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 is a French football club from Metz, Lorraine. The club started in 1932. They play their home games at Stade Saint-Symphorien. The team is known as Les Grenats (The Maroons) because of their official colors. They are also called Les Graoullys, named after a dragon from local legends.

FC Metz plays in Ligue 2, which is the second-highest football league in France. They were recently relegated from Ligue 1 after the 2023–2024 season. Even though they haven't won the top French league, they have won the Coupe de France twice and the Coupe de la Ligue twice.

The History of FC Metz

FC Metz was formed on March 23, 1932. It was created 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 roots go back even further. In 1905, when Metz was part of Germany, a club called SpVgg Metz was formed. Some players from this club later joined Cercle Athlétique Messin in 1919. This club then became FC Metz in 1932.

Early Years and World War II

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. They became a steady team in the first division until World War II started.

During the war, the city of Metz 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 during the war years.

After the war, FC Metz returned to Ligue 1 in 1945. Their stadium was badly damaged, and the team had to rebuild. They were allowed to stay in Ligue 1 even after finishing last in 1950. This was a special help due to their difficult situation after the war.

Ups and Downs: Relegations and Promotions

The team quickly bounced back, finishing second in Ligue 2 and returning to the first division. They had a strong return, finishing fifth in their first season back. However, they often struggled and were relegated again in 1958.

It took three seasons for them to return to Ligue 1 in 1961, but they only stayed for one year. FC Metz spent the next five seasons in the second division. In 1967, they moved back to the top level of French football. They stayed there until 2001, when they were relegated. But they quickly returned to Ligue 1 the very next year.

In 2006, FC Metz was relegated from Ligue 1 again. They finished at the very bottom of the table. A promising young player, Miralem Pjanić, who later became a star, was part of the team then.

Recent Seasons and Achievements

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

They were relegated again but managed to get promoted the next season. In the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, Metz had a very tough start, losing many games. They finished last and were relegated to Ligue 2.

On April 26, 2019, Metz earned promotion back to Ligue 1 by winning Ligue 2. They secured this with a 2–1 win against Red Star. In their first season back, they finished 15th, and then improved to 10th the next season.

In the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season, Metz finished 19th and were relegated to Ligue 2. However, they were promoted back to Ligue 1 as runners-up in the 2022-23 season. In the 2023–24 Ligue 1 season, Metz ended up in the relegation playoff spot. They lost to AS Saint-Étienne and were relegated back to Ligue 2.

Supporters and Rivalries

FC Metz has strong rivalries with other teams. Their biggest rivals are AS Nancy. Their matches against Nancy are called the Lorraine derby. They also have a major rivalry with Racing Strasbourg.

The club has two main fan groups called ultras: Gradins Populaires Ouest and Horda Frénétik. FC Metz also has friendly relationships with fans of other clubs, like Toulouse FC in France, Kaiserslautern and Eintracht Trier in Germany, and Vicenza in Italy.

Home Stadium

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

Team Crest and Colors

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 crest, or logo, features two important symbols. It has the Lorraine cross, which shows the team's connection to its region. It also features a dragon called the Graoully, which is a famous creature from local legends. The legend says that Saint Clement of Metz tamed this dragon.

Youth Academy: Developing Future Stars

FC Metz is well-known in France and Europe for its successful youth academy. This academy has helped train many famous players who went on to become international stars. Some of these players include Rigobert Song, Robert Pires, Louis Saha, Emmanuel Adebayor, Papiss Cissé, Miralem Pjanić, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sadio Mané.

The city of Metz is close to Luxembourg, which helps the club find young talented players. The club has good connections with the Luxembourgish Football Federation. Players like Nico Braun, who is the team's all-time top goalscorer, and Miralem Pjanić, played in Luxembourg's amateur leagues before joining FC Metz.

FC Metz in European Competitions

FC Metz has played in European football tournaments several times. One of their most famous moments was in 1984. They played against Barcelona in the 1984–85 European Cup Winners' Cup. Metz lost the first game at home 4–2. Everyone expected them to lose badly in the second game at Barcelona's stadium, Camp Nou. However, FC Metz won the second game 4–1, thanks to three goals from Tony Kurbos. This meant they won 6–5 overall and moved on to the next round. This was a huge surprise and a great achievement for the club.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1968–69	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	First round	Hamburger SV	1–4	2–3	3–7
1969–70	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	First round	Napoli	1–1	1–2	2–3
1984–85	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	First round	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	First round	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	UEFA Cup	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 Honours and Trophies

FC Metz has never won the top French championship, Ligue 1. Their best finish was second place in 1998, just behind Lens. The title race was very close until the very last game.

However, FC Metz has won other important trophies:

• They won the Coupe de France twice, in 1984 and 1988.
• They won the Coupe de la Ligue twice, in 1986 and 1996.
• They have played in European tournaments ten times.

Major Achievements

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

Meet the Players

Current Squad

Here are the players currently on the FC Metz team:

No. Position Player 2 DF Maxime Colin 3 DF Matthieu Udol (captain) 5 DF Fali Candé 6 MF Joseph Nduquidi 7 FW Gauthier Hein 8 DF Ismaël Traoré (vice-captain) 9 FW Ibou Sané 10 MF Pape Amadou Diallo 12 MF Alpha Touré 14 MF Cheikh Sabaly 15 DF Ababacar Lô 16 GK Alexandre Oukidja 17 MF Lilian Raillot

No. Position Player 19 FW Morgan Bokele 20 MF Jessy Deminguet (on loan from Strasbourg) 21 MF Benjamin Stambouli 22 DF Kevin Van Den Kerkhof 23 FW Édouard Soumah-Abbad 26 FW Malick Mbaye 31 FW Simon Elisor 36 MF Ablie Jallow 38 DF Sadibou Sané 39 DF Koffi Kouao 44 DF Charles Divialle-Corbière 61 GK Pape Sy 99 FW Joel Asoro

Players on Loan

Some players from FC Metz are currently playing for other teams on a temporary basis:

No. Position Player GK Ousmane Ba (at Seraing until 30 June 2025) MF Arthur Atta (at Udinese until 30 June 2025) MF Othmane Chraibi (at Châteauroux until 30 June 2025)

No. Position Player FW Benjamin Tetteh (at Maribor until 30 June 2025) FW Pape Moussa Fall (at Seraing until 30 June 2025)

Famous Former Players

Many talented players have played for FC Metz over the years. Here are some of the notable ones who played at least a full season for the club:

Coaching Staff

Here is the current coaching team for FC Metz:

Club Managers Through the Years

Many different managers have led FC Metz throughout its history. Here is a list of them:

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See also

In Spanish: Football Club de Metz para niños