 | ||||
| Full name | Stade Brestois 29 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Les Pirates (The Pirates) Les Ty' Zefs (The Little Winds)[1] | |||
| Founded | 1903; 122 years ago (1903) (asArmoricaine de Brest) 26 June 1950; 75 years ago (1950-06-26) (asStade brestois) 1982; 43 years ago (1982) (asBrest Armorique FC) | |||
| Ground | Stade Francis-Le Blé | |||
| Capacity | 15,220 | |||
| President | Denis Le Saint | |||
| Manager | Éric Roy | |||
| League | Ligue 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1, 9th of 18 | |||
| Website | sb29.bzh | |||
 Current season | ||||
Stade Brestois 29 (French:Stade brestois 29), commonly known asStade Brestois or simplyBrest,[a] is a French professionalfootball club based inBrest. It was founded in 1950 following the merger of five local patronages, including Armoricaine de Brest, founded in 1903. The club has competed inLigue 1, the top division of French football, ever since being promoted to the top flight during the2018–19 season.
In its early years, Brest rapidly rose in the hierarchy of regional football to the point of being promoted to theChampionnat de France Amateur in 1958. The club joinedDivision 2 in 1970, then finally reachedDivision 1 in 1979. It experienced its sporting peak between 1981 and 1991 under the presidency of François Yvinec, playing nine seasons in the highest tier in ten years. In 1991, the club was demoted before filing for bankruptcy a few months later. The club only returned to the second division in 2004 and Ligue 1 in 2010. At the end of the 2012–13 season, it had thirteen and seventeen seasons respectively in the first two divisions.[2] In2023–24,underdogs Brest achieved an unlikely third-place finish in Ligue 1 and thus qualified for the2024–25 UEFA Champions League, marking the first appearance in any European competition in the club's history.
Stade Brestois has been chaired since 10 May 2016 by entrepreneurDenis Le Saint.
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Sources do not agree as to the date of the club's creation. According to the version presented by the current club, it was born in 1950 from the merger of five local patronages.[3] However, when it was created, the Stade Brestois took over the structures and the place of Armoricaine de Brest, founded in1903, of which it would therefore be the direct heir.[citation needed]
The sports section of Saint Louis patronage was created in 1903 by taking the name of Armoricaine de Brest and adopting a motto: "Pen Huel" ("Heads up" inBreton). Before the First World War, 500 young people and 400 children attended the various patronage activities: military preparation, shooting, football, athletics, men's gymnastics, theatre, choir, brass band, and study circles. The war thinned the ranks of the Armoricans, but activities quickly resumed.[citation needed]
In 1922, Father Cozanet had a stadium built at Petit Paris, on the currentStade Francis-Le Blé site, a grandstand still bearing the Armorican motto (the Pen Huel stand) as its name.[4] The stadium was inaugurated on 9 February 1923 during a meeting between the Armoricaine and theStade Français. French internationalsAlexis Thépot,Robert Coat andJean Guéguen emerged from the Armorican ranks between the wars.[citation needed]
The patronage of the Armorican contested the 16th finals of theCoupe de France in 1921 and 1927, the 32nd finals in 1923, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931 and 1935. In 1926, the Armoricaine took away the title of champion of France patronage by winning in the final against Saint-Jean-de-Luz (3–0). The goalkeeper Alexis Thépot, who obtained a selection while part of the Armoricaine squad in 1927 against England, was one of the club's brightest players.[citation needed]
In 1950, the merger initiated by Canon Balbous between five Catholic patronages (the Armoricaine de Saint-Louis, the Avenir de Saint-Martin, the Flamme du Pilier Rouge, the Milice de Saint-Michel and the Jeune de Saint-Marc) gave birth to Stade Brest. One of the objectives of this merger of Catholic teams was to supplant the great Brest club of the time, AS Brest, which was secular.[citation needed]
At its birth, the Stade Brestois had Jean Offret as President (then as Honorary President until his death in 1998).[citation needed]
Taking over the place of Armoricaine in the first division of Brittany, the Stadium was promoted to Promotion d'honneur in 1951, in the regional honour division (just created) in 1952, before joining the Honour Division (1953). Stade Brestois finally reached theFrench Amateur Championship (CFA) in 1958, taking advantage of the withdrawal of theVoltigeurs de Châteaubriant. The club was finally evolving at the same level as its rival, AS Brest. In 1963, the club went back down to the honor division but returned to the CFA in 1966. Continuing its rise in the hierarchy of French football, the Stade Brestois then acceded to the second division following its enlargement in 1970.[citation needed]
In 1979, the Stade Brestois was promoted to theDivision 1 for the first time in its history. This apprenticeship year ended with last place in the standings, but Stade went back up the following season. The club, whose new president was François Yvinec, was quite comfortably in Division 1 this time. Despite a certain instability in the coaching post, the Breton club confirmed its place in the elite during the following seasons.[citation needed]
