Angers celebrate their 100th anniversary this Thursday, happily installed in the top three in Ligue 1 Conforama.
Stéphane Moulin, the longest-serving coach in the division, is writing some fabulous modern history at the club that was founded on October 10 1919 by brothers Georges and Paul Fortin. Five years later Angers switched from blue and white to the black and white colours they sport to this day.
Raymond Kopa, one of the great names of French football, started his career at Angers in 1949 and in March 2017 Angers' stadium was renamed Stade Raymond-Kopa. Kopa left in 1951 to go to Reims but six years later Angers played in their first Coupe de France final, losing to Toulouse.
Twice Ligue 2 champions, in 1969 and 1976, Angers tasted European football in 1972 after finishing fourth in Ligue 1 Conforama. Moulin became coach in 2011 and managed to get Angers promoted in 2015, going on to reach the 2017 Coupe de France final, where they lost 1-0 to Paris Saint-Germain.
Now in their 28th Ligue 1 Conforama season, Angers are flying high with five of the club's 334 wins from 1015 top division matches having come in 2019-2020. Matching the club's best-ever finish of third, achieved in 1967, remains a formidable challenge, however.
