AS Monaco FC

Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (French pronunciation: ​[ɑ.ɛs mɔnako]) or Monaco, is a Monégasque professional football club that competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. Founded in 1924, the team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II in Fontvieille.

AS Monaco

Full name	Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA
Nickname(s)	Les Monégasques (The Monégasques)
Short name	ASM
Founded	23 August 1924 (1924-08-23)
Ground	Stade Louis II
Capacity	18,523
Owner	Monaco Sport Investment Ltd (66.67%) House of Grimaldi (33.33%)
President	Dmitry Rybolovlev
Head coach	Niko Kovač
League	Ligue 1
2019–20	Ligue 1, 9th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Departments of AS Monaco
Football	Basketball

Though based in Monaco, the club plays in the French football league system. Monaco is one of the most successful clubs in French football, having won eight league titles[1] and five Coupe de France trophies.[2] The club has also competed in European football, and were runners-up in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1992[3] and the UEFA Champions League in 2004.[4]

The club's traditional colours are red and white, and the club is known as Les Rouges et Blancs (The Red and Whites).[5] Monaco is a member of the European Club Association. In December 2011, two-thirds of the club was sold to an investment group led by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.[6] With Rybolovlev's financial backing, the club quickly returned to Ligue 1 and won the 2016–17 Ligue 1, their first league title in 17 years.

Status

Although Monaco is an independent state, it is neither affiliated to the UEFA nor FIFA due to its small size. As a result, AS Monaco has no domestic league to play in its home country, resulting in it being expatriated into the French league system. AS Monaco is a full member of said French league pyramid, enabling it to represent France in European competitions. There are several other expatriated football clubs in operation around Europe, although AS Monaco is unique in that it represents a nation not a member of the international organizations. Although Vaduz among other Liechtenstein clubs play in the Swiss league system due to Liechtenstein not having a league, those clubs do have a domestic cup in their home country and qualify for European football that way. Two other microstates in Europe have teams playing abroad, Andorra and San Marino although those clubs are separate from existing domestic league infrastructures.

History

Early history

AS Monaco FC was founded on 1 August 1919 as a unification of numerous local clubs based in France and the principality. Then, the multiple sports club of the Association Sportive de Monaco was founded on 23 August 1924.[7] AS Monaco FC was then absorbed by the latter and became the football section of the enlarged Monegasque sporting club.[8]

The club's early years were spent in the amateur regional divisions of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, rising rapidly between the leagues in the 1920s. In 1933, Monaco were invited by the French Football Federation to turn professional. The Monégasques' first year of second division football ended in failure, however, as they were relegated to the amateur leagues the following year. By 1948, Monaco re-acquired its professional status and returned to the French second division; they subsequently consistently finished in its upper echelons, with this sustained effort resulting in promotion to the French first division for the first time in 1953.

1960–1986: Domestic successes

Lucien Leduc guided Monaco to three league titles and two domestic cups

In 1960, Monaco coach Lucien Leduc led the club to its first professional trophy, the Coupe de France, beating Saint-Étienne 4–2 in extra time. This initial success was bettered in the following year with the club winning the French Championship for the first time in its history, qualifying for the European Cup. Leduc subsequently led the club to its first League and Cup Double in 1963. Upon Leduc's departure in 1963, Monaco endured a barren run, entrenched in the middle half of the league for the best part of the next decade and alternating between the first and second divisions after 1963. In 1975, Jean-Louis Campora, son of former president Charles Campora, became chairman of the club. In his second season, he brought back Leduc, who immediately won the club promotion to the first division and won them the championship the following year in 1978.[9][10] Leduc subsequently left the club again in 1979, to be succeeded by Lucien Muller and Gérard Banide, both of whom were unable to halt the club's decline.

The early 1980s saw a steady stream of successes in national competitions. Monaco won a title almost every other year; the Coupe de France in 1980 and 1985, the French Championship in 1982, was Coupe de France finalist in 1984. In the 1985–86 season, Monaco hammered Bordeaux 9–0, one of the biggest wins in club history.[11]

Disappointingly for Monaco fans, the club could not translate its domestic leadership into European success. Up to this point, Monaco had never passed the first round of any European competition. Monaco lost to Dundee United (1981), CSKA Sofia twice (1982 and 1984) and Universitatea Craiova (1985).[12]

1990s: Wenger and Tigana

Arsène Wenger led Monaco to the 1987–88 league title.

