F91 Dudelange facts for kids
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| Full name | F91 Dudelange | ||
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| Short name | F91 | ||
| Founded | 1991 | ||
| Ground | Stade Jos Nosbaum, Dudelange |
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| Capacity | 2,558 | ||
| Chairman | Gerry Schintgen | ||
| Manager | Marco Martino | ||
| League | BGL Ligue | ||
| 2023–24 | National Division, 3rd of 16 | ||
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F91 Dudelange is a professional football club from Dudelange, Luxembourg. They play in the top football league in Luxembourg, called the BGL Ligue.
This club was created in 1991. It was formed when three older teams from Dudelange joined together: Alliance Dudelange, Stade Dudelange, and US Dudelange. Since then, F91 Dudelange has become very successful. They have won the National Division 15 times and the Luxembourg Cup eight times!
F91 Dudelange made history in 2018. They became the first club from Luxembourg to reach the group stage of a major European competition. This was in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League. They also reached the group stage again in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League. In that season, they became the first team from Luxembourg to win a game in the group stage. They had an amazing 4–3 victory against APOEL from Cyprus.
History of the Club
F91 Dudelange was formed in 1991. It was a merger of three older clubs: Alliance Dudelange, Stade Dudelange, and US Dudelange. These clubs had won titles before. But they were facing tough times, both in sports and financially. The new club was created to be stronger and more stable.
It took some time for the new club to become a top team. When F91 Dudelange started, Alliance Dudelange was in the second league. Stade Dudelange and US Dudelange were even in the third league. The new F91 Dudelange took Alliance's spot in the second league for the 1991–92 season.
F91 Dudelange was promoted to the top league in its very first season. They quickly became a strong team. They usually finished in the top half of the table. By the end of the 1990s, Dudelange got even better. They won the league title in 1999–2000 by a large margin. This ended the long winning streak of another team, Jeunesse Esch.
In the 2004–05 season, Dudelange won the league title again. This meant they could play in the UEFA Champions League for the 2005–06 season. In this competition, Dudelange made history for Luxembourg. They became the first club from the country to reach the second qualifying round. They had a fantastic win against NK Zrinjski. They lost the first game at home. But in the second game, they scored a goal in the last minutes to tie the score. Then they scored three more goals in extra time to win! However, they were later beaten by Rapid Wien.
F91 Dudelange continued their success. In the 2005–06 season, they won both the league and the Luxembourg Cup. This is called winning "the Double." They did it again in the 2006–07 season. They won their fourth league title in a row in 2007–08.
In the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, F91 Dudelange had another big win. They beat Tre Penne with a total score of 11–0 over two games. This led them to play against the Austrian champions, Red Bull Salzburg. Dudelange won the first game 1–0 in Luxembourg. They lost the second game 3–4 in Salzburg. But because they scored more goals away from home, they won the tie! This was the first time the club reached the third round of the competition. They were then beaten by Maribor.
In 2013–14, Dudelange won the league title once more. They beat Fola Esch 3–0 on the last day of the season. This earned them a spot in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League.
In 2018, F91 Dudelange achieved something amazing. They became the first team from Luxembourg to reach the group stage of a big European competition. This happened after they beat CFR Cluj 5–2 in the UEFA Europa League play-off round. Many people saw Dudelange as the "underdog" in this match. Before this, they had also beaten the strong Polish team Legia Warsaw. In the group stage, they were in a very tough group. They played against famous teams like Milan, Olympiakos, and Real Betis. But they still managed to get a point! They drew 0–0 against Real Betis in their last group match.
In 2019, Dudelange qualified for the Europa League group stages for the second year in a row. They won a penalty shootout against FC Ararat-Armenia.
Their second time in the European group stage was even better. They were in a group with Sevilla, APOEL, and Qarabağ.
On September 19, 2019, Dudelange made history again. They became the first team from Luxembourg to win a game in a European group stage! They beat APOEL 4–3 in Nicosia. Dudelange was losing 3–2 but came back to win. Their coach had even resigned just two days before the game!
After losing their next four group matches, Dudelange played Qarabag. They almost won again, but Qarabag scored in injury time. Dudelange finished last in their group, but they earned a respectable 4 points.
Honours
Domestic
League
- Luxembourg National Division
- Winners (16): 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22
- Runners-up (5): 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2020–21
Cups
- Luxembourg Cup
- Winners (8): 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19
- Runners-up (7): 1992–93, 1993–94, 2001–02, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2021–22
European Competitions
F91 Dudelange has played in many European football competitions. These include the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League. They have made history for Luxembourgish football by reaching the group stages of the Europa League twice. They also became the first team from Luxembourg to win a game in a European group stage.
See also
In Spanish: F91 Dudelange para niños
