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| Full name | Football Club Lorient | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Les Merlus (TheMerlucciidaes)[1] Le FCL Les tangos et noirs (The dark orange and black)[2] | |||
| Founded | 2 April 1926; 99 years ago (1926-04-02) | |||
| Ground | Stade du Moustoir | |||
| Capacity | 18,110 | |||
| Owner(s) | Loïc Féry (majority shareholder) Bill Foley (minority shareholder) | |||
| President | Loïc Féry | |||
| Head coach | Olivier Pantaloni | |||
| League | Ligue 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 2, 1st of 18 (promoted) | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Football Club Lorient (French pronunciation:[lɔʁjɑ̃bʁətaɲsyd];), commonly referred to asFC Lorient (Breton:An Oriant), is a French professionalassociation football club based inLorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes inLigue 1, having been promoted fromLigue 2 at the end of the2024–25 season. Lorient plays its home matches at the Stade Yves Allainmat, named after the former mayor of Lorient. The stadium is surnamedStade du Moustoir because of its location within the city. The team is managed byOlivier Pantaloni.
Lorient had a relatively bleak history nationally before 1998 when the club made its first appearance in Ligue 1 in the1998–99 season. Before that, Lorient spent most of its life as an amateur club. Lorient's achieved its biggest honour in 2002 when the club won theCoupe de France defeatingBastia 1–0 inthe final. Lorient has never won Ligue 1, but has won theChampionnat National earning this honour in 1995. Regionally, the club has won fiveBrittany Division d'Honneur titles and six Coupe de Bretagne.
Lorient has most notably served as a springboard club for several present-day internationals such asLaurent Koscielny,André-Pierre Gignac,Michaël Ciani,Kevin Gameiro,Karim Ziani,Bakari Koné,Matteo Guendouzi, andSeydou Keita. French internationalYoann Gourcuff, the son of Christian Gourcuff, began his career at the club before moving toDerby Breton rivalsRennes.
Football Club Lorient was founded on 2 April 1926. Lorient was formed off ofLa Marée Sportive, a club founded a year earlier by Madame Cuissard, a store patron who originated fromSaint-Étienne, and her son Joseph. In 1929, The club began play as an amateur club under the Czechoslovakian manager Jozef Loquay and won the Champions de l'Ouest,[3] which placed the club into the Division d'Honneur of the Brittany region, which placed the club into the Division d'Honneur of theBrittanyregion. In 1932, Lorient won the league and, four years later, repeated this performance. The onset of World War II limited the club's meteoric rise in the region and the departure of several players who either joined the war effort or left to play abroad effectively disseminated the club.
Following the war,Antoine Cuissard, the grandson of Madame Cuissard, joined the club as a player with intentions of rebuilding it in honour of his grandmother. Lorient began play in the Division d'Honneur. Cuissard began one of the first Lorient players to maintain a place in theFrance national team while playing with the club. In 1954, he played on the team that qualified for the1954 FIFA World Cup. Lorient quickly recovered and, by 1948, was playing in theChampionnat de France amateur (CFA). The club spent two years in the league before falling back to the Division d'Honneur. In 1957, Lorient was promoted back to the CFA, but struggled due to being limited financially. Subsequently, the club sought sponsors with the hopes of becoming professional. In 1967, under the chairmanship of both Jean Tomine and René Fougère, Lorient placed a bid to turn professional and was elected toDivision 2 by the French League. Incoming president Henri Ducassou agreed to do his best to make professionalism prosper in Lorient.
