AC Ajaccio

Athletic Club Ajaccio (Corsican: Athletic Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ACA or simply Ajaccio, is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and plays in Ligue 2. The club president is Christian Leca, and the first-team is coached by manager Olivier Pantaloni[1], following the sacking of Christian Bracconi in October 2014.[2] Ajaccio play their home matches at the Stade François Coty and are rivals with fellow Corsican club Bastia, with whom they contest the Corsica derby (Derby Corse).

For the other Ajaccio side, see Gazélec Ajaccio.

AC Ajaccio
Full nameAthletic Club Ajaccien
Nickname(s)L'ours (The Bears)
Founded1910 (1910)
GroundStade François Coty,
Ajaccio
Capacity10,446
ChairmanChristian Leca
ManagerOlivier Pantaloni
LeagueLigue 2
2019–20Ligue 2, 3rd
WebsiteClub website

Historical information

Depending on sources, it is agreed that Ajaccio began playing in 1909–10. Their adopted colors are red and white stripes. Though they used to play in what was previously utilised as a sand dump, they decided to move to another, cleaner, safer stadium upon the insistence of Jean Lluis, father-in-law of club president Louis Baretti. The new stadium that was chosen held 5,000 spectators and was in use until 1969.

AC Ajaccio were elected Corsican champions on eight occasions, in 1920, 1921, 1934, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1955 and 1964, and are one of three big "island" teams, along with Gazélec Ajaccio and Bastia, the competition between the three being kept no secret. Spectators during the 1946 Corsican Cup final, held between A.C.A. and Sporting Bastia were handed umbrellas to shield themselves from the violence. Upon refusal of a penalty which would have been awarded to ACA, violence erupted between the fans, who used umbrellas both to cause and shield themselves from violence. This final was abandoned and replayed much later.

A.C.A. became a professional team in 1965 thanks to the ambitious efforts of the club's leaders. They initially adopted the symbol of the polar bear, but this has since been dropped in favour of a more stylised logo that uses a part of the Corsican flag.

In 1967, the team became the first Corsican club to play in France's top division. They were most recently in Ligue 1 in the 2013–14 season, when they were relegated after finishing in last place, following a spell of three seasons in the top flight; the drop was confirmed with defeat at neighbours Bastia.[3]

In November 2014, Olivier Pantaloni returned for a third spell as manager.[4] His team came third in 2017–18, qualifying for the play-offs, where they beat Le Havre in a semi-final marred by violence on and off the pitch,[5] before losing the final to Toulouse.[6] The club were denied promotion in 2019–20 when the season was curtailed with ten games remaining due to the coronavirus pandemic; Ajaccio were one point off the top two, who were the only ones to go up as the play-offs could not contested.[7]

Players

Current squad

As of 18 July 2020.[8]

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  FRA Benjamin Leroy
2 DF  FRA Gédéon Kalulu
3 DF  CIV Ismaël Diallo
4 MF  FRA Mickaël Barreto
5 MF  FRA Lucas Pellegrini
6 MF  FRA Mathieu Coutadeur
7 FW  FRA Mounaïm El Idrissy
10 MF  ALB Qazim Laçi
11 MF  FRA Mattéo Tramoni
17 MF  FRA Tony Njiké
18 FW  FRA Faiz Mattoir
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW  FRA Alassane N'Diaye
20 MF  COM Mohamed Youssouf
21 DF  GLP Cédric Avinel
22 MF  FRA Yanis Cimignani
23 DF  FRA Matthieu Huard
24 DF  FRA Sidney Obissa
25 FW  CGO Bevic Moussiti-Oko
30 GK  FRA François-Joseph Sollacaro
33 DF  FRA Jérémy Corinus
40 GK  FRA Lucas Marsella
— DF  FRA Quentin Lecoeuche (on loan from Lorient)

Notable past players

For a complete list of AC Ajaccio players, see Category:AC Ajaccio players.

Reserve squad

As of 15 February 2020. [9]

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 Dumenicu Borelli
— GK  FRA Enzo Hoyau
— GK  FRA Lucas Marsella
— DF  FRA Pierre-Joseph Bucchini
— DF  FRA Jérémy Corinus
— DF  FRA Théo Emmanuelli
— DF  FRA Yohan Marmot
— DF  FRA Baptiste Susini
— MF  FRA Davis Abanda
— MF  FRA Lucien Alessandri
— MF  FRA Mala Baro
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  FRA Paul-Baptiste Behe Leonardi
— MF  FRA Pierre-Ange De Franchi
— MF  FRA Noé Messin
— MF  FRA Tony Njiké
— MF  FRA Lucas Pellegrini
— FW  FRA Florian Danho
— FW  FRA Simon Elisor
— FW  FRA Faiz Mattoir
— FW  FRA Zakariy Naili
— FW  FRA Félix Tomi

Managers

Honours
  • Division 2 (Second Division)
  • Championnat National (Third Division)
    • Champions (1): 1997–98
  • Ligue de Corse (Corsican League)
    • Champions (9): 1920, 1921, 1934, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1955, 1964, 1994

References
  1. "Pantaloni a été nommé". L'Équipe. 6 November 2014.
  2. "L'AC Ajaccio débarque son entraîneur Christian Bracconi". Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  3. "Berbatov inspires Monaco to win, Ajaccio relegated". Taipei Times. AFP. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  4. "Olivier Pantaloni joins AC Ajaccio on two year deal". Get Football News France. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  5. "Four sent off as Ajaccio win chaotic Le Havre play-off". 21 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  6. "Ligue 1. Toulouse, vainqueur face à Ajaccio, est maintenu" [Ligue 1. Toulouse, winner against Ajaccio, stay up]. Ouest-France (in French). 27 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  7. "AC Ajaccio : le président persiste et signe pour les barrages !" [AC Ajaccio: the president persists and points towards playoffs!] (in French). Onze Mondiale. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  8. "I ghjucatori" (in French). AC Ajaccio Official Site. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  9. "L'EFFECTIF". Retrieved 23 November 2019.
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