 1955, Sedan)
• Home office: 43 bis Avenue de Reims, 59300 Valenciennes
• In the Video Game FIFA 06, Valenciennes are 1 of 2 one-star rated teams in the game.

References

External links

• (French) Official FCV web site