In 1986, former Ajax manager Ștefan Kovács, who succeeded Rinus Michels and honed his Total Football ideals with the Dutch champions, came out of a three-year "retirement" to manage Monaco, but even he could not bring them success. With the club facing a second barren spell, they signed Arsène Wenger, who had hitherto been relatively unknown, managing Nancy without much success. Wenger's reign saw the club enjoy one of its most successful periods, with several inspired signings, including George Weah, Glenn Hoddle, Jürgen Klinsmann, and Youri Djorkaeff. Youth team policies produced future World Cup winners Emmanuel Petit, Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry. Under Wenger, they won the league in his first season in charge (1988) and the Coupe de France in 1991, with the club consistently competing in the latter stages of the European Cup and regularly challenging for the league title.[13] The club could have had even greater success in this period, as it emerged in 1993 that bitter rivals Marseille had indulged in match fixing and numerous improprieties, a view that Wenger had long held.[13] In 1994, after being blocked by the Monaco board from opening discussions with German powerhouse Bayern Munich for their vacant managerial post after being shortlisted for the role, Wenger was released from the club, several weeks after the post had already been filled.[13][14]

After Wenger's departure, the club went on to record two further league championships; under Jean Tigana in 1997 and under Claude Puel in 2000. However, as the decade came to an end, rumours were surfacing that the club was facing numerous financial difficulties. In 2003, these financial problems came to a head. Despite finishing second in the league, the club was relegated to Ligue 2 by the French Professional League for amassing a €50 million ($68 million) debt.[15] Whilst this was reduced on appeal to a ban on purchasing players, it was enough to force President Jean-Louis Campora, who had been in charge for 28 years, to step aside. He was replaced by Pierre Svara, an administrator considered to be close to the principality's princely family but with no footballing experience.[16]

The following season saw remarkable success on the field, given the club's financial strife. The team, coached by former French national team captain Didier Deschamps and featuring stalwarts such as Fernando Morientes, Ludovic Giuly, Jérôme Rothen and Dado Pršo, finished third in Ligue 1 and enjoyed a remarkable run to the final of the UEFA Champions League, beating Real Madrid and Chelsea along the way. However, despite the on-field success, the 2003–04 season was the club's worst financial year in its history. Within 12 months, Deschamps had left as coach and Svara had been replaced by Michel Pastor.[15]

Relegation and takeover

Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev bought the club in 2011 and has made it one of the biggest spenders in the football world.

With Francesco Guidolin hired to replace Deschamps, one of Pastor's first tasks was to hold on to the players who had turned the club into one of the best in Europe. However, he failed to convince them to stay and their replacements were unable to replicate previous successes. Guidolin lasted only one year, before being replaced by assistant coach Laurent Banide who, in turn, only lasted a year, before being replaced by Brazilian Ricardo Gomes. In 2008, after four years at the club featuring six coaches and only mid-table finishes, Pastor left the club amid severe criticism of his management skills.

In 2008, Jérôme de Bontin, a leading shareholder of the club since 2003, took charge of the club, promising a complete shake-up. Under his reign as president, the club brought in players such as Park Chu-young and Freddy Adu, so they did not find much success on the pitch, going through a torrid season and only managing a mid-table finish. De Bontin resigned at the end of the season, replaced by banker Étienne Franzi and a new board of directors.[17]

In July 2009, Ricardo Gomes was replaced by former Cannes and Rennes coach Guy Lacombe, inheriting a youthful squad featuring numerous highly lauded youth team prospects, including Cédric Mongongu, Serge Gakpé, Vincent Muratori, Frédéric Nimani, Nicolas N'Koulou, Park Chu-young, Yohan Mollo and Yohann Thuram-Ulien.[18] Lacombe led Monaco to eighth place in Ligue 1 in his first season in charge, but he was unable to replicate this performance in his second season and was sacked in January 2011, with Monaco in 17th place in Ligue 1. He was replaced by former coach Laurent Banide, who was unable to turn around the club's fortunes; Monaco finished the 2010–11 season in 18th, thus becoming relegated to Ligue 2.

