 | ||||
| Full name | Racing Club de Lens | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Les Sang et Or (The Blood and Gold)[1] | |||
| Founded | 1906; 119 years ago (1906) | |||
| Ground | Stade Bollaert-Delelis | |||
| Capacity | 38,223 | |||
| Owner(s) | Solferino SARL Amber Capital | |||
| President | Joseph Oughourlian | |||
| Head coach | Pierre Sage | |||
| League | Ligue 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1, 8th of 18 | |||
| Website | rclens.fr | |||
 Current season | ||||
Racing Club de Lens (French pronunciation:[ʁasiŋklœbdəlɑ̃s]), commonly referred to asRC Lens or simply asLens, is aFrench professional football club based in the northern city ofLens in thedepartment ofPas-de-Calais. The club's nickname,Les Sang et Or (transl. The Blood and Gold), comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. As of the2024–25 season, Lens competes inLigue 1, the highest tier of French football.
Lens won theDivision 1 (now Ligue 1) title in the1997–98 season, and has finished as runner-up on five occasions, most recently in the2022–23 season. The club has a strong rivalry with neighborsLille OSC, with whom they contest theDerby du Nord.
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The club was established in 1906 inLens by local students who enjoyed playingfootball on the city's Place Verte (the current Place de la République). The name "Racing Club de Lens" was chosen as a reference toRacing Club de Roubaix andRacing Club de France, both popular clubs at the time.
The club's first board of directors was formed by the parents of those students. The club originally played in green and black to represent the founding location; they wore green to represent the name of the home pitch, "Verte", (meaning 'green' in French), and black to represent the omnipresence of thecoal mining industry in the surrounding area.
Between 1907 and 1912, the players were forced to change home grounds twice before settling at the Parc des Glissoires, situated betweenAvion andLens.
DuringWorld War I, in common with all French sports clubs, the team's activities were stopped and did not restart until 1919. By this time, Lens had changed their playing colours to sky blue.
It was in 1924 that the red and gold colours first appeared. One legend says that Pierre Moglia, president of the club from 1923 to 1930, chose the colours of theSpanish flag after a colleague from the club remarked that the Saint-Léger church ruins, which they had walked past one evening, were the last visible remains of the localSpanish domination in1648. Some people also say that the colours were derived as a reference to the local coal mines: the red for the blood of the miners and the gold for the coal which was valuable at the time.
It was also in 1924 that the club was authorised to play at the newly built municipal stadium Raoul Briquet (nowadays Léo Lagrange). The first match for the club in their new colours was played for the inauguration of the stadium.
In 1926, British footballer Kid Fenton was the first star who played for Lens. He stayed for eight seasons and became a strong favourite with the club's supporters. This was also the year the first supporters group was formed, and also saw the first occasion that Lens captured the Championnat d'Artois.
In 1929, Lens won the North championship and won promotion for the first time to the Division d'Honneur of the Ligue du Nord with the clubsOlympique Lillois,RC Roubaix,Excelsior Athlétic Club de Roubaix and AC Amiens.
In the Artois League, the club steadily gained prestige, and in 1932 the club inaugurated theStade Félix Bollaert.
In 1937, Lens gained access to thefirst division after finishing first in thesecond division, led by such players asStefan Dembicki and Spechtl. Lens even managed to reach the last 16 of theCoupe de France, although the team was eventually eliminated by theRed Star, 3–2.
In 1943, Lens won the first division of the Northern Zone thanks to Dembicki, who scored 43 goals in 30 games. A year earlier, in a Coupe de France match, he had scored 17 goals, which still remains to this day the world record for goals scored by one player in a single competitive match.
Immediately followingWorld War II, Lens finished in sixth place in the 1945–46 season, but they were relegated the following year. In 1948, the club played its first Coupe de France final, which they lost 3–2 against Lille. A year later, Lens was promoted to the first division, andMaryan Wisnieski was recruited, in 1953. Problems with the board, however, made him quit the club; he joined Italian clubUC Sampdoria Genoa, though without much success.
In 1962, the city of Lens' mines were shut down and the future of the club was at stake, given that most of the players were miners by profession. Between 1956 and 1968, survival was hard. Nevertheless, in 1964, Lens finished third, withAhmed Oudjani the top scorer with 30 goals. Another famous player,Georges Lech, joined Lens, although the club was relegated in 1968. The following year, the mine's administrators rescinded their ownership of Lens, which signalled the end of professional football at theStade Bollaert-Delelis. Lens was now once again an amateur club, one year after its relegation, and the long-term future looked very bleak.
However, better days arrived in 1960 after the town council took interest in Racing Club de Lens. Lens' mayor,André Delelis, was a long-term supporter and recognized the importance of the club's success to the overall morale of the city. With the future president, Jean Bondoux, the mayor brought together volunteers and subscriptions to help the club survive. Moreover, the city recovered ownership of the stadium from the closing mine industry.
