FC Metz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Metz

Full name	Football Club de Metz
Nickname(s)	Les Grenats (The Maroons), Les Graoullys
Founded	March 23 1932; 93 years ago (March 23 1932)
Ground	Stade Saint-Symphorien
Ground Capacity	25,636
Owner	Bernard Serin
President	Bernard Serin
Manager	Stéphane Le Mignan
League	Ligue 2
2021–22	Ligue 1, 19th of 20 (relegated)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Football Club de Metz, often called FC Metz, is a professional French football team. It is based in the city of Metz, in the Lorraine region of France. The club started in 1932.

FC Metz plays in Ligue 1, which is the top football league in France. They were promoted to Ligue 1 for the 2025–26 season after playing in the second division in 2024–2025. Their home games are played at Stade Saint-Symphorien in Metz. The team's manager is Stéphane Le Mignan. While they have never won the top league, they have won the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue twice each.

The Story of FC Metz

Early Years and Professional Beginnings

FC Metz was created on March 23, 1932. It was formed when two amateur sports clubs joined together. Soon after, it became a professional team. This makes it one of the oldest professional football teams in France.

The club's history goes back even further. In 1905, a club called SpVgg Metz was formed. At that time, Metz was part of the German Empire. Some players from this club later joined Cercle Athlétique Messin in 1919. This club then became FC Metz in 1932. Messin was a very strong club in its local league, winning many titles.

Climbing the Leagues and War Times

FC Metz started playing in the French second division in 1933. They won the league in 1935 and moved up to Ligue 1 for the first time. The team became a steady mid-table club in the first division. However, World War II stopped football games again.

During the war, the region of Moselle was taken over by Germany. Because of this, the club had to play under a German name, FV Metz. They finished second in their league three times between 1941 and 1944.

After the war, FC Metz returned to Ligue 1 in 1945–46. Their stadium was badly damaged, and the team had to rebuild. They were allowed to stay in Ligue 1 even after finishing near the bottom.

Ups and Downs in French Football

The club quickly bounced back. They finished second in Ligue 2 and returned to the first division. FC Metz had a strong return, finishing fifth in their first season back. After this, they often fought to avoid relegation.

They went down to Ligue 2 in 1958. It took three seasons to get back to Ligue 1 in 1961, but they only stayed for one year. FC Metz then spent five more seasons in the second division.

In 1967, FC Metz returned to the top level of French football. They stayed in the highest division until 2001. They quickly came back up to Ligue 1 the very next year.

Famous European Matches

In 1984, FC Metz played against Barcelona in the 1984–85 European Cup Winners' Cup. Metz lost the first game at home 4–2. Everyone expected Barcelona to win easily in the second game. But, thanks to three goals from Tony Kurbos, FC Metz won 4–1 in Barcelona! This amazing win meant they won 6–5 overall and moved on. It was a huge surprise!

In 1998, the team tried to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. They lost in the third round to HJK Helsinki from Finland.

Recent Seasons and Promotions

In 2006, FC Metz was relegated from Ligue 1. They finished last, even with a talented young player named Miralem Pjanić. He later moved to Lyon for a lot of money.

At the end of the 2011–12 season, Metz went down to the third tier of French football, the Championnat National. They only stayed there for one season. With former player Albert Cartier as coach, they rebuilt the team. They won promotion back to Ligue 2, and then immediately won Ligue 2 to get back to Ligue 1.

The team was relegated again but won promotion the next season. They managed to stay in Ligue 1 for a season, finishing 14th. However, in the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, Metz had a very tough time. They lost many early games and finished last, going back to Ligue 2.

On April 26, 2019, Metz won Ligue 2 and were promoted back to Ligue 1. They secured this with a 2–1 win over Red Star. In their first season back, they finished 15th. The next season, they improved to 10th place.

In the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season, Metz finished 19th and were relegated to Ligue 2. They were promoted back to Ligue 1 as Ligue 2 runners-up for the 2022-23 season. In the 2023–24 Ligue 1 season, Metz played in the relegation/promotion playoff. They lost 4-3 on aggregate to AS Saint-Étienne and were relegated back to Ligue 2. However, they were promoted again for the 2025-26 season.

Supporters and Rivalries

FC Metz has a big rivalry with AS Nancy. Their matches are called the Lorraine derby. They also have a rivalry with Racing Strasbourg.

There are two main fan groups for FC Metz: Gradins Populaires Ouest and Horda Frénétik. FC Metz fans also have friendships with fans from other clubs. These include Toulouse FC in France, Kaiserslautern and Eintracht Trier in Germany, and Vicenza in Italy.