In 1983, President François Yvinec decided to change the name of the club to that ofFC Brest Armorique to better specify the geographical location of the club. The year 1986 was a turning point in the life of the club. From that season, the Bretons embarked on the "football business" path by recruiting South American stars, who, after a fanfare debut, allowed them to reach a historic (unmatched until2024) 8th place in Division 1 in 1987. However, behind the scenes, the rupture between the president and coach Raymond Keruzoré led to the latter's resignation, and the withdrawal of the main sponsor, the Leclerc stores.[citation needed]
YoungPaul Le Guen,Vincent Guérin andPatrick Colleter were not enough to keep the club going, so it went down to Division 2 in 1988 with its promising young generation. It was against theRacing Club de Strasbourg that they regained their place in the elite a year after the play-offs, which remains a great moment in the club's history.[citation needed]
Back in the first division, the Brest team was made up of talented young players such asCorentin Martins,David Ginola, the ParaguayanRoberto Cabañas and the future world championStéphane Guivarc'h, who allowed the club to rank well in the elite. But in 1991, despite the 11th place obtained by Brest in the league, the club's significant deficit led to its administrative relegation to the Second Division.[5]
The club on the banks of the Penfeld ended up imploding in December of that same year. During his last match with the rivalGuingamp, the invasion of the lawn by the exasperated Brest supporters forcedDavid Ginola to call for calm so the match could resume. The results of the matches the club played since the competition started were void. The club, whose liabilities were estimated at 150 million francs, filed for bankruptcy.[6]
The professional team was dissolved, and Brest's players were released. The reserve team, then playing in the third division became the pennant team.[citation needed]
In 1993, the club was promoted to the brand newNational 1 championship. Following the merger of the two National groups in 1997, the Stade Brestois was relegated to theFrench Amateur Championship, where it remained for three seasons.[citation needed]
After ten years in the amateur championships, the Breton club, which regained its original name (in 1993), went back to theNational Championship in 2000, where it remained for four seasons.[citation needed]
In 2004, led by a youngFranck Ribéry, the club secured promotion toLigue 2, the second division of French football. The club managed to stay at this level in the following years. However, Brest was not a serious candidate for promotion until the decade's end. The 2009–10 season saw the Breton club, coached byAlex Dupont, finish in second place, which secured automatic promotion toLigue 1, following a 2–0 victory againstTours on 30 April 2010. In addition, the team had a good run in theCoupe de France, eventually falling in the round of 16 toLens in extra time.[citation needed]
The club managed to ensure its position in the top division, obtained on 29 May 2011 despite a defeat at home againstToulouse. During the2011–12 season, Brest secured its place in the first division with a win overÉvian on the season's final day. It was also the club's first away win during the campaign.[citation needed]
After the2018–19 Ligue 2 season, Brest won promotion back to Ligue 1, returning to the top flight for the first time in six years.[7] In the2019–20 Ligue 1 season, they finished in 14th place.[8] In the2020–21 Ligue 1, the team secured its safety on the final match day of the season, finishing in 17th place.[9] From 31 October to 4 December 2021, Brest won six Ligue 1 games in a row, defeatingMonaco,Lorient, Lens,Bordeaux,Saint-Étienne, andMarseille in the club's longest-ever winning streak in the top flight.[10] They finished the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season in 11th place, the club's best finish since the1990–91 Division 1 season.[11]
On 3 March 2024, Brest defeatedLe Havre at home by a score of 1–0 to extend their unbeaten run to thirteen matches, breaking the club's record established in 1991.[12] Six days later, their streak was snapped in the following match, after a 1–0 defeat away to Lens.[13] On 28 April, following a 5–4 win away to Breton rivalsRennes, Brest secured European football for the first time in their history.[14] On the final matchday of the2023–24 season, Brest finished third in the league, the club's best-ever season in the first division, after a 3–0 away win over Toulouse, securing direct qualification to theUEFA Champions League following a stoppage-time equalizer fromNice in a 2–2 away draw againstLille.[15]
Brest could not make their stadium, Stade Francis-Le Blé, meetUEFA's requirements for a Champions League match and instead were forced to play their home games at Guingamp'sStade de Roudourou.[16] In their European debut against Austrian sideSturm Graz at the Stade de Roudourou on 19 September 2024, Brest won 2–1 thanks to a second-half goal fromAbdallah Sima.[17] On 1 October, they secured a historic 4–0 victory overRed Bull Salzburg in their first-ever official match outside France.[18][19] On 23 October, Brest held German championsBayer Leverkusen to a 1–1 draw at home thanks to aPierre Lees-Melou strike.[20] They continued their undefeated start with a 2–1 win away toSparta Prague on 6 November, but eventually fell 3–0 away toBarcelona on 27 November.[21][22] Brest went on to beatPSV Eindhoven (1–0) before losing toShakhtar Donetsk (2–0) andReal Madrid (3–0), finishing in 18th place in the league phase.[23][24] In theknockout phase play-off, they were defeated 3–0 at home and 7–0 away byParis Saint-Germain, the second-largest aggregate defeat in Champions League history.[25]
