Nîmes Olympique
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Full name | Nîmes Olympique | |||
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Nickname(s) | Les Crocodiles (The Crocodiles) | |||
Founded | 10 April 1937 | |||
Ground | Stade des Costières, Stade Nemausus (future)[1] | |||
Capacity | 18,482 | |||
President | Rani Assaf | |||
Head coach | Pascal Plancque | |||
League | Ligue 2 | |||
2020–21 | Ligue 1, 19th of 20 (relegated) | |||
Website | Club website | |||
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Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. The club's most important achievements were winning Ligue 2 in 1950 and the Championnat National in 1997 and in 2012. Nîmes plays its home matches at the Stade des Costières located within the city.
History[]
The Sporting Club Nîmois (SCN) was founded in 1901 by Henri Monnier, who, at the age of 21, had just returned from a two-year trip to England. He decided to start a new team in Nîmes, his home town. Originally, the team was for young Protestants only.
In 1908, the SCN played FC Sète for the title of 'Champions of Languedoc'. Nîmes won, qualifying for the final phase of the French championship, which they lost to Marseille in the first round.
The club suspended activities due to World War I. After the war ended, it resumed its activities on 15 April 1919. In 1922, SCN united with another club from Nîmes, F.A. Nîmois, becoming a single club.
The new team, still under the name of Sporting Club Nîmois, was runner-up in the South-East championship in 1925. In 1927, les Nîmois won a place in the highest championship, then known as the Division d'Honneur.
In October 1931, the then-president of the Republic of France, Gaston Doumergue, inaugurated the Jean Bouin stadium.
Due to financial problems, SCN abandoned their professional activities in 1937. Following efforts from local businessmen, the club moved to the district of Lozère-Gard in Nîmes, and was reformed as Nîmes Olympique.
The team moved to the Stade des Costières on 15 February 1989. The first league match at the stadium was on 4 March 1989, against Montceau in a Ligue 2 game, with 3,647 spectators in attendance. The record attendance to date was 25,051, which was recorded in the 1991–92 season, in a Ligue 1 game against Marseille.
In December 1991, during a match for Nîmes, Eric Cantona threw the ball at the referee, having been angered by one of his decisions. He was summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the French Football Federation and was banned for one month. In turn, Cantona responded by walking up to each member of the hearing committee and calling them idiots. His ban was increased to two months, and Cantona subsequently announced his retirement from international football on 16 December 1991.
In 1995–96, Nîmes reached the final of the French Cup, allowing them to compete the following year in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In September 1996, in the Round of 32, Nîmes beat Budapest Honvéd (4–1 on aggregate), before losing to AIK Stockholm in the next round (2-3 on aggregate).
On 5 May 2018, Nimes secured promotion back to Ligue 1 for the first time since the 1992–93 season after finishing second in Ligue 2.[2] In the 2018–19 season, Nimes enjoyed a happy return to Ligue 1 finishing 9th on the table.[3] In the shortened 2019–20 season, the team finished 18th and narrowly avoided relegation.
On 16 May 2021, following a 5–2 home defeat against Lyon and a 4–0 away win for Nantes at already relegated Dijon in matchday 37 out of 38, Nîmes confirmed its own relegation from Ligue 1 during the 2020–21 season.
Players[]
Current squad[]
- As of 16 August 2021[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad[]
- As of 4 November 2019[5]
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 Nîmes in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1937. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 80 official matches for the club or represented the national team for which the player is eligible during his stint with Nîmes or following his departure.
