Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                

Le Havre Athletic Club (French pronunciation: [lə ɑvʁ]) is a French professional association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The football club was founded in 1894 as a section of the sports club of the same name, founded in 1884. Le Havre plays in Ligue 1, the first tier of French football, after securing promotion from Ligue 2 as winners of the 2022–23 season, and plays its home matches at the Stade Océane.

Le Havre
Full nameHavre Athletic Club
Nickname(s)Le Club Doyen (The Dean Club)
Les Ciel et Marine (The Sky-and-Navy)[1]
Founded1884; 140 years ago (1884) (sports club)
1894; 130 years ago (1894) (football section)
GroundStade Océane
Capacity25,178[2]
PresidentVincent Volpe
Head coachDidier Digard
LeagueLigue 1
2023–24Ligue 1, 15th of 18
Websitehttp://www.hac-foot.com
Current season
HAC in Tournoi de paques 1913

Le Havre made its football debut in France's first championship in 1899 and, on its debut, became the first French club outside Paris to win the league. The club won the league the following season in 1900. Le Havre has yet to win the current first division of French football, Ligue 1, yet they won the second division, Ligue 2, for a record of six times. The club's highest honour to date was winning the Coupe de France in 1959.

The main rivalries of Le Havre are the "Derby Normand" with SM Caen and an always heated clash with Lens, located in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

History

edit

Contrary to what the club has long claimed, Le Havre AC was not founded in 1872. It was in 1884 that a group of British residents formed Le Havre Athlétique, which played a hybrid form of football, a cross between rugby and association football, called "combination". Association football began being played in Le Havre in 1894.[3][4]

In 1899, Le Havre became the first club from outside Paris to become French football champions. At the time the championship was organised by the USFSA. After being awarded a win over Iris Club Lillois in the semi-final by walkover, they were awarded the title after also receiving a walkover in the final against Club Français.[5] They would also win the following year, with the final being a "re-match" of the forfeited 1899 final.

The club is famous for its notable youth investment program which develops and nurtures young talent,[citation needed] with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise. A vast amount of good young talent has gone on to make an impact at international level including Benjamin Mendy, Ibrahim Ba, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Lassana Diarra, Riyad Mahrez, Steve Mandanda, Vikash Dhorasoo, Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet.

The club was on the receiving end of some high-profile illegal transfers, by which Charles N'Zogbia, Matthias Lepiller and Paul Pogba were signed by other clubs, allegedly without the proper compensation being paid.[citation needed] The first two were arbitrated by FIFA, who ordered Newcastle United and Fiorentina to pay training compensation.

In the 2022–23 Ligue 2, Le Havre finished top of the league table to win their sixth title in the division and secure promotion to the Ligue 1 for the first time since 2008.[6]

Club culture

edit

Le Havre is known as 'les ciel et marine' in France, which translates as 'the sky and navy blues'. These colours were chosen by the club's English founders as they were those of their alma maters, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge: the anthem of the club is played to the melody of "God Save the Queen" to mark the English origins of the club:

"A jamais le premier
de tous les clubs français
ô H.A.C.
Fiers de tes origines
Fils d'Oxford et Cambridge
deux couleurs font notre prestige
Ciel et marine!"

English translation:

"The first ever
of all French clubs
The H.A.C
Proud of your roots
Son of Oxford and Cambridge
two colours make our prestige
(the colours of the) sky and the sea!"

Players

edit

Current squad

edit
As of 4 October 2024[7]
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   FRA Mathieu Gorgelin
3 DF   FRA Timothée Pembélé (on loan from Sunderland)
4 DF   FRA Gautier Lloris
5 MF   MAR Oussama Targhalline
6 DF   FRA Étienne Youte Kinkoue
7 DF   HUN Loïc Négo
8 MF   MAR Yassine Kechta
9 FW   COD Yann Kitala
11 FW   USA Emmanuel Sabbi
13 FW   FRA Steve Ngoura
14 MF   RUS Daler Kuzyayev
17 DF   MAR Oualid El Hajjam
18 DF   FRA Yanis Zouaoui
19 MF   SEN Rassoul Ndiaye
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 FW   FRA Élysée Logbo
21 FW   FRA Antoine Joujou (on loan from Parma)
22 DF   GUF Yoann Salmier
23 FW   GLP Josué Casimir (vice-captain)
25 MF   FRA Alois Confais
27 DF   CIV Christopher Opéri
28 FW   GHA André Ayew
29 FW   FRA Samuel Grandsir
30 GK   FRA Arthur Desmas
44 MF   FRA Ismail Bouneb
45 DF   SEN Issa Soumaré
70 MF   SUI Ruben Londja
93 DF   SEN Arouna Sangante (captain)
94 MF   GUI Abdoulaye Touré

Out on loan

edit

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   GUI Kandet Diawara (at   Pau until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player

Honours

edit
  • Nationals
  • Friendlies
  • USFSA Championnat
    • Winners (3): 1899, 1900, 1919
  • Challenge international du Nord
    • Winners (1): 1900
  • Coupe Nationale
    • Winners (2): 1918, 1919

Club staff

edit
Name and Nationality Position
Vincent Volpe   President
Christopher Sargent   Vice-President
Steve O'Connor   Technical director
Ashton Smith   Sporting director
Bruce Fallon   Sports coordinator
Didier Digard   Head coach
Jérémy Collard   Assistant coach
Gauthier Duchert   First-team coach
Christophe Hoarau   Goalkeeper coach
Jean Luc Pierrot   Video analyst
Stéphane Meunier   Video analyst
Corentin Rousseau   Video analyst
Jules Delacroix   Doctor
Auguste LeBlanc   Academy Goalkeeping Co-ordinator
Grégory Proment   Academy manager

Managerial history

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "#35 – Le Havre AC : Ciel et Marine" (in French). Footnickname. 4 May 2020. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Stade Océane". Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  3. ^ Charitas, Pascal (2011). "La combination au Havre Athletic Club (1872–1914) : les «origines» du football-rugby ?". Études Normandes. 60 (1): 20. doi:10.3406/etnor.2011.1833.
  4. ^ Archives municipales du Fort de Tourneville (Le Havre), statuts du HAC, fonds de Sanvic, R3 1 L.2.
  5. ^ "France – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Official | Le Havre promoted to Ligue 1". Get French Football News. 2 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Effectif". Le Havre AC. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  8. ^ "France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs on RSSSF". Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
  9. ^ "Le Havre : Paul Le Guen manager général et entraîneur (off)" (in French). foot-national.com. 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
edit