The following twenty years saw a slow but steady improvement in the club's fortunes. In 1972, Lens reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France, and the arrival of two Polish players helped the club win promotion to the first division. In 1975, Lens once again reached the final of the Coupe de France against the powerfulSaint-Étienne, but lost the game 0–2.
As finalist of the Coupe de France, Lens had the opportunity to participate in its firstUEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but the team was knocked out quickly by the Dutch clubADO Den Haag.
Lens' steady progress continued, and after finishing second in the league behindNantes, they managed to qualify to theUEFA Cup. They knocked out Swedish clubMalmö FF, and more impressively, the strong Italian clubLazio. After an away defeat (2–0), they won 6–0 at theStade Bollaert-Delelis after extra-time. Unfortunately, after this rare international exploit for a French club, they were then eliminated byEast German side1. FC Magdeburg. Worse still, the club went back to the second division in 1978.
The step backwards was very brief and immediate promotion back to the French elite level was achieved in 1979 withRoger Lemerre as head coach. During the 1980s,Gérard Houllier andJoachim Marx succeeded him. These were great gains to the team, even though the club lost important players such asDidier Sénac,Gaëtan Huard andPhilippe Vercruysse.
In August 1988Gervais Martel, a wealthy local businessman, bought control of the club, with the help of Serge Doré. During the same year,Arnaud Dos Santos was named head coach of the club, and led the club back to the first division in 1991.
In 1993 and 1994, Lens' strongest team to that date were highly competitive at the top of the league, and the team qualified for the UEFA Cup twice in a row. Lens also reached the semi-final of the Coupe de France after knocking outParis Saint-Germain at theParc des Princes, although the team lost toMontpellier.
In1998,les Sang et Or wrote the best page of their history underDaniel Leclercq ("the Druid"): French champions,Coupe de la Ligue semi-finalists and finalists of the Coupe de France (against PSG, a 2–1 defeat). Like a symbol, it is a player who started his career in Lens,Yohan Lachor, who scored the goal inAuxerre giving Lens the title in front ofMetz. Under the "Druid", Lens won its second major title in 1999 with the Coupe de la Ligue against Metz, with a goal fromDaniel Moreira. That year, in theUEFA Champions League, Lens also became the only club to have beaten English teamArsenal at the famousWembley Stadium (1–0, with a goal fromMickaël Debève), although they were knocked out on aggregate score over two matches.
During the next season, Leclercq was fired, but Lens nonetheless did well to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. François Brisson's men were eventually eliminated by Arsenal, after they won against1. FC Kaiserslautern (a 4–1 win in Germany),Atlético Madrid andCelta de Vigo.
In the 2001–02 season,Joël Muller was named head coach. Lens finished second that season and qualified for its second Champions League campaign. The club, however, finished in eighth for the next two years. Muller was replaced during his fourth season byFrancis Gillot, who managed to qualify Lens for theUEFA Intertoto Cup, which Lens won, ensuring qualification for the UEFA Cup.
During the2006–07 season, theSang et Or finished the first part of the season in second, behindLyon. But due to a chaotic second half, however, they only finished fifth. A few days later, Francis Gillot resigned.
On 5 June 2007,Guy Roux made his comeback, although it only lasted three months: He resigned after a 2–1 defeat atStrasbourg.Jean-Pierre Papin took over, but Lens could not make up any ground throughout the season, finishing 18th, two points behindToulouse, resulting in relegation to Ligue 2 for the next season. Lens finished the season with just 40 points, winning only 9 times in 38 matches.
After a slow start in their only year inLigue 2, they managed to finish as leaders during the first half of the season. Earning 13 out of 15 points in their first five games of the second half, everything looked set for a quick return to the first league. After only taking five points of the next six games, however, the promotion race was open again, although Lens recovered and became champions, securing promotion to Ligue 1 for2009–10. After the2010–11 season, however, they again dropped to Ligue 2.
On 16 May 2014, Lens sealed promotion back to Ligue 1 on the final day of theseason following a 2–0 win atBastia. On 27 June, however, the League's National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG) blocked Lens' promotion to the top flight due to irregularities in the club's proposed budget for its next season. The issue was a €10 million payment due from major shareholderHafiz Mammadov that was missing from the accounts. Lens presidentGervais Martel claimed a public holiday in Mammadov's native Azerbaijan had resulted in the delay and said the club would appeal. On 15 July, however, their promotion was in jeopardy after an appeal commission upheld their appeal since the missing funds still had not yet arrived in the club's accounts. Lens immediately declared their intention to appeal to theFrench Olympic Committee (CNOSF), which has the power to overrule the DNCG. On 25 July, the CNSOF recommended Lens should be allowed to play in Ligue 1. Because the Stade Bollaert-Delelis was being renovated forUEFA Euro 2016, Lens played their home matches for the2014–15 Ligue 1 season at theStade de la Licorne, home ofAmiens, and at theStade de France inSaint-Denis.