For a complete list of Nîmes Olympique players, see Category:Nîmes Olympique players
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/23px-Flag_of_France.svg.png)
- Jean-Pierre Adams
- William Ayache
- Ivan Bek
- Pierre Bernard
- Laurent Blanc
- Bernard Boissier
- Éric Cantona
- André Chardar
- Johann Charpenet
- Paul Chillan
- Patrick Cubaynes
- Johnny Ecker
- Jean-Marc Ferratge
- Kader Firoud
- René Girard
- Edmond Haan
- Mahi Khennane
- Maurice Lafont
- Michel Mézy
- Jacky Novi
- Christian Perez
- Frédéric Piquionne
- Benoît Poulain
- Bernard Rahis
- Henri Skiba
- Joseph Ujlaki
- Philippe Vercruysse
- Jacky Vergnes
- Alexandre Villaplane
- Anthony Vosahlo
Algeria
- Omar Belbey
- Ali Boulebda
- Rabah Gamouh
- Mahi Khennane
- Faouzi Mansouri
- Djamel Menad
- Mehdi Mostefa
- Abder Ramdane
- Amokrane Oualiken
- Abderraouf Zarabi
Argentina
Belgium
Benin
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Comoros
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Czechoslovakia
Democratic Republic of Congo
Denmark
- Kristen Nygaard
Ghana
Hungary
Liberia
Macedonia
- Milko Gjurovski
- Vlatko Stojanovski
Mali
Mauritania
Morocco
Netherlands
Nigeria
Norway
Palestine
Paraguay
Poland
- Jan Domarski
Republic of the Congo
Republic of Ireland
Romania
Scotland
- Alec Cheyne
- Andrew Wilson
Senegal
Serbia
Slovakia
Togo
Yugoslavia
- Ivan Bek
- Milko Gjurovski
- Josip Pirmajer
- Fadil Vokrri
Coaches[]
- Vilmos Kohut (1939–40)
- Marcel Gebelin (1940–42)[6]
- Louis Gabrillargues (1942–46)
- René Dedieu (1946–48)
- Pierre Pibarot (1948–55)
- Kader Firoud (1955–64)
- Pierre Pibarot (1964–67)
- Marcel Rouvière (1967)
- Marcel Tomazover (1967��69)
- Kader Firoud (1969–78)
- Henri Noël (1978–82)
- Pierre Barlaguet (1982–84)
- Marcel Domingo (1984–86)
- Kristen Nygaard (1986–87)
- Jean Sérafin (1987–88)
- Bernard Boissier (1988–90)
- Daniel Romeo (1990–91)
- René Girard (1991–92)
- Michel Mézy (1992)
- Léonce Lavagne (1992–93)
- Michel Mézy (1993)
- René Exbrayat (1993–94)
- Josip Skoblar (1994)
- René Girard (1994)
- Pierre Barlaguet (1994–96)
- Pierre Mosca (1996–99)
- Serge Delmas (1999–00)
- Dominique Bathenay (2000)
- Bernard Boissier (2001–02)
- François Brisson and Armand Sene (2002–03)
- Patrick Champ (2003)
- Didier Ollé-Nicole (2003–05)
- Régis Brouard (2005–07)
- Laurent Fournier (2007)
- Jean-Luc Vannuchi (2007–08)
- Jean-Michel Cavalli (2008–10)
- Noël Tosi (2010–11)
- Thierry Froger (2011–12)
- Victor Zvunka (2012–13)
- René Marsiglia (2013–14)
- José Pasqualetti (2014–15)
- Bernard Blaquart (2015–20)
- Jérôme Arpinon (2020–21)
Honours[]
- Ligue 1
- Runners-up: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1972
- Ligue 2
- Champions: 1950
- Runners-up: 2018
- Championnat National
- Champions: 1997, 2012
- Coupe de France
- Runners-up: 1958, 1961, 1996
- Trophée des Champions
- Runners-up: 1958
- Coppa delle Alpi
- Champions: 1972
- Coupe Drago
- Runners-up: 1956
- Coupe Gambardella
- Champions: 1961, 1966, 1969, 1977
Miscellaneous[]
The largest group of Ultras are the Gladiators Nîmes founded in 1991. The name refers to Nîmes' rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire.
Before the start of each home game, an extract of Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen" is heard.
There is a long rivalry with the nearby city of Montpellier which extends to both local football teams.
References[]
- ^ http://stade-nemausus.fr
- ^ http://www.ligue1.com/ligue2/article/nimes-clinch-promotion.htm
- ^ "Football : Nîmes conclut sa saison par une défaite face à Lyon aux Costières (2-3)". www.midilibre.fr.
- ^ "Effectif" (in French). nimes-olympique.com. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- ^ "SAISON 2020-2021 NATIONAL 2". nimes-olympique.com. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs
External links[]
- Official website
(in French)
- Nîmes Olympique
- Association football clubs established in 1937
- 1937 establishments in France
- Sport in Nîmes