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AS Saint-Étienne

Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire, (ASSE or A.S. Saint-Étienne) are a French football team founded in 1920. They play their home games at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in the city of Saint Étienne. They are also one of the most successful teams in French Football history, with honours including 10 French First Division championship wins. Their primary rivals are Olympique Lyonnais, from nearby Lyon.

History

Early days

A.S. Saint-Étienne was created in 1919 by members of the Amicale des employés de la Société des magasins Casino: members of the employees' Union of the Casino grocery chain. Since green was the colour of the chain, green jerseys were also adopted. Due to FFF regulations, the commercial name Casino was dropped from the club's name in 1920. In order to keep the initials A.S.C, however, the club was re-named Amical Sporting Club.

In 1928, Pierre Guichard (the son of the head of Casino Geoffroy Guichard) took over the club and renamed it Association Sportive Stéphanoise. In 1933, the team turned professional and the name was changed again to the form it presently holds: Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne. The club was first promoted to the French First Division for the 1937-1938 season.

Apogée

In 1955 ASSE won their first trophy, the Charles Drago Cup. In 1958, three seasons later, the club claimed the French First Division title for the first time. As French Champions, Saint-Étienne subsequently participated in their first European Cup campaign against Rangers.

Roger Rocher became president of the club in 1961. The following year, the team won the French Cup, but also were relegated to the Second Division. ASSE won the Second Division the following year, and were promoted back to the First Division. The team then continued a surprising ascent, winning the French First Division trophy the following year (1964). Between 1967 and 1970, Saint-Étienne won four championships consecutively, and added two additional French Cups to their trophy cabinet (1967, 1970).

Robert Herbin was named manager in 1972, and lead the team to the double in 1974 and 1976. The team won a ninth championship in 1976. That same year, the club lost in the finals of the European Cup against Bayern Munich. People are used to say that it was because of the square posts. ASSE followed that season by winning the French Cup again in 1977. Their last championship (and major silverware) win came in 1981, with their tenth First Division Championship.

Decline

In 1982, a financial scandal lead to the decline in the club's performance. The president, Roger Rocher, was forced to leave the club , and spent several months in jail. Since then, the club has spent much of its time in the bottom half of the First Division and the Second Division. Although its sporting performances have been inconsistent, the club has still benefited from the unconditional support of its fans.

The club came back to the first division in 1999, finishing 6th. Supporters hoped a return to success with Brazilian strikers Aloisio and Alex celebrating his goals by imitating a panther (Emblem of the club), but in 2001, Alex and the Ukrainian goalkeeper Maksym Levytsky, were suspended for four months for the use of fake Portuguese and Greek passports, respectively. At the end of a judicial inquiry, which linked some of the management staff to the passport forgeries, seven championship points were subtracted from Saint-Étienne's tally, causing them to be relegated to the Second Division.

Renouveau ?

After relegation Saint-Étienne struggled, with mixed results in the Second Division/Ligue 2. They finally won the Ligue 2 championship in 2004, achieving promotion to Ligue 1. The club finished 6th in Ligue 1 the following season, which enabled them to participate in a European tournament, the Intertoto Cup, for the first time in many years. Having finished the 2007-08 Ligue 1 season in 5th place, Saint-Étienne will be playing in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup after 27 years of absence. Saint-Étienne have been drawn against Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. of the Ligat ha'Al in the first knockout round of the 2008-09 UEFA Cup.