In December 2011, 66.67% of the club was sold to the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev (via a trust under his daughter Ekaterina's name) while the club were bottom of Ligue 2.[6] Banide was sacked due to this poor start to the 2011–12 season, and was replaced by Italian manager Marco Simone. Although he lifted the club to eighth by the end of the season, the club's board targeted promotion for the upcoming season and so fired him and appointed his compatriot Claudio Ranieri, whose attacking style of football saw the club score 64 goals in the 2012–13 season. With the club only losing four times, Monaco finished the season as champions, earning promotion back to Ligue 1. Using Rybolovlev's funds, Monaco were one of the biggest spenders in Europe in 2013, spending roughly £140 million, including a club-record £50 million for Radamel Falcao from Atlético Madrid and £40 million for James Rodríguez from FC Porto.[19] Monaco finished in 2nd place in Ligue 1 in the 2013–14 season and Ranieri was replaced by Leonardo Jardim. The following season, Monaco cut expenses, selling Rodriguez to Real Madrid for €75m and loaning Falcao to Manchester United. Despite the high-profile departures, Monaco finished in 3rd place in Ligue 1 and made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, defeating Arsenal in the Round of 16 before exiting at the hands of Juventus. Top-scorer from the 2013–14 season Anthony Martial, who managed 12 goals in all competitions, departing for Manchester United in the summer for a fee of €60m, the highest fee paid for a teenager in football history.[20] This, combined with the sales of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Layvin Kurzawa, Yannick Carrasco, Aymen Abdennour, Lucas Ocampos and other, saw the Monegasque club earn over €180m in the transfer window.

Ligue 1 triumph and aftermath (2016–present)

Monaco won the Ligue 1 title on 17 May 2017, defeating AS Saint-Étienne 2–0.[21] Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappé scored 30 and 26 goals respectively to ensure a first Ligue 1 title in 17 years. Monaco went undefeated for the last 20 games of the season, winning 18 of those 20 games.

In the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, Monaco staged a dramatic comeback in the Round of 16, losing the first leg 5–3 to Manchester City[22] before beating the English side 3–1 at home to win on away goals. Monaco then defeated Borussia Dortmund 6–3 on aggregate before going down 4–1 over two legs to Juventus. In the summer, Kylian Mbappé went to rivals PSG on loan, with obligation to buy for a fee of €180m,[23] making it the second-highest transfer fee in history after teammate Neymar; Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy were sold to Manchester City for over €100m combined and Tiémoué Bakayoko was sold to Chelsea for €40 million. Monaco managed to finish 2nd in the 2017–18 Ligue 1, 13 points behind league winners PSG. In the summer of 2018, they also sold Fabinho to Liverpool for €42 million.

Jardim was replaced as coach by Thierry Henry in October 2018 after a poor start to the season.[24] Henry was suspended from his job in January,[25] and Jardim returned days later.[26] Monaco finished the season in 17th, avoiding relegation playoffs by 2 points.[27] In December 2019 Jardim was fired for the second time in 14 months,[28] and former Spain manager Robert Moreno was appointed in his place.[29]

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic suspended the league on 13 March 2020, and on 28 April 2020, the league was stopped, as the French government banned all sporting events until September. Monaco ended the season in 9th. On 18 July 2020, Robert Moreno was sacked by AS Monaco, and 1 day later, was replaced by former Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovac

Stadium

Main article: Stade Louis II

The iconic nine arches of the Stade Louis II.

Monaco played at the original Stade Louis II since its construction in 1939. In 1985, the stadium was replaced with the current iteration, built on a nearby site consisting of land reclaimed from the Mediterranean, which has become a recurring feature of the stadium's seaside surroundings. The stadium is named after the former Prince of Monaco Louis II and houses a total of 18,523 supporters.[30][31] The Stade Louis II is noted for its iconic nine arches and has hosted numerous athletic events and European Cup finals. Every August from 1998 to 2012, it hosted each instance of the annual UEFA Super Cup, but from 2013 onward, UEFA decided to rotate the event throughout various stadiums.

Players

Current squad

As of 13 August 2020.[32]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POL Radosław Majecki 2 DF  FRA Fodé Ballo-Touré 3 DF  CHI Guillermo Maripán 4 MF  ESP Cesc Fàbregas 5 DF  BRA Jemerson 6 MF  CIV Jean-Eudes Aholou 7 FW  NGA Henry Onyekuru 8 MF  FRA Aurélien Tchouaméni 9 FW  FRA Wissam Ben Yedder 10 FW  MNE Stevan Jovetić 11 FW  POR Gelson Martins 13 FW  FRA Willem Geubbels 14 FW  SEN Keita Baldé 15 DF  FRA Jean Marcelin 17 MF  RUS Aleksandr Golovin 18 DF  FRA Arthur Zagre 19 FW  ITA Pietro Pellegri 20 MF  MAR Youssef Aït Bennasser 21 DF  SRB Strahinja Pavlović 22 MF  FRA Youssouf Fofana 26 DF  FRA Ruben Aguilar 27 FW  NED Anthony Musaba

