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FC Gueugnon
Full name	Football Club de Gueugnon
Nickname(s)	Les Forgerons (The Blacksmiths)
Founded	1940
Ground	Stade Jean Laville, Gueugnon; (Capacity: 13,800)
Chairman	Pierre André Dubreuil
Manager	Hubert Fournier & René Le Lamer
League	Championnat National
2008-09	CN, 11th
Home colours	Away colours

FC Gueugnon are a French football club from Gueugnon, Saône-et-Loire, currently (2008/9) playing in Championnat National.

[edit] History

Football Club de Gueugnon was founded in 1940, and won the French amateur title in 1947. Supported by the local steelworks (hence the nickname "Forgerons" meaning Blacksmiths), the club reached Ligue 2 in 1970-71.

In 1974, inspired by playmaker Casimir Nowotarski, the Gueugnonnais reached the play-offs for promotion to Ligue 1, but lost to FC Rouen. In 1979, they won the Ligue 2 championship with players such as Trivino, Berthommier, Duch and Stropoli, but were not permitted to play in Ligue 1 due to their non-professional status. In the same season Gueugnon also enjoyed a cup run, eliminating AS Saint-Etienne. They were later knocked out by Auxerre in front of a crowd of 10 000. The 1980s steel crisis forced the club to turn pro, and after several seasons of struggles to prevent relegation, the tide turned in 1991 with a cup semi-final against Monaco, then in 1995 promotion to the top flight. This was to be short-lived and despite a valiant effort, the club slipped back into Ligue 2.

In 2000, the club progressed through to the Cup quarter-finals, losing to Nantes on penalties, but in an earlier round produced a major upset in eliminating Marseille 4-3 away from home. In the League Cup, the "Blacksmiths" made history, becoming the first Ligue 2 team to win the cup, against PSG 2-0 at Stade de France. At the end of the season, the club could not keep their best players, such as Sylvain Distin or Roda. The following season, the club played the UEFA Cup but lost against Iraklis Salonique (0-0 ; 0-1). After that season, the club has hovered mid-table and just barely avoided relegation in 2004 with a 5-0 win over Lorient on the road in the last game of the season. The 2007-2008 season proved disastrous, with FC Gueugnon remaining blocked in the last position during most of the competition. With only 5 wins overall, the "Forgerons" were relegated to National. In the 2008-2009 season, the club started at the third tier of French football for the first time in 38 years, an era during which FC Gueugnon has competed 37 times in Ligue 2, and one time in Ligue 1.

[edit] Current squad 2009/2010

As of October 06, 2009.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Perica Radić
2	DF	Saïd Aït Bahi
3	DF	Pierre Mercier
4	DF	Léonard Mendy
5	DF	Guillaume Lecacheur
6	DF	Julien N'Da
8	DF	David Vairelles
9	FW	Florian Taulemesse
10	FW	Salim Kerkar
11	FW	Romain Alessandrini
13	MF	Terry Rammou
14	DF	Cédric Avinel
15	MF	Donatien Cotinet
16	GK	Baptiste Renaud
17	FW	Giovan Vairelles

No.	Position	Player
18	DF	Emmanuel Imorou (on loan from LB Châteauroux)
19	FW	Tony Vairelles
19	FW	Diego Vairelles
20	MF	Abdelhak Jamaï
21	MF	Benjamin Genghini
22	FW	Robin Previtali
23	MF	Tony Ribeiro
24	DF	Jonathan Bourgeois
27	MF	Matthieu Blanc
32	DF	Clément Coronas
33	MF	Nacer Bennemra
35	FW	Nicolas Pérez
40	GK	Florent Perraud
	DF	Thomas Bazin