HISTORY

The origins of the club are traced back to the Strasbourg district of Neudorf in 1906, when the city was part of the German Empire. As part of the territory of Alsace-Lorraine, it was annexed by Germany in 1871 following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War and only returned to France after World War I.

It was after that, in 1919, that the club known as FC Neudorf became RC Strasbourg Neudorf and then Racing Club de Strasbourg. Champions of Alsace three times in the 1920s, the club began to broaden its horizons. In 1933 they joined the national second division and a year later they were promoted to the fledgling top division. Strasbourg finished second and then third in their first two top-flight campaigns and have remained in the elite for most of their subsequent history, despite often turbulent times.

They emerged from the German occupation during World War II and finished third in the league in 1947, a year in which they also reached their second Coupe de France final, losing to Lille. In 1949 they finished second from bottom but were spared relegation because their Alsatian neighbours SR Colmar - who had finished higher up the table - gave up their professional status.

From then until 1986, Strasbourg suffered five relegations but on each occasion returned to the top flight at the first attempt. They won their first major honour in 1951, beating US Valenciennes 3-0 in the Coupe de France final. In 1966 they won the trophy again, defeating FC Nantes in the final.

Champions

However the club rarely finished in the upper reaches in the league and they were relegated twice in the 1970s. Demoted in 1976, they returned to the elite in 1977 and finished third in their first season back. The 1978-79 campaign would go down in history as Racing won the league for the first and to date only time in their history. Coached by former player Gilbert Gress, a team featuring the likes of French international goalkeeper Dominique Dropsy, striker Albert Gemmrich, Raymond Domenech and Arsène Wenger finished two points clear of Nantes and AS Saint-Etienne, the two powerhouses of the era.

The golden era would be short-lived. In 1979-80 Strasbourg beat Start of Norway and the Czechs of Dukla Prague before losing to Ajax in the European Cup quarter-finals. Despite signing prolific Argentine striker Carlos Bianchi from Paris Saint-Germain, Racing dropped down to fifth and then seventh in the following two campaigns. They have not finished as high in the four decades since.

Cup success and European runs

The 1990s and early 2000s were marked by regular Cup runs, with Strasbourg losing the Coupe de France final to PSG in 1995 and then winning the Coupe de la Ligue in 1997 by defeating Girondins de Bordeaux on penalties. In 2001 they won the Coupe de France for the third time, although they needed penalties to get the better of third-tier Amiens SC in the final. There was another Coupe de la Ligue victory in 2005, when SM Caen were vanquished in the final at the Stade de France.

Those successes opened the door to European runs. In 1997-98 they beat Rangers and Liverpool en route to the third round of the UEFA Cup, where they were narrowly beaten by the eventual tournament winners, the Internazionale of Brazilian superstar Ronaldo. They reached the UEFA Cup last 16 in 2005-06 before losing to Basel.

Liquidation and the rise back through the divisions

By then the difficult times were setting in. Strasbourg were relegated that season. They made an immediate return to Ligue 1 but went back down again at the first time of asking in 2007-08 despite the emergence of a young talent called Kévin Gameiro, losing their last 11 league games. Two years later, in 2010, they dropped into the third tier for the first time in their history. In 2011 they were forced into liquidation and had to drop down into the regional fifth tier.

Former player Marc Keller took on the presidency of the club in 2012 with the backing of city and regional authorities. Strasbourg began the long climb back to the top, winning promotion to the third tier Championnat National in 2013 and then surviving there in 2014 only because of the financial difficulties of clubs above them. They returned to Ligue 2 in 2016 and came straight up to Ligue 1 in 2017. In 2019 they capped their rise back to the top level of the French game by winning the Coupe de la Ligue for the third time, beating EA Guingamp on penalties in the final in Lille.