It was announced on 29 January 2015 that Lens' promotion from Ligue 2 at the end of the 2013–14 season has been ruled invalid, and will thus be automatically relegated to Ligue 2 for the2015–16 season, regardless of where the team places. Thus, in August 2015 Lens returned to Ligue 2, albeit playing at the renovated Stade Bollaert-Delelis. They drew an average home attendance of 28,996 in the 2016–17 season, the highest in Ligue 2 but missed promotion to the Ligue 1 during a tumultuous last day of the season.[2]
In the2017–18 Ligue 2 season, Lens lost their first seven matches in a row, the worst start to a season in the club's history. On 18 September, Lens finally got their first win of the season overUS Quevilly-Rouen 2–0.[3][4]
In the2018–19 Ligue 2 season, Lens finished 5th on the table and reached the promotion play off final againstDijon FCO. After a 1–1 draw in the first leg, Lens would lose the second leg and the tie 3–1 after two goalkeeping blunders byJérémy Vachoux cost his side a chance of promotion toLigue 1.[5]
On 30 April 2020, Lens were promoted toLigue 1 after the LFP decided to end the seasons of both Ligue 1 andLigue 2 early due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in France. Lens were second on the table in Ligue 2 at the time of the decision.[6]
In the2020–21 season, Lens finished 7th on theLigue 1 table after an impressive first season back in France's top flight.[7] They finished seventh again in thefollowing season with 62 points,[8] despite being ranked second behindParis Saint-Germain in the first half of the season.
In the2022–23 season, Lens won 10 games out of 10 at home during the first part of the season. On 1 January 2023, Lens beat PSG 3–1 and became the first team to defeat Paris, which had been unbeaten since the start of the season.[9] Halfway through the season, Lens was second, three points behind PSG.[10] On 1 March 2023, Lens was eliminated from theCoupe de France after a 2–1 defeat againstNantes in the quarter-finals.[11] On 27 May, Lens won 3–0 againstAjaccio, finished 2nd inLigue 1 and qualified for theChampions League for the third time in their history after 1998–99 and 2002–03.[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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12 –
Club Supporters (the 12th Man)
17 –
Marc-Vivien Foé,Midfielder (1994–99) –posthumous honour
Three Lens players won the gold medal in the1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games: defenderDidier Sénac, as well as strikersFrançois Brisson andDaniel Xuereb who scored a goal apiece in France's triumph over Brazil 2–0 in the final at thePasadena Rose Bowl in front of a crowd of 103,000.
For a complete list of RC Lens players, seeCategory:RC Lens players
As of 17 July 2023
| Rank | Name | Position | Caps with Lens | Total Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryan Wisnieski | Forward | 33 | 33 |
| 2 | Georges Lech | Forward | 16 | 35 |
| 3 | Xercès Louis | Midfielder | 12 | 12 |
| 4 | Didier Six | Forward | 11 | 52 |
| 5 | Alou Diarra | Midfielder | 11 | 44 |
| 6 | Guillaume Bieganski | Defender | 5 | 9 |
| 7 | Philippe Vercruysse | Midfielder | 4 | 12 |
| 8 | Jonathan Clauss * | Defender | 4 | 6 |
| 9 | Ladislas Smid | Midfielder | 4 | 4 |
| 10 | Tony Vairelles | Forward | 3 | 8 |
| 11 | Daniel Xuereb | Forward | 3 | 8 |
| 12 | Pierre Laigle | Midfielder | 2 | 8 |
| 13 | Daniel Moreira | Forward | 2 | 3 |
| 14 | Didier Sénac | Defender | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | François Brisson | Forward | 2 | 2 |
| 16 | Edmond Novicki | Forward | 2 | 2 |
| 17 | Michel Stievenard | Forward | 2 | 2 |
| 18 | Frédéric Déhu | Defender | 1 | 5 |
| 19 | Farès Bousdira | Midfielder | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Paul Courtin | Forward | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | Jean Desgranges | Forward | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Raymond François | Midfielder | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | Richard Krawczyk | Midfielder | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | Marcel Ourdouillié | Midfielder | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Brice Samba * | Goalkeeper | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Raphaël Varane * | Defender | 0 | 93 |
| 27 | Loïc Rémy | Forward | 0 | 30 |
| 28 | Eric Carrière | Midfielder | 0 | 11 |
| 29 | Geoffrey Kondogbia * | Midfielder | 0 | 5 |
| 30 | Alphonse Areola * | Goalkeeper | 0 | 3 |
* Still playing.
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Sports coordinator | Grégory Thil |
| Head coach | Pierre Sage |
| Assistant head coach | Éric Sikora |
| First-team coach |  Jamal Alioui Bilal Hamdi |
| Goalkeeping coach | Cédric Berthelin |
| Fitness coach | Vincent Lannoy |
| Club doctor | Dr. Eric Furmaniak |
| Physiotherapist | Philippe Darques |
| Scout |  Alaeddine Yahia |
| Performance manager | Guillaume Ravé |
Former coaches include two ex-France coaches:Gérard Houllier (1982–85) managed France between July 1992 and November 1993, andRoger Lemerre (second half of the 1996–97 season, then as assistant coach 1997–98), who coached France between July 1998 and July 2002.
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