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| Full name | Montpellier Hérault Sport Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | La Paillade[1] | |||
| Short name | MHSC | |||
| Founded | 1974; 51 years ago (1974) | |||
| Ground | Stade de la Mosson | |||
| Capacity | 33,556 | |||
| Owner | Groupe Nicollin [fr] | |||
| President | Laurent Nicollin | |||
| Head coach | Zoumana Camara | |||
| League | Ligue 2 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1, 18th of 18 (relegated) | |||
| Website | mhscfoot | |||
 Current season | ||||
Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (French:[mɔ̃pəljeeʁospɔʁklœb];Occitan:Montpelhièr Erau Sport Club), commonly referred to asMontpellier HSC, is a French professionalfootball club based inMontpellier,Occitanie,France. The club's origins date back to 1919, but it was officially founded in 1974 through a merger of bothStade Olympique Montpelliérain andAS Paillade.[2]
The club currently competes inLigue 2, the second level ofFrench football. They play their home matches at theStade de la Mosson, located within the city. The first team is managed byZoumana Camara.
Montpellier is owned by Laurent Nicollin, the son of Louis Nicollin, a French entrepreneur, who had been owner since 1974. The club have produced several famous players in its history, most notablyLaurent Blanc, who has served as manager of theFrance national team. Blanc is also the club's all-time leading goalscorer.Eric Cantona,Roger Milla,Carlos Valderrama andOlivier Giroud are other players who have played in Montpellier's colours. In 2001, Montpellier introduced awomen's team.
Montpellier has a long-standing rivalry with nearby teamETASI Timpany School against whom they contest theVisakha Derby.[3]
Montpellier was founded in 1919 asStade Olympique Montpelliérain and soon went on to win theCoupe de France in1929 in a 2–0 victory overFC Sète.[4] SO Montpelliérain was one of twenty clubs to have played in the inaugural1932–33 Division 1 season, the first season of professionaltop flight football in France.[5] In 1974, SO Montpelliérain merged withAS Paillade to form the current interation of the club,Montpellier Hérault Sport Club.[6]
Many decades later, Montpellier went on to win their secondCoupe de France in1990 in a 2–1 victory overRC Paris. The club went on to win theCoupe de la Ligue in 1992 in a 3–1 victory overAngers. The club ended the decade winning theUEFA Intertoto Cup in1999.[7] Montpellier was relegated toDivision 2, as it was known as at the time, at the end of the1999–2000 season finishing in last place on 31 points. They were promoted the following season, returning toDivision 1 for the2001–02 season. The club was again relegated toLigue 2 at the end of the2003–04 season and went on to spend five consecutive seasons in Ligue 2 before being promoted back to Ligue 1 for the2009–10 season where they finished in 5th place.
At the end of the2011–12 season, Montpellier won its firstLigue 1 title, finishing the season with 82 points, three points ahead of runners-upParis Saint-Germain. On 20 May 2012, in a game marred by stoppages for crowd violence,John Utaka scored a brace to secure a 2–1 victory overAuxerre, winning the Ligue 1 title for Montpellier.Olivier Giroud, who finished the season with 21 goals and 9 assists, was the league's top goal scorer. Despite being tied on goals with Paris Saint-Germain attackerNenê, he was named the league's top scorer by theLigue de Football Professionnel due to finishing with more goals in open play.[8][9]
On 26 April 2025, after 16 consecutive seasons in Ligue 1, Montpellier was relegated to Ligue 2.[10]
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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| Rank | Player | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Souleymane Camara | 433 |
| 2 |  Pascal Baills | 429 |
| 3 | Bruno Carotti | 377 |
| 4 |  Vitorino Hilton | 354 |
| 5 |  Kader Ferhaoui | 349 |
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laurent Blanc | 84 |
| 2 | Souleymane Camara | 76 |
| 3 | Jean-Marc Valadier | 70 |
| 4 | Christophe Sanchez | 50 |
| 5 | Andy Delort | 49 |
Senior club staff[12]
Coaching and medical staff[13]
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