Lille OSC

Lille OSC is a football (soccer) club from France.

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Lille Olympique Sporting Club is a France football (soccer) club. Based in the northern city of Lille founded in 1944 from the merger of the Olympique Lillois (founded in 1902) and the SC Fives (founded in 1901).

History

A merger between two clubs

Olympique Lillois

Founded in 1902, Olympique Lillois is the historical Lille team
- Achievements:
- Ligue 1 (1) :
- - Champion : French football Division 1 1932-33
- - Runner-up : French football Division 1 1935-36
- Trophée de France (1) :
- - Winner : 1914.
- Championnat USFSA (1) :
- - Champion : 1914.
- Championnat USFSA Nord (3) :
- - Champion : 1911, 1913 et 1914.
- Championnat DH Nord (4) :
- - Champion : 1921, 1922, 1929 et 1931
- Coupe Peugeot :
- - Finalist : 1931.

- Coaches:
- 1931-32 : Imre Nagy
- 1932-34 : Robert de Veen
- 1934-35 : Bob Fisher
- 1935-37 : Ted Magner
- 1937-38 : Steirling
- 1938-39 : Jenő Konrád
- 1941-43 : Georges Winckelmans
- 1943-44 : Denglos

SC Fives

Founded in 1901, SC Fives was based in Fives, a suburb in the east of Lille.

- Achievements
- Ligue 1:
- - Runner-up : French football Division 1 1933-34
- Coupe de France (1) :
- - Finalist : 1941.

- Coaches:
- Bill Berry (footballer born 1904): coach from 1936 to 1944, first coach of Lille OSC (1944-1946)

The merger gave birth to the Lille Olympique Sporting Club, aka LOSC, with the SC Fives club giving to the new club the "SC" in their name and their blue away kit. Olympique Lillois' red and white color are still LOSC's main colours.

Beginnings

After some glorious years in the aftermath of WWII with 2 league titles, 4 runner-up spots and 5 national cups, Lille have often lived in the shadow of local rival RC Lens when it comes to both performances and local popularity. The intense rivalry between the two clubs can also be traced back to the social and economical backgrounds of the two cities, Lille OSC being Lille OSC of the large "bourgeois" city of Lille, capital of the French Flanders, with RC Lens coming from the modest medium sized miners' town of Lens, Pas-de-Calais.

Recent history

However, since their return to the French Ligue 1 in 2000, after 3 seasons in Ligue 2, Lille's results have generally bettered those of their local rivals, with three Champions League participations in 2002, 2005 and 2006 and a victory in the Intertoto Cup in 2004. In the 2004/05 Ligue 1 campaign, Lille stunned many by finishing an excellent second place in the table by the end of the season, ahead of the likes of AS Monaco F.C., Olympique de Marseille and of course their local rivals, Lens. A title challenge had even been mounted against Olympique Lyonnais though it was to be a brief one despite beating them in their home game. Lille however automatically qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stages, and hoped to make a good impression in Europe by progressing through the groups. On November 2, 2005 they recorded one of the greatest results in their history by defeating Manchester United F.C. in the Champions League group phase. However, Lille were only able to pick up one point in their final two matches. They parachuted into the UEFA Cup by finishing third in their group, leaving Manchester United behind and out of Europe in fourth place. Lille's UEFA Cup run finished in the last 16, their opponent and ultimate winners of the competition Sevilla FC going through 2-1 on aggregate.

In the 2005/06 Ligue 1 campaign, Lille confirmed their revival finishing third, behind Lyon (a club they managed to convincingly beat home (4-0) and away (1-3)) and Bordeaux. Their regional rivals Lens once again finished behind in 4th place. The third place meant Lille qualified for the Champions League final qualifying round. They beat FK Rabotnički 4-0 on aggregate and qualified for the third time in six years for the Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League, without a proper stadium. In the group stage, Lille finished 2nd behind A.C. Milan, recording another great result, at San Siro, beating Milan 2-0. Going through to the last 16, Lille was drawn against old foes, Manchester United F.C.. This time, the English giants prevailed 2-0 on aggregate, avenging the previous year's humiliating defeat. The first leg was a tumultuous affair, marred by crowd trouble and refereeing controversy. Indeed during the first leg of the second round match against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League 2006-07, some Lille players appeared to temporarily leave the field of play without permission after the referee, Eric Braamhaar, gave the green light

In the aftermath of the game, Lille protested that the goal should be disallowed on the basis that referee Eric Braamhaar made a 'technical error' in allowing Giggs to take the free-kick without blowing his whistle after some Manchester United players appeared to ask the referee to ensure the Lille defence respected the ten yard rule. After reviewing the video evidence, the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body decided to reject the protest, as there was no proof of a technical error. As a result, the body declared that the goal was perfectly valid.

Stadium

- Stade Henri Jooris (Beginnings-1974)
- Stade Grimonprez Jooris (1974-2004)
- Stadium Lille-Metropole (2004-present)
Since the 2004/2005 season, Lille plays at Stadium Lille-Metropole, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, next to Lille, awaiting a new venue programmed since 1999.The justice have rejected the project of Grimonprez-Jooris II, that's why Lille Métropole Communauté urbaine have chosen to build a new venue at la Haute-Borne, the Stade Borne de l'Espoir, which is on both town of Villeneuve-d'Ascq and Lezennes. The stadium capacity would be about 50000 seats, with an opening roof.This new venue would be finished in 2010.

Without a stadium suitable for European competition, Lille OSC rents other venue for UEFA Champions League
- Stade Félix Bollaert for UEFA Champions League 2001-02 and UEFA Champions League 2006-07
- Stade de France for UEFA Champions League 2005-06

Achievements

- French Division 1 Winner: French football Division 1 1932-33 as Olympique Lillois, French football Division 1 1945-46, French football Division 1 1953-54
- French Division 1 Runner-up: French football Division 1 1935-36, French football Division 1 1947-48, French football Division 1 1948-49, French football Division 1 1949-50, French football Division 1 1950-51, Ligue 1 season 2004-05
- French Division 2 Winner: 1964, 1974, 1978, French football Division 2 1999/2000
- UEFA Intertoto Cup Final Round Winner: 2004
- Coupe de France Winner: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1955
- French Cup Runner-up: 1939, 1945, 1949
- Latin Cup Runner-up: 1951 (lost to AC Milan 5-0 at San Siro, having beaten Sporting Clube de Portugal 7-5 on aggregate in the Semis)

AJ Auxerre, Bordeaux, Caen, FC Nantes, FC Sochaux, Grenoble, Le Havre, Le Mans, Lille OSC, Lorient, Lyon, Marseille, Monaco, Nancy, Nice, Paris Saint-Germain, Rennes, Saint-Etienne, Toulouse FC, Valenciennes