 | |||
| Full name | Dijon Football Côte-d'Or | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Les rouges (The reds) | ||
| Founded | 1998; 27 years ago (1998) | ||
| Ground | Stade Gaston Gérard | ||
| Capacity | 15,459 | ||
| President | Pierre-Henri Deballon | ||
| Manager | Baptiste Ridira | ||
| League | Championnat National | ||
| 2024–25 | Championnat National, 4th of 17 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Dijon Football Côte d'Or (French pronunciation:[diʒɔ̃futbolkotdɔʁ];lit. 'Dijon Football Gold Coast'), commonly referred to asDijon FCO,Dijon or simply asDFCO, is a Frenchfootball club based inDijon. The club was founded in 1998 as a result of a merger between two local clubs in the city, and competed inLigue 2 after suffering relegation fromLigue 1 in the 2011–12 season. The club earned promotion back to Ligue 1 at the end of the2015–16 season, remained for five seasons before two relegations in three years saw the club relegated out of the professional leagues at the end of the 2022–23 season. The club's president is Olivier Delcourt. Dijon plays its home matches at theStade Gaston Gérard.
The history of football in Dijon began in 1903 with the founding of Cercle Laïque Dijonnais (Dijon Secular Club). The club's football section was set up in 1913. During World War II Cercle Laïque Dijonnais was renamed Cercle Sportif Dijon (Dijon Sports Club) and merged with FC Dijon. The new club, called Cercle Sportif Laïque Dijonnais (Dijon Secular Sports Club), joined Burgundy's regional Division Honneur at its creation in 1945. In spring 1960, the club won the Burgundy championship for the first time.
After a spell in the top level amateur league from 1962, the club was coached by Pierre Danzelle and was able to field a stronger team, as shown by its winning theCFA Centre division in 1965. Refusing repeated proposals by the footballing authorities for the club to turn professional, Dijon's directors brought about the breakup of the team. The club was relegated to theDivision d'Honneur in 1967. The club won promotion to Division 3 in 1974 with the help of Philippe Piat.In the late 1970s, meanwhile, several small clubs merged to form Dijon FC. This new club became the rivals of Cercle Sportif Laïque Dijonnais in the Burgundian capital. During the 1980s Cercle was owned by Jean Claude Dubouil. For the first time in its history, the club played in Division 2 between 1987 and 1991. Despite some good results, however, the club declined both financially and in terms of performance. Meanwhile, the city's second club, Dijon FC, coached by Daniel Joseph, was promoted to the CFA, the same division as Cercle.
In 1998, the two leading clubs of the city, the Cercle Sportif Laïque Dijonnais and Dijon FC decided to merge to give Dijon a stronger club, which was named Dijon Football Côte-d'Or (DFCO). During its first season inCFA, DFCO's manager was Noël Tosi. The club missed out on promotion in the last match of the season. Noël Tosi was dismissed, and replaced by his deputy, Daniel Joseph. The following season, promotion was won in a match againstCalais RUFC, again on the last day of the season. The same year DFCO beatAlès to win the French Amateur title, the club's first trophy.
The following two seasons in National were difficult for the club. During the 2000–01 season, the club narrowly escaped relegation. Following the departure of Daniel Joseph, his deputy Mario Relmy took over and again the team managed to avoid relegation. In 2002,Rudi Garcia arrived at Dijon, which turned professional in 2004. In his first season as coach, Garcia took Dijon briefly to the top of the National league before they finally finished 4th, three points away from promotion. In 2004 Dijon achieved a memorable run in theCoupe de France, beatingSaint-Étienne (L2),Lens (L1),Reims (L2) andAmiens (L2) before losing toChâteauroux (L2) in the semi-final. In the same year DFCO was promoted toLigue 2.
Promotion to Ligue 2 allowed the club to be separated into two entities: professional and amateur. Despite limited resources and poor infrastructure, DFCO achieved an impressive 4th place in its first season inLigue 2. The club also achieved the exploit of beatingBordeaux in the 16th round of theCoupe de la Ligue.
At the end of the 2005–06 season, the club finished fifth. The club's aim was promotion to Ligue 1. During the 2006–07 season, Dijon narrowly missed several opportunities to reach the podium, but finally finished 8th. June 2007 marked the end of an era asRudi Garcia left to manageLe Mans. The new coach,Serge Romano, led the club to a top-three position during the season for the first time in the club's history, but after the club fell down the table Serge Romano was sacked in December 2007. He was replaced byFaruk Hadžibegić in January 2008 after Frederic Bompard briefly took charge as caretaker. The new coach then saved the club from relegation thanks to a draw on the last day of the season away toAC Ajaccio. The same year, the club reached the quarter finals of theCoupe de France for the first time, but lost toAmiens on 15 April 2008.
