Amiens SC
Amiens Sporting Club (French pronunciation: [amjɛ̃]; commonly referred to as Amiens SC or simply Amiens) is a French association football club based in the northern city of Amiens in the Hauts-de-France region. The club was formed in 1901 and play in Ligue 2, the second division of French football. The club plays its home matches at the Stade de la Licorne located within the city. The 2017–18 Ligue 1 season was the first in the club's 116-year history, where they finished in 13th place to secure a position in Ligue 1 for the following year.
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Full name | Amiens Sporting Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | Les Licornes (the Unicorns) | ||
Founded | 1901 | ||
Ground | Stade de la Licorne | ||
Capacity | 12,097 | ||
President | Bernard Joannin | ||
Manager | Omar Daf | ||
League | Ligue 2 | ||
2022–23 | Ligue 2, 12th of 20 | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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History
Amiens Athlétic Club (AAC) was set up in 1901 by a group of players from the Association du Lycée d'Amiens, French schoolboy champions in 1902, 1903, and 1904. AAC crushed its first opponents, Saint-Quentin, 13–0 a few months after its creation. In April 1902, the Comité de Picardie de l'U.S.F.S.A was established by the then-president of the AAC (Henri-Frédéric Petit). AAC dominated the early USFSA league for the first 12 seasons. In 1909, the club got a new ground, at the Henry Daussy Park, allowing an attendance of more than 1,000.
In 1933, the club got its first professional section, later abandoned in 1952, before becoming professional again in 1993. Since the early days, AAC has undergone two name changes: In 1961, to Sporting Club d'Amiens, and in 1989, as Amiens Sporting Club. Amiens played in Ligue 2 between 2001 and 2009.
The team made a return to the second tier of French football for the 2016–17 season, after finishing 3rd in the Championnat National. Their first season back in Ligue 2 was the most successful ever, as they finished runners-up and were promoted to top-tier Ligue 1 for the first time ever. It was a dramatic promotion, too, as they would have dropped out of the promotion places but for a last-gasp winning goal in the final game against Reims.[1][2] Amiens first season in Ligue 1 ended in survival with a comfortable 13th-placed finish on the table.[3]
In the 2018–19 season, Amiens finished in 15th place on the table and secured their survival after a 2–1 victory over already relegated EA Guingamp.[4]
Despite this, during the 2019–20 season with just 10 games to play, the side sat in 19th position having slipped down the table after a modest start, sitting just 4 points behind 18th placed Nîmes. The LFP suspended Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 indefinitely as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and on 30 April 2020, the league title was awarded to Paris Saint-Germain and thus the bottom two placed teams, Amiens and Toulouse were automatically relegated to Ligue 2 for the 2020–21 season.[5]
Players
Current squad
- As of 1 September 2023[6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Current technical staff
Position | Name |
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Interim Manager | ![]() |
Assistant coaches | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Fitness coaches | ![]() ![]() |
Physiotherapist | ![]() ![]() |
Goalkeeping coach | ![]() |
Club doctor | ![]() |
Podologist | ![]() |
Osteopath | ![]() |
Notable former players
Below are the notable former players who have represented Amiens and its predecessors in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1901. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 80 official matches for the club.
For a list of former Amiens players, see Category:Amiens SC players.
Fabrice Abriel
Stéphane Adam
Joël Beaujouan
Thierry Bonalair
Antoine Buron
David De Freitas
Jean-Louis Delecroix
Emmanuel Duchemin
Thibault Giresse
Stéphane Hernandez
Sébastien Heitzmann
Julien Lachuer
Arnaud Lebrun
Eric Luc Leclerc
Jean Mankowski
Pierre Mankowski
Cyrille Merville
Olivier Pickeu
David Vairelles
Lakhdar Adjali
Titi Buengo
Fernando Casartelli
Joël Sami
Oscar Ewolo
Jean-Paul Abalo
Fahid Ben Khalfallah
Managers
Ferenc Kónya (1933–34)
Jules Limbeck (1934–35)
Raymond Demey (1935–36)
Louis Finot (1942–43)
Kaj Andrup (1945–46)
Pierre Illiet (1946–47)
Mony Braunstein (1947–48)
André Riou (1950–51)
Édouard Harduin (1958–59)
Jean Mankowski (1959–60)
Emilien Méresse (1960–68)
André Grillon (1968–77)
Robert Buchot (1977–79)
Paul Pruvost (1979 – December 79)
Robert Buchot (December 1979–80)
Claude Le Roy and Paul Pruvost (1980–81)
Claude Le Roy (1981–83)
Gabriel Desmenez (1983–85)
Camille Choquier (1985–87)
Joël Beaujouan (1987 – April 1988)
Hughes Jullien (April 1988–92)
Patrick Parizon (1992–94)
Arnaud Dos Santos (1994 – November 1998)
René Marsiglia (November 1998 – February 2000)
Victor Zvunka (February 2000–00)
Denis Troch (2000–04)
Alex Dupont (2004 – March 2006)
Ludovic Batelli (March 2006–08)
Thierry Laurey (March 2008 – June 2009)
Serge Romano (June 2009 – October 2009)
Ludovic Batelli (October 2009 – June 2012)
Francis De Taddeo (July 2012 – September 2013)
Olivier Echouafni (September 2013 – 2014)
Samuel Michel (June 2014– December 2014)
Christophe Pélissier (December 2014– June 2019)
Luka Elsner (July 2019–September 2020)
Philippe Hinschberger (June 2021-April 2023)
Patrice Descamps (interim, April 2023-June 2023)
Omar Daf (June 2023-present)
Honours
- Championnat de France/Ligue 1
- Runners-Up (1): 1926–27
- Coupe de France
- Runners-Up (1): 2000–01
- Championnat National
- Champions (1): 1977–78
- Division d'Honneur (Nord)
- Champions (4): 1924, 1927, 1957, 1963
- Division d'Honneur (Picardie)
- Champions (2): 1920, 1921
- USFSA League (Picardie)
- Champions (11): 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914
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References
- "Ligue 1: Strasbourg and Amiens win promotion - Goal.com". Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- "Ligue 2: Strasbourg win title as Amiens promoted after 96th-minute winner". 20 May 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018 – via www.bbc.com.
- "Ligue1.com - Marseille miss out". www.ligue1.com.
- "Amiens celebrate survival with victory". Ligue 1.
- "Paris St-Germain awarded French title as season finished early". www.bbc.co.uk.
- "Effectif" (in French). amiensfootball.com. Retrieved 3 August 2017.