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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Below are the notable former and current players who have represented Stade Brestois inleague and international competition since the club's foundation in 1903. To appear in the section below, a player must have either played in at least 80 official matches for the club or represented their country's national team while either playing for Brest or after departing the club.For a complete list of Stade Brestois players, seeCategory:Stade Brestois 29 players.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Éric Roy |
| Assistant Manager | Julien Lachuer |
| First-Team Coach |  Bruno Grougi |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Christophe Revel |
| Conditioning Coach | Yvan Bourgis |
| Sporting Director | Grégory Lorenzi |
| Team Coordinator | Matthieu Jézéquel |
| Doctor | Michel Kergastel |
| Physiotherapist | Gilles BaudouinErwan OrlachHugo Keriven |
| Scout | Thierry Bonalair |
| Head of Marketing | Pascal Robert |
| Marketing Staff | Jean-Luc Le Magueresse |
| Board Member | Daniel Le RouxYvon Kermarec |
| Season | Level | Div. | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Points | Eur.Cup Entrance | French Cup | French League Cup | Av.Attendance[27] |
| asStade Brestois 29 | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–98 | 4 | CFA-D | 9. | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 40 | 46 | --- | qual.stage | – | 530 |
| 1998–99 | 9. | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 44 | 38 | 48 | qual.stage | – | ||||
| 1999–2000 | 1. | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 50 | 31 | 69 | R. 1/32 | |||||
| 2000–01 | 3 | Championnat National | 6. | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 64 | 48 | 63 | qual.stage | |||
| 2001–02 | 13. | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 40 | 43 | 44 | qual.stage | |||||
| 2002–03 | 10. | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 49 | 44 | 50 | qual.stage | |||||
| 2003–04 | 2. | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 45 | 30 | 68 | R.1/8 | |||||
| 2004–05 | 2 | Ligue 2 | 9. | 38 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 38 | 34 | 55 | R.1/32 | R.1/16 | 7,340 | |
| 2005–06 | 17. | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 34 | 48 | 42 | R.1/8 | qual.stage | 6,167 | |||
| 2006–07 | 14. | 38 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 40 | 40 | 45 | R.1/32 | qual.stage | 5,932 | |||
| 2007–08 | 7. | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 38 | 38 | 57 | R.1/16 | R.1/32 | 5,739 | |||
| 2008–09 | 14. | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 45 | 50 | 45 | R.1/16 | qual.stage | 6,334 | |||
| 2009–10 | 2. | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 53 | 34 | 67 | R.1/8 | first round | 7,702 | |||
| 2010–11 | 1 | Ligue 1 | 16. | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 36 | 43 | 46 | R.1/32 | third round | 13,549 | |
| 2011–12 | 15. | 38 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 31 | 38 | 41 | R.1/64 | third round | 13,597 | |||
| 2012–13 | 20. | 38 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 32 | 62 | 29 | R.1/16 | third round | 11,796 | |||
| 2013–14 | 2 | Ligue 2 | 7. | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 38 | 32 | 56 | R.1/32 | third round | 7,609 | |
| 2014–15 | 6. | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 41 | 27 | 57 | R.1/4 | first round | 7,557 | |||
| 2015–16 | 10. | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 34 | 41 | 47 | qual. stage | first round | 6,887 | |||
| 2016–17 | 5. | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 58 | 44 | 65 | R.1/64 | second round | 8,042 | |||
| 2017–18 | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 58 | 43 | 65 | qual. stage | first round | 7,458 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 2. | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 64 | 35 | 74 | R.1/64 | second round | 9,216 | |||
| 2019–20 | 1 | Ligue 1 | 14. | 28 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 34 | 37 | 34 | R.1/64 | R.1/4 | 13,699 (14 matches played) | |
| 2020–21 | 17. | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 50 | 66 | 41 | R.1/16 | x | 4,496 (With 4 games played outside camera) | |||
| 2021–22 | 11. | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 49 | 58 | 48 | R.1/8 | 11,710 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 14. | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 44 | 54 | 44 | R.1/32 | 12,657 | ||||
| 2023–24 | 3. | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 53 | 34 | 61 | R.1/16 | 14,574 | ||||
| 2024–25 | 9. | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 52 | 59 | 50 | UCL League Phase | TBD | TBD | |||
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | UEFA Champions League | League phase |  | Sturm Graz | 2–1 | — | 18th |
| Red Bull Salzburg | — | 4–0 | ||||
 | Bayer Leverkusen | 1–1 | — | ||||
 | Sparta Prague | — | 2–1 | ||||
 | Barcelona | — | 0–3 | ||||
 | PSV Eindhoven | 1–0 | — | ||||
 | Shakhtar Donetsk | — | 0–2 | ||||
| Real Madrid | 0–3 | — | ||||
| Knockout phase play-offs | | Paris Saint-Germain | 0–3 | 0–7 | 0–10 |
Since September 2011, Stade Brestois 29 sponsors its amateur American counterpart inNew York City,Stade Brestois New York.[28][29]
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