Home Stadium

FC Metz plays its home games at Stade Saint-Symphorien. This stadium can hold 25,636 people. It is the biggest football stadium in the Lorraine region.

Team Colors and Crest

The official colors of FC Metz are maroon (called grenat in French) and white. This is why the team is nicknamed Les Grenats.

The team's badge, or crest, has two important symbols. It shows the Lorraine cross, which represents the region where the team is from. It also features a dragon called the Graoully. According to local legends, this dragon was tamed by Saint Clement of Metz.

Youth Academy and Famous Players

FC Metz is well-known in France and Europe for its successful youth academy. This academy helps young players become professional footballers. Many famous players have come from FC Metz's academy, including:

• Rigobert Song
• Robert Pires
• Louis Saha
• Emmanuel Adebayor
• Papiss Cissé
• Miralem Pjanić
• Kalidou Koulibaly
• Sadio Mané

The city of Metz is close to Luxembourg. This helps the club find many talented young players from Luxembourg. The club works closely with the Luxembourgish Football Federation. Some players like Nico Braun and Miralem Pjanić played in Luxembourg before joining FC Metz.

FC Metz in European Competitions

FC Metz has played in European tournaments many times. Here is a summary of their performances:

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate	Result
1968–69	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	First round	Hamburger SV	1–4	2–3	3–7
1969–70			Napoli	1–1	1–2	2–3
1984–85	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup		Barcelona	2–4	4–1	6–5
		Second round	Dynamo Dresden	0–0	1–3	1–3
1985–86	UEFA Cup	First round	Hajduk Split	2–2	1–5	3–7
1988–89	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup		Anderlecht	1–3	0–2	1–5
1995	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group stage (Group 6)	Keflavík	N/A	2–1	1st Place
			Partick Thistle	1–0	N/A
			NK Zagreb	N/A	1–0
			Linzer ASK	1–0	N/A
		Round of 16	Ceahlăul	N/A	2–0	2–0
		Quarter-finals	Strasbourg	0–2	N/A	0–2
1996–97	UEFA Cup	First round	Tirol Innsbruck	1–0	0–0	1–0
		Second round	Sporting CP	2–0	1–2	3–2
		Third round (round of 16)	Newcastle United	1–1	0–2	1–3
1997–98		First round	R.E. Mouscron	4–1	2–0	6–1
		Second round	Karlsruher SC	0–2	1–1	1–3
1998–99	UEFA Champions League	Second Qualifying round	HJK	1–1	0–1	1–2
	UEFA Cup	First round	Red Star Belgrade	2–1	1–2	3–3(3–4 p)
1999	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Second round	MŠK Žilina	3–0	1–2	4–2
		Third round	Lokeren	0–1	2–1	2–2 (a)
		Semi-finals	Polonia Warsaw	5–1	1–1	6–2
		Finals	West Ham United	1–3	1–0	2–3

Club Achievements

FC Metz has a proud history with several important wins:

• Ligue 1
  • Second Place (1): 1997–98 (They almost won the league!)
• Ligue 2
  • Winners (4): 1934–35, 2006–07, 2013–14, 2018–19
  • Second Place (4): 1950–51, 1960–61, 1966–67, 2022–23
• Coupe de France (French Cup)
  • Winners (2): 1983–84, 1987–88
  • Runners-up (1): 1937–38
• Coupe de la Ligue (League Cup)
  • Winners (2): 1985–86, 1995–96
  • Runners-up (1): 1998–99
• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1999

Team Players

Current Squad

No. Position Player 2 DF Maxime Colin 4 DF Urie-Michel Mboula 6 MF Joseph Nduquidi 7 FW Gauthier Hein 9 FW Ibou Sané 10 FW Pape Amadou Diallo 12 MF Alpha Touré 14 FW Cheikh Sabaly 18 FW Idrissa Gueye 19 FW Morgan Bokele 20 MF Jessy Deminguet 21 MF Benjamin Stambouli

No. Position Player 22 DF Kevin Van Den Kerkhof 33 FW Joseph Mangondo 38 DF Sadibou Sané 39 DF Koffi Kouao 61 GK Pape Sy 99 FW Joel Asoro DF Yannis Lawson MF Jean-Philippe Gbamin MF Ismaël Guerti FW Pape Moussa Fall FW Brian Madjo FW Malick Mbaye FW Giorgi Abuashvili (on loan from Kolkheti 1913) FW Giorgi Tsitaishvili (on loan from Dynamo Kyiv)

Notable Former Players

Many great players have played for FC Metz. Here are some of them:

Team Staff

Current Technical Staff

Managerial History

Many different managers have led FC Metz over the years:

See also

In Spanish: Football Club de Metz para niños