Lille

HISTORY

Lille Olympique Sporting Club was formed in 1944, from the merger of Olympique Lillois and SC Fives. SC Fives club giving to the new club the "SC" in their name and their blue away kit, Olympique Lillois' red and white color are still LOSC's main colours.

In the aftermath of World War II LOSC won 2 league titles, 4 runner-up spots and 5 national cups, but later were overshadowed by the achievements of local rival RC Lens when it comes to both performances and local popularity. The intense rivalry between the two clubs can also be traced back to the social and economical backgrounds of the two cities, Lille OSC being the club of the large "bourgeois" city of Lille, capital of the French Flanders, with RC Lens coming from the modest medium sized miners' town of Lens.

Recent history

However, since their return to the French Ligue 1 in 2000, after 3 seasons in Ligue 2, Lille's results have generally bettered those of their local rivals, with three Champions League participations in 2002, 2005 and 2006 and a victory in the Intertoto Cup in 2004. In the 2004/05 Ligue 1 campaign, Lille stunned many by finishing an excellent second place in the table by the end of the season, ahead of the likes of Monaco, Marseille and of course their local rivals, Lens. A title challenge had even been mounted against Lyon though it was to be a brief one despite beating them in their home game. Lille however automatically qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stages, and hoped to make a good impression in Europe by progressing through the groups. On November 2, 2005 they recorded one of the greatest results in their history by defeating Manchester United in the Champions League group phase. However, Lille were only able to pick up one point in their final two matches. They parachuted into the UEFA Cup by finishing third in their group, leaving Manchester United behind and out of Europe in fourth place. Lille's UEFA Cup run finished in the last 16, their opponent and ultimate winners of the competition Sevilla going through 2-1 on aggregate.

In the 2005/06 Ligue 1 campaign, Lille confirmed their revival finishing third, behind Lyon (a club they managed to convincingly beat home (4-0) and away (1-3)) and Bordeaux. Their regional rivals Lens once again finished behind in 4th place. The third place meant Lille qualified for the Champions League final qualifying round. They beat Rabotnički 4-0 on aggregate and qualified for the third time in six years for the Group Stage of the UEFA Champions League, without a proper stadium. In the group stage, Lille finished 2nd behind Milan, recording another great result, at San Siro, beating Milan 2-0. Going through to the last 16, Lille was drawn against old foes, Manchester United. This time, the English giants prevailed 2-0 on aggregate, avenging the previous year's humiliating defeat. The first leg was a tumultuous affair, marred by crowd trouble and refereeing controversy. Indeed during the first leg of the second round match against Manchester United in the 2006-2007 UEFA Champions League, some Lille players appeared to temporarily leave the field of play without permission after the referee, Eric Braamhaar, gave the green light   for Manchester United left winger Ryan Giggs to take a quick free-kick, which he ended up scoring. In fact, only the Lille Captain actually left the pitch[citation needed], but only in order to formally lodge a technical complaint with the UEFA representative[citation needed], this being a common practice in French football[citation needed] (although not a requirement for Champions League games where technical complaints can be lodged within 24h of the game being played).

In the aftermath of the game, Lille protested that the goal should be disallowed on the basis that referee Eric Braamhaar made a 'technical error' in allowing Giggs to take the free-kick without blowing his whistle after some Manchester United players appeared to ask the referee to ensure the Lille defence respected the ten yard rule. After reviewing the video evidence, the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body decided to reject the protest, as there was no proof of a technical error. As a result, the body declared that the goal was perfectly valid.[2] In the same statement The Control and Disciplinary Body also stated they were to investigate possible violations of binding safety and security instructions by the host club, as well as the alleged improper conduct of both sets of supporters. Both clubs were fined as a result.[citation needed]

Stadium

    * Stade Henri Jooris (Beginnings-1974)
    * Stade Grimonprez Jooris (1974-2004)
    * Stadium Lille-Metropole (2004-present)
    * Stade Borne de l'Espoir (2012-...)

Since the 2004/2005 season, Lille plays at Stadium Lille-Metropole, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, next to Lille, awaiting a new venue programmed since 1999.The justice have rejected the project of Grimonprez-Jooris II, that's why Lille Métropole Communauté urbaine have chosen to build a new venue at la Haute-Borne, the Stade Borne de l'Espoir, which is on both town of Villeneuve-d'Ascq and Lezennes. The stadium capacity would be about 50000 seats, with an opening roof.This new venue would be finished in 2010.
Without a stadium suitable for European competition, the club rents other venue for UEFA Champions League