Racing Club de France Football, commonly known as Racing Club de France (), is a French football club based in the Paris suburb of Colombes.
The club was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline sports club, and is one of the oldest clubs in French football history. The club's football section was not founded until 1896. The team plays in the Championnat National 2, the fifth level of French football.
Racing Club de France, founded in 1882, was a founding member of Ligue 1. The club has won one Ligue 1 title (in 1935–36) and five Coupe de France titles (currently the joint fourth-highest total). Racing also played in the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques-sanctioned league, France's first championship league. The club debuted in the league in 1899 and won the championship in 1907 after finishing second in 1902 and 1903. The club holds the Ligue 1 record for most goals scored during a 38-match season with 118 goals in 1959–60.
Notable players of the club include Roger Marche, Oscar Heisserer, Thadée Cisowski, Raoul Diagne, Luis Fernández, Maxime Bossis, David Ginola, Luís Sobrinho, Pierre Littbarski, Enzo Francescoli, Alfred Bloch, and Rubén Paz. Diagne spent a decade with the club (1930–1940) and, in 1931, was the first black player on the France national team. He played in the 1938 FIFA World Cup with Abdelkader Ben Bouali, his Racing teammate who was one of the first North African players on the national team. From 2009 to 2012, the club moved to nearby Levallois-Perret after reaching a financial agreement with the commune.
History
During the 1900 Summer Olympics, Racing Club de France hosted the athletics events at Croix-Catelan Stadium (the club's previous home).1900 Summer Olympics official report. p. 15. Racing's zenith was the 1930s and 1940s, when the club won Ligue 1 in 1936 and the Coupe de France in 1936, 1939, 1940, 1945 and 1949. The club was also successful in the early 1960s, finishing second in the first division in 1961 and 1962. However, Racing was a focal point of the financial crisis affecting French football during the mid-1960s. The club's financial struggles resulted in its relegation to the lower divisions.
In 1982, businessman Jean-Luc Lagardère wanted to build a team of stars and invested in the club as a second major club in Paris (with Paris Saint-Germain). Although he considered a merger of Paris FC and Racing, the Racing management refused due to a lack of detailed information on PFC finances. Lagardère bought the Paris FC (incurring a debt of more than four million francs) and renamed it "Paris Racing 1". Lagardère invested in experienced players in 1982 and 1983.
Lagardère, determined to lead his club to the European Cup draws in 1987, hired Portuguese coach Artur Jorge after Jorge's victory in the European Cup with FC Porto. He completed the team with Gérard Buscher and Pascal Olmeta. However, the club fell on hard times and attendance declined. During the late 1980s, Racing lost 300 million francs.
The club, relegated to the amateur levels, sought firmer financial footing. In December 2008, Georgios Kintis tried unsuccessfully to buy the club. Before the 2009–10 season, Racing reached a financial agreement with the city of Levallois. The club's association and support from the commune resulted in a name change to Racing Club de France Levallois 92. Despite assistance from Levallois, Racing was relegated to the Championnat de France amateur 2 by the DNCG in July 2010 after it was determined that the club had a €500,000 debt. On 21 November 2010, Racing Levallois and UJA Alfortville announced plans to merge for the following season. In 2012, the club returned to Colombes as Racing Club de France Colombes 92. The club achieved promotion in the 2021–22 Championnat National 3 season to reach Championnat National 1 where they currently compete in Group A. Name changes
Racing Club de France: (1896–1932, 1966–1981, 2005–2007) Racing Club de Paris: (1932–1966, 1981–1987, 1999–2005) Matra Racing: (1987–1989) Racing Paris 1: (1989–1991) Racing 92: (1991–1995) Racing Club de France 92: (1995–1999) Racing Club de France football 92: (2007–2009) Racing Club de France Levallois 92: (2009–2012) Racing Club de France Colombes 92: (2012–2018) Racing Club de France Football: (2018–present)
Players
Current squad
As of 18 August 2022
Past players The following players have represented Racing in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1882. They have played in at least 100 official matches for the club, or achieved prominence elsewhere. For a complete list of RCF Paris players, see :Category:Racing Club de France football Colombes 92 players.
Pierre Allemane Manuel Anatol Henri Bard Alfred Bloch Luis Fernández Maxime Bossis Thadée Cisowski Edmond Delfour Raoul Diagne David Ginola Youssef Darbaki Oscar Heisserer François Heutte Auguste Jordan Jean-Jacques Marcel Roger Marche Sonny Silooy Pascal Olmeta Roger Quenolle Ernest Vaast Guy Van Sam Émile Veinante René Vignal Halim Benmabrouk Rabah Madjer Arne Larsen Økland Eugène Ekéké Rodolphe Hiden Joseph Ujlaki Pierre Littbarski Abderrahman Mahjoub Vahap Özaltay Enzo Francescoli Miloš Milutinović Albert Guðmundsson Walid Regragui
Officials President : Patrick Norbert Vice-president : Guillaume Norbert General secretary : – Manager : Guillaume Norbert Assistant manager : Serge Gnonsoro
Managers
Year(s) Name 1932–1933 Curtis Booth 1933–1934 Peter Farmer 1934–1935 Jimmy Hogan 1935–1939 George Kimpton 1939–1940 Elie Rous 1940–1943 Émile Veinante 1943–1944 1944–1952 Paul Baron1952 Auguste Listello 1952–1958 Auguste Jordan 1958–1964 Pierre Pibarot1964 André Jeampierre 1964–1965 Paul Baron 1965–1966 Lucien Troupel 1970–1975 Paul Jurilli 1978–1982 Jean-Marie Lawniczak
Year(s) Name 1982–1984 Alain De Martigny 1984–1986 Victor Zvunka1986 Silvester Takač 1986–1987 Victor Zvunka 1987–1988 Artur Jorge 1988–1989 René Hauss 1989–1990 Henryk Kasperczak 1990–1992 Luc Bruder 1992–1993 Camille Choquier 1993–2000 Jean-Marie Lawniczak 2000–2002 Jean-Michel Cavalli2002 Régis Roch 2002–2004 Jean-Guy Wallemme 2004–2005 Stéphane Paille 2008–2010 Ali Tabti June 2010–June 2013 Azzedine Meguellatti 2013–2014 Didier Tardiveau 2014–26 Oct 2015 Manuel Abreu 27 Oct 2015–Oct 2017 Armand Bouzaglou Oct 2017–May 2018 Alexandre Gavache 28 May–5 Dec 2018 Abdellah Mourine 4 Jan–3 June 2019 Emmanuel Trégoat 6 June 2019–present Guillaume Norbert
Honours
Ligue 1 champions: 1935–36 Runners-up: 1960–61, 1961–62 Ligue 2 champions: 1985–86 Championnat National 1: 2003–04 (Group D) Championnat National 2: 2006–07 (Group F), 2022 (Group L) Division d'Honneur (Paris Île-de-France) championship: 1973 Coupe de France champions: 1935–36, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1944–45, 1948–49 Runners-up: 1929–30, 1949–50, 1989–90 Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques Championship: 1907 USFSA Paris Championship: 1902, 1903, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1919 FFFA Ligue de Paris champions: 1931, 1932 Coupe Dewar champions: 1905, 1906, 1907, 1912 Runners-up: 1901
References
External links
Official Facebook