The 2008–09 season was marked by the arrival of the French internationalEric Carrière, as well asPierre-Emerick Aubameyang on loan fromA.C. Milan. Despite their contribution, DFCO remained stuck in the lower half of the table, although they put themselves beyond relegation in April. In theCoupe de France Dijon lost against the Ligue 1 teamGrenoble on penalties after a 1–1 draw.
Following a dispute during the summer break in 2009 between President Bernard Gnecchi and the coach at the time,Faruk Hadžibegić, Gnecchi chose to appointPatrice Carteron as the new coach. After a first season ended in mid-table, DFCO was promoted to Ligue 1 at the end of the 2010–11 season for the first time in its history, thanks to finishing third inLigue 2.
Dijon played inLigue 1 for the first time in its history during the 2011–12 season. On 7 August 2011, the Burgundy club played its first top-flight match againstRennes at home, scoring its first goal and recording its first defeat (1–5). The following Saturday, DFCO lost toToulouse 2–0. The club's first victory in Ligue 1 came at home on 20 August againstLorient (2–0). The club won a second match inAnnecy againstEvian Thonon-Gaillard (0–1), but then lost againstLyon at home in the next match (1–2). Dijon was 16th in the table at the winter break, and recorded a series of good results afterward, drawing with the future championsMontpellier (1–1), and beatingMarseille (2–1) on 17 March 2012, but internal conflicts and poor performances by leading players such asBenjamin Corgnet and ex-Chelsea playerGaël Kakuta weighed heavily at the end of the season. After a win againstSM Caen (2–0) on 25 March 2012, Dijon failed to win another match, losing six and drawing three. On 20 May 2012, on the last day of the season, Dijon lost heavily toRennes (5–0) and were officially relegated toLigue 2, accompanied by their local rivals,Auxerre. Conceding 63 goals in 38 games, Dijon had the worst defence in Ligue 1 during their first season in the top flight. Following the relegation, club president Bernard Gnecchi resigned and managerPatrice Carteron left the club.
The new president was Olivier Delcourt, whileOlivier Dall'Oglio took over as coach. During the first season back in Ligue 2, the club finished 7th. On 22 April 2016, Dijon won promotion back toLigue 1 finishing second on the table.[1]
In Dijon's first season back inLigue 1, they managed to survive relegation and finish 16th.[2] In the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, Dijon finished 11th, improving their club record of 16th, which they set last season. The 2017–18 campaign, which was only the club's third-ever top-flight season, saw them end on 48 points, 11 more than they managed last year.[3]
In the2018–19 Ligue 1 season, Dijon finished in 18th place on the table and were required to play a two legged play off againstLigue 2 sideRC Lens. After a 1–1 draw in the first leg, Dijon would win the second leg and the tie 3–1 after two goalkeeping blunders by Lens keeperJérémy Vachoux cost his side a chance of promotion toLigue 1 and ensured Dijon's survival.[4]
With four games left to play, Dijon were relegated back toLigue 2 in the2020–21 Ligue 1 season, following a 5–1 defeat toStade Rennais on 25 April 2021.[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Benoît Tavenot |
| Assistant manager | Didier Lacroix |
| Goalkeeper coach | Claude Heraux |
| Fitness coach | Grégory Mancienne Théo Pierrot |
| Video analyst | Pierre-Alain Montecer |
| Sports doctor | Philippe Paulin |
| Physiotherapist | Nicolas Didry Corentin Boisiaux |
| Intendant | Jordane Terrade |
| Human Resources Director | Gérard Bonneau |
| Recruitment unit | Jean-Patrick Morel Yohann Rivière |
The owl, associated with an architectural detail at theChurch of Notre-Dame of Dijon, is a symbol of the city. The club's first crest featured Dijon's Guillaume Gate (Place Darcy) with an owl in the foreground. In the 2006 version, the owl was shown in full flight, while the Guillaume Gate gave way to a plain red background, in line with the team's new home kit. The owl is shown opening its wings to represent V for victory. Between the wings appears "1998", the date of the club's foundation in its modern form, and at the top 'DFCO' and 'Dijon Football Côte d'Or'. The current crest is an updated version of 2006's, with the words 'Dijon Football Côte d'Or' having disappeared, leaving only 'DFCO' and '1998' written in white on the red background.
(in French)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
