Nîmes Olympique

Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in Nîmes. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first level of French football. The club's most important achievements were winning Ligue 2 in 1950 and the Championnat National in 1997 and in 2012. Nîmes plays its home matches at the Stade des Costières located within the city. The team is managed by Bernard Blaquart.

Nîmes Olympique
Full nameNîmes Olympique
Nickname(s)Les Crocodiles (The Crocodiles)
Founded10 April 1937 (10 April 1937)
GroundStade des Costières
Capacity18,482
PresidentRani Assaf
Head coachJérôme Arpinon
LeagueLigue 1
2019–20Ligue 1, 18th
WebsiteClub website

History
See also: Nîmes Olympique in European football

The Sporting Club Nîmois (SCN) was founded in 1901 by Henri Monnier, who, at the age of 21, had just returned from a two-year trip to England. He decided to start a new team in Nîmes, his home town. Originally, the team was for young Protestants only.

In 1908, the SCN played FC Sète for the title of 'Champions of Languedoc'. Nîmes won, qualifying for the final phase of the French championship, which they lost to Marseille in the first round.

The club suspended activities due to World War I. After the war ended, it resumed its activities on 15 April 1919. In 1922, SCN united with another club from Nîmes, F.A. Nîmois, becoming a single club.

The new team, still under the name of Sporting Club Nîmois, was runner-up in the South-East championship in 1925. In 1927, les Nîmois won a place in the highest championship, then known as the Division d'Honneur.

In October 1931, the then-president of the Republic of France, Gaston Doumergue, inaugurated the Jean Bouin stadium.

Due to financial problems, SCN abandoned their professional activities in 1937. Following efforts from local businessmen, the club moved to the district of Lozère-Gard in Nîmes, and was reformed as Nîmes Olympique.

The team moved to the Stade des Costières on 15 February 1989. The first league match at the stadium was on 4 March 1989, against Montceau in a Ligue 2 game, with 3,647 spectators in attendance. The record attendance to date was 25,051, which was recorded in the 1991–92 season, in a Ligue 1 game against Marseille.

In December 1991, during a match for Nîmes, Eric Cantona threw the ball at the referee, having been angered by one of his decisions. He was summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the French Football Federation and was banned for one month. In turn, Cantona responded by walking up to each member of the hearing committee and calling them idiots. His ban was increased to two months, and Cantona subsequently announced his retirement from international football on 16 December 1991.

In 1995–96, Nîmes reached the final of the French Cup, allowing them to compete the following year in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In September 1996, in the Round of 32, Nîmes beat Budapest Honvéd (4–1 on aggregate), before losing to AIK Stockholm in the next round (2-3 on aggregate).

On 5 May 2018, Nimes secured promotion back to Ligue 1 for the first time since the 1992–93 season after finishing second in Ligue 2.[1] In the 2018–19 season, Nimes enjoyed a happy return to Ligue 1 finishing 9th on the table.[2] In the shortened 2019–20 season, the team finished 18th and nearly avoided relegation.

Players

Current squad
As of 18 July 2020.[3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF  NOR Birger Meling
4 DF  FRA Pablo Martinez
5 DF  FRA Loïck Landre
6 MF  SEN Sidy Sarr
7 MF  FRA Romain Philippoteaux
8 MF  FRA Lucas Deaux
9 FW  FRA Clément Depres
10 MF  ALG Zinedine Ferhat
11 FW  MKD Vlatko Stojanovski
12 MF  FRA Lamine Fomba
14 MF  FRA Antoine Valério
15 DF  FRA Gaëtan Paquiez
16 GK  FRA Lucas Dias
17 MF  BIH Haris Duljević
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  PAR Andrés Cubas
19 FW  FRA Lucas Buadés
20 FW  FRA Renaud Ripart (vice-captain)
21 DF  FRA Kelyan Guessoum
22 MF  MAR Yassine Benrahou
23 DF  FRA Anthony Briançon (captain)
24 FW  MAR Sami Ben Amar
25 FW  FRA Nolan Roux
26 DF  FRA Florian Miguel
27 FW  TOG Kévin Denkey
28 FW  SEN Moussa Koné
29 DF  FRA Sofiane Alakouch
30 GK  FRA Baptiste Reynet

Reserve squad

As of 4 November 2019[4]

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  FRA Côme Charrier
— GK  FRA Valentin Rabouille
— DF  FRA Alexandre Ferreira
— DF  FRA Jérémy Iafrate
— DF  FRA Enzo Fontanelli
— DF  FRA Matéo Maillefaud
— DF  FRA Julien Megier
— DF  FRA Mickaël Gas
— MF  FRA Kléri Serber
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  FRA Mattéo Ahlinvi
— MF  FRA Simon Calancha
— MF  FRA Nacim El Hassani
— MF  FRA Quentin Gregorio
— FW  FRA Luca Valls
— FW  FRA Axel Urie
— FW  FRA Timothy Cardona
— MF  FRA Hugo Huriez
— MF  FRA Houssine Labiad

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  FRA Théo Sainte-Luce (on loan to Gazélec until 30 June 2020)

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Nîmes in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1937. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 80 official matches for the club or represented the national team for which the player is eligible during his stint with Nîmes or following his departure.

For a complete list of Nîmes Olympique players, see Category:Nîmes Olympique players

 France

 Algeria

 Argentina

 Austria

 Belgium

 Benin

 Bosnia and Herzegovina

 Burkina Faso

 Cameroon

 Central African Republic

 Comoros

 Côte d'Ivoire

 Croatia

 Czechoslovakia

 Democratic Republic of Congo

 Denmark

 Ghana

 Hungary

 Liberia

 Macedonia

 Mali

 Mauritania

  • Moïse Kandé

 Morocco

 Netherlands

 Nigeria

 Palestine

 Paraguay

 Poland

 Republic of the Congo

 Republic of Ireland

 England

  • Daniel Richardson

 Romania

 Scotland

 Senegal

 Serbia

 Slovakia

 Togo

 Yugoslavia

Coaches

Honours

Miscellaneous

The largest group of Ultras are the Gladiators Nîmes founded in 1991. The name refers to Nîmes' rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire.

Before the start of each home game, an extract of Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen" is heard.

There is a long rivalry with the nearby city of Montpellier which extends to both local football teams.

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References
  1. http://www.ligue1.com/ligue2/article/nimes-clinch-promotion.htm
  2. "Football : Nîmes conclut sa saison par une défaite face à Lyon aux Costières (2-3)". www.midilibre.fr.
  3. "Effectif" (in French). nimes-olympique.com. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  4. "SAISON 2018-2019 NATIONAL 2". nimes-olympique.com. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  5. France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs
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