RC Strasbourg Alsace

Strasbourg
	logo
Full name	Racing Club de Strasbourg
Nickname(s)	-
Founded	1906
Ground	Stade de la Meinau,; Strasbourg
Capacity	29,000
Chairman	Egon Gindorf
Manager	Jacky Duguépéroux
League	Ligue 1
2004-2005	Ligue 1, 11th
Home colours	Away colours

Racing Club de Strasbourg is a French football team, playing in the city of Strasbourg.

History

In 1906 a group of youngsters in the Neudorf neighborhood of Strasbourg bought their first leather soccer ball. With the help of their primary school teacher they formed a team created an association named Fußball Club Neudorf.

The meetings took place at the Polygone in German Alsace. In 1914, FC Neudorf rented the Haemmerle garden for 300 deutschmarks a year, an area that would later take become the Stade de la Meinau.

Birth of “Racing”

After the first world war, “FC Neudorf” was rechristened “RC Strasbourg Neudorf” then eventually “Racing Club de Strasbourg”. The first stands, built out of wood, were built in 1921 within five years Racing had won their first title - Champion of Alsace.

On June 10th 1933, at the “restaurant de la Bourse”, Racing made the big jump to the professional ranks after a General Assembly that confirmed the addition of Racing. Several months later, they reaching the Division 1 for the first time after four matches against Mulhouse (0-0 and 3-1) and against Saint-Etienne (2-0 and 4-4).

Racing immediately climbed to the top of the table, finishing 2nd in 34/35, 3rd in 35/36, 6th in 36/37, and 5th in 37/38. After World War II, the Alsatian club remained in the first division until the end of the 48/49 season, when it was condemned to relegation.

However, in a massive stroke of luck for Racing, neighbors SR Colmar liquidated their professional team. Racing was allowed to stay in the first division after all.

The First Trophy

The grace period was only temporary, however, and after 51/52 season the Meinau club was relegated to the Division 2 after to the worst year in club history. Nevertheless, RC Strasbourg defeated US Valenciennes 3-0, in the French Cup final to claim their first major trophy.

The next few years passed without glory. Other than another French Cup victory in 1971, the seasons were spent alternating between the first and second divisions. Mediocrity reigned.

The Prettiest Page

At the end of the 1976 season Racing was promoted to the Ligue 1 once again. The promoted team ended the year in 3rd place and only got stronger. In 78/79, the Alsatians were the strongest team in France and were Champions of France for the first and only time in history.

That year they had 56 points, 63 goals scored and only 28 allowed. They had the best defense of the league and undefeated at home at the Meinau. Strasbourg was at the summit of French football and qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup the next season, eliminated by Ajax Amsterdam.

The success did not last and Racing plunged into crisis. The 80’s were a difficult time and the “Blues” found themselves back in Division 2 in 1986.

After defeating Rennes in 1991 by a score of 4-1, Strasbourg returned to the top flight in 1992. In 95, a place in the final of the French Cup (defeated 1-0) permitted Racing to get a taste for big matches and for the European Cup. Racing reached the final 16, eliminated by Italian giants AC Milan.

Two years later, it played at the top of the table the whole year but only finished 9th in an exemplary season. That same year, the IMG group was chosen by the municipality to change the fate of the club and the players trained by the captain of the French champions in ’79, Jacky Duguépéroux, would write a new page in the history of Racing by taking the League Cup against Bordeaux.

A beautiful run in the UEFA Cup would follow, after qualifications against Glasgow Rangers and Liverpool, in the first round of the knockout stage, Racing beat Inter Milan 2-0 at Meinau, but fell 3-0 in the second leg.

Since, all the members of the club are rebuilding a future that all of Alsace hopes for, gorged with emotions to engrave again and again images of celebration in the heart of its supporters, like they saw on May 25th 2001 after the victory in the final of the French Cup against Amiens.

After a season in “purgatory” in 2001/2002, Racing immediately retook its place among the football elite in the Hexagon by finishing vice-champion of Ligue 2.

The 2002/2003 season, in which Racing would come to finish in an encouraging 13th place, would be marked by the withdrawal of the IMG group and the arrival of a new and ambitious group led by Egon Gindorf, who succeeded Patrick Proisy as president, and by Marc Keller, named General Director.

Placed under the title “recapture”, the 2003/2004 season needed to allow Racing to stabilize the club amongst the national elite and to win the favor of the Alsatian public once again.

2005/06 player roster

Former Greats

External references

Template:UEFA Cup 2005/06