FC Lorient facts for kids
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| Full name | Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Les Merlus (The Merlucciidaes) Le FCL Les tangos et noirs (The dark orange and black) |
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| Founded | 2 April 1926 | |||
| Ground | Stade du Moustoir | |||
| Capacity | 18,110 | |||
| Owner | Loïc Féry (majority shareholder) Bill Foley (minority shareholder) |
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| President | Loïc Féry | |||
| Head coach | Olivier Pantaloni | |||
| League | Ligue 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1, 16th of 20 | |||
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Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud, often called FC Lorient, is a professional association football club from Lorient, a city in Brittany, France. The club was started in 1926. Currently, they play in Ligue 2, which is the second-highest football league in France. They were recently moved down from Ligue 1 after the 2023–24 season.
FC Lorient plays its home games at the Stade du Moustoir. This stadium is officially named Stade Yves Allainmat, after a former mayor of Lorient. The team is currently managed by Olivier Pantaloni.
For many years, Lorient was not very well known nationally. This changed in 1998 when they played in Ligue 1 for the first time. Their biggest achievement came in 2002 when they won the Coupe de France. They beat Bastia 1–0 in the final match. While they have never won Ligue 1, they did win the Championnat National (a lower league) in 1995. They have also won several regional titles in Brittany.
Lorient has helped many talented players become international stars. Some famous names who played for Lorient include Laurent Koscielny, André-Pierre Gignac, Kevin Gameiro, and Seydou Keita. French international Yoann Gourcuff also started his career at this club.
History of FC Lorient
How the Club Started
Football Club Lorient was officially founded on April 2, 1926. It grew out of an older club called La Marée Sportive, which was started a year earlier. Madame Cuissard, a store owner from Saint-Étienne, and her son Joseph were the founders of the first club.
In 1929, Lorient began playing as an amateur team. Under their first manager, Jozef Loquay, they won the Champions de l'Ouest. This win helped them join the Division d'Honneur in the Brittany region. They won this league in 1932 and again in 1936. However, World War II slowed down the club's progress. Many players left to join the war or play elsewhere, which weakened the team.
Rebuilding and Becoming Professional
After the war, Antoine Cuissard, Madame Cuissard's grandson, joined the club as a player. He wanted to rebuild the team in his grandmother's honor. Lorient started playing in the Division d'Honneur again. Antoine Cuissard was one of the first Lorient players to also play for the French national team. He even played for France in the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
By 1948, Lorient was playing in the Championnat de France amateur (CFA). They stayed there for two years before going back to the Division d'Honneur. In 1957, they were promoted back to the CFA. But the club faced money problems. To solve this, they looked for sponsors to help them become a professional club. In 1967, Lorient successfully applied to become professional and joined Division 2.
Ups and Downs in the Leagues
In the 1970s, Lorient struggled to stay in Division 2. They came close to being promoted to Division 1 in the 1974–75 and 1975–76 seasons, finishing just one spot away from promotion. However, in the next season, they were moved down to Division 3. Despite this, they reached the French FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
The club then faced serious financial issues and went bankrupt in 1978. During this tough time, the supporters took over the club to keep the FC Lorient name alive. They played in a lower regional league. In the early 1980s, Georges Guenoum became president and hired former Lorient player Christian Gourcuff as manager. Under Gourcuff, Lorient quickly moved up the leagues again. They won the Brittany Division d'Honneur in 1983, Division 4 in 1984, and Division 3 in 1985. This meant they were back in Division 2 just eight years after their bankruptcy!
Gourcuff left for a while, and Lorient spent five years in Division 3. They faced financial problems again in 1990 but managed to stay in Division 3. In 1991, Gourcuff returned. After almost a decade, Lorient was promoted back to Division 2 after winning the Championnat National.
First Time in Ligue 1 and Cup Glory
Lorient spent two seasons in the second division. In the 1997–98 season, they surprised everyone by winning promotion to Division 1 alongside Nancy. The 1998–99 season was Lorient's first time in Division 1. However, it was a short stay. They struggled with the financial demands and stronger competition. They finished 16th and were moved down. They had the same number of points, wins, losses, and draws as Le Havre, but Le Havre stayed up because they had a better goal difference.
After only two seasons in Division 2, Lorient returned to the top league for the 2001–02 season. Before this, there were some changes in the club's leadership, and manager Christian Gourcuff left. The club hired Argentine manager Ángel Marcos, but he only stayed for a few months.
Despite these early issues, Lorient made their team stronger. They brought in new players like Pascal Delhommeau and Moussa Saïb. Led by Yvon Pouliquen, these new players joined existing stars like Jean-Claude Darcheville and Seydou Keita. They surprised many by reaching the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, where they lost to Bordeaux.
Just two months later, Lorient continued their amazing cup run by winning the Coupe de France. They played against Bastia and won 1–0, with Jean-Claude Darcheville scoring the goal. This was the club's first major trophy! However, the celebration was mixed, as they were also moved down from Ligue 1 in the same season. The next season, they played in the UEFA Cup but were knocked out in the first round.
Recent Seasons
Lorient returned to the first division, now called Ligue 1, in 2006 with a new team. Instead of buying expensive players, the club focused on developing young talent from its own academy. Players like André-Pierre Gignac and Jérémy Morel were promoted to the first team. They also signed Malian international Bakari Koné.
In their return to Ligue 1, Lorient finished in the middle of the table for three seasons. In the 2009–10 season, they played very well. In October 2009, they reached 5th place, which was their highest position so late in a season. They ended that season in 7th place, their best finish ever in Ligue 1.
In the 2016-2017 Ligue 1 season, Lorient played a special play-off match against Ligue 2 team ES Troyes. Lorient lost 2–1 and was moved down to Ligue 2 after being in the top league for 11 years.
On April 30, 2020, Lorient was promoted back to Ligue 1. This happened because the French football league decided to end the seasons early due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Lorient was at the top of the Ligue 2 table when the decision was made.
In the 2023–24 Ligue 1 season, Lorient was moved down to Ligue 2 again. On the last day of the season, they needed to win by a big margin to avoid relegation. They beat already relegated Clermont, but because Metz had a better head-to-head record against Lorient, Lorient was sent down to the second division.
Players
Current squad
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Out on loan
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Management and Staff
Club officials
- Senior club staff
- President: Loïc Féry
- General Director: Arnaud Tanguy
- Sports coordinator: Aziz Mady Mogne
- Head coach: Olivier Pantaloni
- Assistant head coach: Gérald Baticle, Julien Outrebon, Ingo Goetze
- Goalkeeper coach: Olivier Lagarde, Ronald Thomas
- Scout: Stéphane Pédron, Baptiste Drouet, Jérôme Fougeron
- Club doctor: Vincent Detaille
- Medical Director Physiotherapy: Régis Bouyaux
Coaching history
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Honours (Trophies)
Domestic Trophies
- Ligue 2
- Champions: 2019–20
- Championnat National
- Champions: 1994–95
- Coupe de France
- Champions: 2001–02
- Coupe de la Ligue
- Runners-up: 2001–02
- Trophée des Champions
- Runners-up: 2002
Regional Trophies
- Division d'Honneur (Bretagne)
- Champions (5): 1932, 1936, 1957, 1983, 1995
- Coupe de Bretagne
- Champions (6): 1958, 1970, 1982, 1990, 2000, 2002
European Football (UEFA Cup)
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
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| 2002–03 | UEFA Cup | First round |  |
Denizlispor | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 (a) |
See also
In Spanish: Football Club Lorient para niños