Strasbourg beat Guingamp to win the 2019 Coupe de la Ligue final

CLUB COLOURS AND CREST

‘Jetz geht’s los’

Strasbourg wear blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks, while their away shirt is white. The club’s badge includes a red band and features the cathedral that is one of the main symbols of the city of Strasbourg. It also features a stork, one of the symbols of Alsace. Their 2020-21 shirts also feature the expression Jetzt geht’s los, a motto of encouragement in the local Alsatian dialect, next to a stork carrying the Coupe de France trophy, marking 70 years since they first won that particular piece of silverware.

CLUB ICONS

Gilbert Gress

Gress was born in Strasbourg and started his playing career at his hometown team, spending seven years there and helping them win the Coupe de France in 1966. After a spell in West Germany with VfB Stuttgart he won two league titles and one Coupe de France with Olympique de Marseille before returning for two more years from 1973 to 1975. He returned again as coach in 1977, taking the team to promotion to the top flight and then leading them to their one and only league title in 1979. He later had two more spells as coach.

Dominique Dropsy

The French international goalkeeper played for the club for more than a decade, starring in the team that won the league in 1979. He also played for his country at the 1978 World Cup and later won two league titles at Bordeaux. Dropsy died in 2015 aged just 63.

Jacky Duguépéroux

As a player, Duguépéroux was a defender or midfielder who spent six years at Strasbourg culminating in their 1979 title-winning campaign. He later had four spells as coach, twice leading them to Coupe de la Ligue final victories and also taking them to a Coupe de France final in 1995.

Frank Leboeuf

A classy defender, Leboeuf played for the club from 1991 to 1996, featuring in their run to the 1995 Coupe de France final. He was sold to Chelsea and went on to star in London and in the France side that won the World Cup on home soil in 1998.

René Hauss

An Alsace native, Hauss holds the record for the most appearances in a Strasbourg shirt with more than 500. A right-back, he spent his entire playing career at the club from 1949 to 1967 and played in the Coupe de France-winning teams of 1951 and 1966, serving as captain in the latter. He later spent a season as coach before going on to win three Belgian titles in charge of Standard de Liège. Hauss died in December 2010 aged 82.

Oskar Rohr

The club’s record goal-scorer with 118, Rohr was a German international who played for Bayern Munich before moving to France in 1934 and spending five years at Strasbourg. In 1937 he scored in the Coupe de France final defeat by Sochaux and was the top scorer in the league with 30 goals in a 30-game season. He later played for FC Sète before being sent to a concentration camp and ending up on the Eastern Front in World War II. He survived and eventually died aged 76 in 1988.

HONOURS

French champions: 1979

Coupe de France winners: 1951, 1966, 2001

Coupe de la Ligue winners: 1997, 2005, 2019

EUROPEAN RUNS

European Cup quarter-finalists : 1979-80

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup quarter-finalists : 1964-65

UEFA Cup last 16 : 1978-79, 1997-98, 2005-06

STADIUM: Stade de la Meinau

The club started playing on the ground in 1914, when it was known as the Jardin Haemmerlé, but it only really began to take shape after World War I. The Stade de la Meinau hosted matches at the 1938 World Cup and again at the 1984 European Championship, by which time it had taken on its modern form. A record crowd of 44,766 watched West Germany play Portugal at Euro 84 but today capacity is reduced to 26,109. There are, however, plans in place to refurbish the stadium and raise capacity to 32,000 by 2025.

DID YOU KNOW?

The atmosphere at the Stade de la Meinau is known as one of the best in France but it is enhanced by a tradition that was picked up across the border in Germany. When Strasbourg score a goal, the stadium announcer gives the first name of the player and the supporters add the second name. The announcer thanks them. His “Merci” is met with a giant “De Rien” (‘You’re welcome’) by the fans in unison. Stadium speaker Jean-Luc Filser explained in a 2017 interview with magazine So Foot that he was given the inspiration from watching a Bayern Munich game and enjoying how the fans and stadium speaker interacted.

>> CLUB PROFILE: RC Strasbourg Alsace