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
2008-09	L1, 12th
Home colours Away colours Third colours

The Valenciennes Football Club (known as "Valenciennes FC" or as "USVA", the acronym of a previous name) is a French football club from the town of Valenciennes in the Nord department. The club was founded in 1913. In the 2005-06 season, it competed in Ligue 2 (Division 2), with Francis Decourrière as general manager and 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Chronology

[edit] 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 Département championships. Under the leadership of their president, M. Lélithouard, USVA attained professional status in 1933.

[edit] 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

[edit] Current squad

As of 21 October 2009^[1]

No. Position Player 1 GK Nicolas Penneteau (vice-captain) 2 DF David Ducourtioux 3 DF Jacques Abardonado 4 DF Bobo Baldé 5 DF Rafael Schmitz 6 DF Milan Biševac (captain) 7 FW Johan Audel 8 MF Gael Danic 9 FW Filip Šebo 10 MF Fahid Ben Khalfallah 11 FW Luigi Pieroni 12 MF Rémi Gomis 13 DF Mody Traoré 14 MF Foued Kadir 15 DF Siaka Tiéné

No. Position Player 16 GK Jean-Louis Leca 17 MF Carlos Sánchez 18 MF Amara Karba Bangoura 19 MF Nam Tae-Hee 20 DF Dame Traoré 22 MF Jonathan Lacourt 23 MF José Saez 24 DF Gaëtan Bong 25 DF Rudy Mater 26 MF Renaud Cohade 27 FW Mamadou Samassa (on loan from Marseille) 28 FW Grégory Pujol 30 GK Guy N'dy Assembé 40 GK Grégory Wimbée

[edit] Great players of the past

Logo used till 2008

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

[edit] International success of its players

• Jorge Burruchaga - played for Argentina at the 1986 World Cup
• Nourredine Kourichi - played for Algeria at the 1982 World Cup and 1982 World Cup
• Didier Six - last Valenciennes team member to date to play for France
• David Regis - having acquired (by marriage) American citizenship, participated in the `1998 World Cup representing the USA
• Thomas Dossevi - played for Togo at the 2006 World Cup

[edit] Managerial history

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (French) Official FCV web site