No. Pos. Nation Player 28 DF  BRA Jorge 29 DF  FRA Axel Disasi 31 MF  BEL Nacer Chadli 32 DF  FRA Benoît Badiashile 34 DF  FRA Chrislain Matsima 35 DF  ENG Jonathan Panzo 36 MF  BEL Eliot Matazo 37 FW  FRA Sofiane Diop 38 MF  FRA Enzo Millot 40 GK  FRA Benjamin Lecomte 41 DF  FRA Giulian Biancone — GK  FRA Loïc Badiashile — DF  ITA Antonio Barreca — DF  FRA Julien Serrano — DF  FRA Djibril Sidibé — MF  GNB Pelé — MF  MLI Adama Traoré — MF  BEL Adrien Bongiovanni — MF  POR Gil Dias — FW  FRA Samuel Grandsir — FW  FRA Wilson Isidor — FW  ESP Jordi Mboula

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  GER Benjamin Henrichs (on loan to RB Leipzig)

No. Pos. Nation Player

Reserves

As of 13 August 2020[33]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  BEL Clément Bamélis — DF  FRA Chrislain Matsima — DF  HAI Yoann Etienne — DF  SRB Boris Popović — DF  POR Amilcar Silva – MF  FRA Enzo Millot — MF  LTU Edgaras Utkus — MF  FRA Florian Antognelli

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  MLI Salam Jiddou — MF  ITA Giuseppe Iglio — MF  BEL Eliot Matazo — FW  RUS Kirill Klimov — FW  GHA Eric Ayiah — FW  ITA Nicolo Cudrig — FW  FRA Gobe Gouano — FW  NED Anderson López

Management and staff

Senior club staff[34]

Club Management
President	Dmitry Rybolovlev
Vice-President, Chief Executive Officer	Oleg Petrov
Deputy Director General	Filips Dhondt
President of the Association	Michel Aubery
Administrative Director	Olga Dementieva
Technical Director
Academy Director	Bertrand Reuzeau[35]
Team Coach	Niko Kovač
Financial Director	Emmanuel Blanchi
Head of Communication and PR	Bruno Skropeta
Commercial Director	Juli Ferre Nadal
Press Officer	Julien Crevelier

Presidential history

List of presidents
1952–1953	Roger-Félix Médecin
1954	Joseph Fissore
1955–1956	Charles Campora
1956–1957	Roger-Félix Médecin
1958–1959	Charles Campora
1960–1963	Antoine Romagnan
1964–1968	Max Principale
1969	Edmond Aubert
1970–1972	Henry Rey
1973–1974	Henri Orengo
1975	Henri Corvetto
1976–2003	Jean-Louis Campora
2003–2004	Pierre Svara
2004–2008	Michel Pastor
2008–2009	Jérôme de Bontin
2009–2011	Étienne Franzi
2011–	Dmitry Rybolovlev

Coaching history

List of coaches
1948–1950	Jean Batmale
1950–1952	Elek Schwartz
1952–1953	Angelo Grizzetti
1953–1956	Ludwic Dupal
1956–1957	Anton Marek
1957–1958	Louis Pirroni
1958–1963	Lucien Leduc
1963–1965	Roger Courtois
1965–1966	Louis Pirroni
1966–1969	Pierre Sinibaldi
1969–1970	Louis Pirroni / Robert Domergue
1970–1972	Jean Luciano
1972–1974	Ruben Bravo
1974–1975	Alberto Muro
1976–1977	Armand Forcherio
1977–1979	Lucien Leduc
1979–1983	Gérard Banide
1983–1986	Lucien Muller
1986–1987	Ștefan Kovács
1987–1994	Arsène Wenger
1994	Jean Petit
1994–1995	Jean-Luc Ettori
1995	Gérard Banide
1995–1999	Jean Tigana
1999–2001	Claude Puel
2001–2005	Didier Deschamps
2005	Jean Petit
2005–2006	Francesco Guidolin
2006	László Bölöni
2006–2007	Laurent Banide
2007–2009	Ricardo Gomes
2009–2011	Guy Lacombe
2011	Laurent Banide
2011–2012	Marco Simone
2012–2014	Claudio Ranieri
2014–2018	Leonardo Jardim
2018–2019	Thierry Henry
2019	Leonardo Jardim
2019–2020	Robert Moreno
2020–	Niko Kovač