In the second division, Lorient struggled in the early seventies to consistently stay up in the league table. In the1974–75 and1975–76 seasons, the club came close to promotion to Division 1, finishing 3rd in its group on each occasion, one place short of the promotion play-offs. However,the following season, Lorient was relegated to Division 3. The potential of that team had proved above its classification when the club qualified for its first French FA Cup quarter-finals in history. The club subsequently struggled financially and domestically. It went bankrupt in 1978. During this period, under the name "Club des Supporters du FC Lorient" (the supporters legally took over to keep the FC Lorient name alive), Lorient played in the Division Supérieure Régionale (sixth tier of the French football pyramid). In the early 1980s, Georges Guenoum took over the club as president and hired former Lorient playerChristian Gourcuff as manager. Surprisingly, under Gourcuff, Lorient quickly climbed back up the French football ladder. In 1983, the club won the Brittany Division d'Honneur title and, the following season, won Division 4. In 1985, they won Division 3 and so were back in Division 2 eight years after their demise at that level! Gourcuff left the club after its first Division 2 campaign, with relegation only being effective through an unfavourable goal difference. Lorient spent the next five years in Division 3 playing under two managers. It went financially bust again in 1990 but was nevertheless allowed to stay in Division 3. In 1991, Gourcuff returned to the club and after almost a decade playing in Division 3, Lorient earned promotion back to Division 2 after winning the second edition of theChampionnat National.
Lorient spent two seasons in the second division and, in the1997–98 season, surprised many by running away with the league alongside championsNancy. The1998–99 season marked Lorient's first appearance in Division 1 in the club's history. The appearance was brief with Lorient struggling to meet the financial demands and stronger competition of the league. The club finished in 16th place and were relegated. Amazingly, Lorient finished equal on points withLe Havre with both clubs having the same number of wins, losses, and draws. However, due to Le Havre having a better goal difference, Lorient was relegated. After only two seasons in Division 2, Lorient were back in the first division for the2001–02 season. Before the promotion, in April 2001, a takeover of the club led by Alain Le Roch led to internal problems, which resulted in the departure of Gourcuff and one of the club's best players,Ulrich Le Pen, soon after. The club hiredArgentine managerÁngel Marcos to replace Gourcuff. However, Marcos lasted only a few months.
Despite the initial issues, Lorient strengthened its squad in preparation for its return to the first division by recruiting players such asPascal Delhommeau,Moussa Saïb,Johan Cavalli, andPape Malick Diop. Led byYvon Pouliquen, the new signings joined the likes ofJean-Claude Darcheville,Arnaud Le Lan, andSeydou Keita and surprised many by reaching the final of theCoupe de la Ligue. Lorient was defeated byBordeaux inthe final. Lorient continued its impressive cup form by winning theCoupe de France just two months later. In the match, Lorient facedBastia and defeated theCorsicans 1–0 courtesy of a goal from Darcheville. The title was the club's first major honour. The celebration would however end on a sourer note as Lorient was relegated from league play in the same season. The club participated in theUEFA Cup the following season, falling to Turkish sideDenizlispor in the first round onaway goals.
Lorient returned to the first division, now called Ligue 1, in 2006 with a completely revamped team. Instead of spending money on players, the club focused its efforts on improving its academy and promoted several players to the first-team such asAndré-Pierre Gignac,Virgile Reset,Jérémy Morel, andDiego Yesso during the club's stint in Ligue 2. Lorient was also influenced by the arrival of theMalian internationalBakari Koné. The club, in its return to Ligue 1, finished mid-table in three straight seasons. In the2009–10 season, Lorient performed well domestically. In October 2009, the club reached 5th place in the table; its highest position that late in the season ever. Lorient eventually finished the campaign in 7th place; its best finish in Ligue 1.
In the 2016-2017Ligue 1 season, Lorient played againstLigue 2 sideTroyes in the promotion/relegation play off match. Lorient lost the tie 2–1 and were relegated toLigue 2 after an 11 year stay in the top flight.[4][5]
On 30 April 2020, Lorient were promoted toLigue 1 after the LFP decided to end the seasons of both Ligue 1 andLigue 2 early due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Lorient were top of the Ligue 2 table at the time of the decision.[6] In the2023–24 Ligue 1 season, Lorient were relegated back to Ligue 2 on goal difference. On the final day of the season, Lorient needed a five goal turnaround to avoid demotion. The club would achieve this beating already relegated Clermont but due toMetz having a better head to head record in the league against Lorient, they were sent down to the second division.[7]
On 10 May 2025, Lorient was crowned Ligue 2 champion, returning to Ligue 1 one season after being relegated.[8]
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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For a complete list of FC Lorient players with a Wikipedia article, seeCategory:FC Lorient players
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| 2002–03 | UEFA Cup | First round |  | Denizlispor | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–3 (a) |
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