Honours

See also: List of AS Monaco FC seasons and AS Monaco FC in European football

Domestic competitions

• Ligue 1
  • Winners (8): 1960–61, 1962–63, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1987–88, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2016–17
  • Runners-up (7): 1963–64, 1983–84, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2002–03, 2013–14, 2017–18
• Ligue 2
  • Winners: 2012–13
  • Runners-up (3): 1952–53, 1970–71, 1976–77
• Championnat de France Amateur
  • Winners (3): 1963–64, 1970–71, 2007–08
• Coupe de France
  • Winners (5): 1959–60, 1962–63, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1990–91
  • Runners-up (4): 1973–74, 1983–84, 1988–89, 2009–10
• Coupe de la Ligue
  • Winners: 2002–03
  • Runners-up (3): 2000–01, 2016–17, 2017–18
• Trophée des Champions
  • Winners (4): 1961, 1985, 1997, 2000
  • Runners-up (3): 1960, 2017, 2018
• Coupe Charles Drago
  • Winners: 1961

UEFA club coefficient ranking

As of 12 March 2020[36]

Rank	Team	Points
35	Braga	41.000
36	Lazio	41.000
37	Monaco	41.000
38	Gent	39.500
39	Copenhagen	38.000

Records

Delio Onnis scored a club record 223 goals for Monaco

Name	Games
Jean-Luc Ettori	755
Claude Puel	602
Jean Petit	428
Manuel Amoros	349
Christian Dalger	334
Marcel Dib	326
François Ludo	319
Luc Sonor	315
Michel Hidalgo	304
Armand Forcherio	303

Name	Goals
Delio Onnis	223
Lucien Cossou	114
Christian Dalger	89
Radamel Falcao	83
Jean Petit	78
Victor Ikpeba	77
Yvon Douis	74
Youri Djorkaeff	68
Shabani Nonda Sonny Anderson	67
George Weah Ludovic Giuly	66

References

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2. uefa.com. "Monaco". Uefa.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
3. "UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - winners and history". www.footballhistory.org. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
4. "Porto 3-0 Monaco". 26 May 2004. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
5. uefa.com. "Monaco". Uefa.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
6. "Russian billionaire Dmitry Poloz takes over Monaco". BBC Sport. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
7. FIFA.com. "Clubs - News - Monaco's rocky road to the top - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
8. "The origins (1919-1930)". AS Monaco. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
9. Patrick Reilly (21 September 2010). "Top 10 Promoted Teams Who Stunned Their Top League". Goal. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
10. Karel Stokkermans (17 June 2018). "English Energy and Nordic Nonsense". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
11. "Ligue1.com – French Football League – Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Coupe de la Ligue, Trophée des Champions". Frenchleague.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
12. "AS Monaco – Dates & results 1985/1986". Bundesliga.weltfussball.at. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
13. Jasper Rees (18 August 2003). "Inside the mind of Arsène Wenger (excerpt from Wenger: The Making of a Legend by Jasper Rees)". The Guardian.
14. Arsène Wenger The Biography by Xavier Rivoire
15. "Monaco struggling for survival". SI.com. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
16. "Campora quits Monaco role". uefa.com. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
17. "Monaco: Etienne Franzi président". Sport.fr. 21 March 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
18. "The little princes of Monaco". FIFA. 29 January 2009.
19. "Radamel Falcao: Monaco sign striker from Atletico Madrid". BBC Sport. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
20. "Martial could cost United £57.6m - Monaco". ESPN.com. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
21. Reuters (17 May 2017). "Monaco and Mbappé sink St-Étienne to seal thrilling Ligue 1 title triumph". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
22. Jackson, Jamie (14 March 2017). "Pep Guardiola to stick with Manchester City's guns-blazing style at Monaco". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
23. "Kylian Mbappe transfer: PSG complete €180 million deal for Real Madrid target | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
24. "Thierry Henry named AS Monaco coach". AS Monaco. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
25. "Communiqué officiel". AS Monaco (in French). 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
26. "Communiqué officiel". AS Monaco (in French). 25 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
27. Crossan, D (24 May 2019). "MONACO SURVIVE DESPITE DERBY LOSS". Ligue1.com.
28. "Monaco sack Leonardo Jardim again and appoint Robert Moreno". BBC Sport. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
29. "Monaco annonce l'arrivée de Robert Moreno jusqu'en 2022 - Foot - L1 - Monaco". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 8 February 2020.
30. "Has a goalkeeper ever been substituted for playing badly? | The Knowledge". The Guardian. 9 January 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
31. Bisnow. "A Controversial List of the Best And Worst Football Stadiums in the World". Forbes. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
32. "Players". AS Monaco FC.
33. "Reserves". AS Monaco FC.
34. "Organigramme" (in French). AS Monaco FC. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
35. https://www.asmonaco.com/en/bertrand-reuzeau-appointed-director-of-the-academy/
36. UEFA.com. "Member associations – UEFA Coefficients – Club coefficients". UEFA.

External links

• Official website