Racing Club (), known as Racing Beirut or simply Racing, is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in
Achrafieh, a district in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, Lebanon, that competes in the .
They play their home matches at the
Fouad Chehab Stadium
Fouad Chehab Stadium ( ar, ملعب فؤاد شهاب), also known as Jounieh Municipal Stadium ( ar, ملعب جونية البلدي), is a multi-use stadium in Jounieh, Lebanon. It is currently used mostly for football
Football is a f ...
and are primarily supported by the
Christian community
The Christian Community (german: Die Christengemeinschaft) is an esoteric Christian denomination. It was founded in 1922 in Switzerland by a group of ecumenically oriented, mainly Lutheran theologians and ministers led by liberal theologian Frie ...
.
Racing Beirut won the
Lebanese Premier League three times, the
Lebanese Challenge Cup
The Lebanese Challenge Cup () is a Lebanese football annual cup competition contested by the teams placed between 7th and 10th in the previous season of the Lebanese Premier League and the two newly promoted teams from the Lebanese Second Divisio ...
twice, and the
Lebanese Second Division
The Lebanese Second Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate ...
three times. They also finished runners-up in the
Lebanese FA Cup twice.
History
The club was founded in 1934 by several locals from the
Achrafieh and Gemmayzeh districts of
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, Lebanon.
The club's name is inspired from French football club
Racing Paris
Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris.
Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spor ...
, who the club's presidents supported.
Racing played five years in the
Lebanese Second Division
The Lebanese Second Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate ...
, and got its first promotion to the Lebanese Premier League in 1940.
In 1953, Albert Kheir was elected as the club's president.
He sought to heighten the club's status in the country, by buying 20-year-old
Joseph Abou Murad from
Intissar Chayyah, Said Haidar from
Al Nahda, and Yuguslavian coach
Ljubiša Broćić
Ljubiša Broćić ( sr-Cyrl, Љубиша Броћић; 3 October 1911 – 16 August 1995) was a Serbian football manager.
Biography
Over the course of his career he was at the helm of some of the top European sides: PSV Eindhoven, Juventus, FC ...
.
Racing Beirut played international friendly games against a variety of famous clubs and selections during the 1970s, including one against the
Brazil national under-23 team.
Club rivalries
Historically, during the 1960s and 1970s, Racing's main rivals were
Nejmeh, also from Beirut.
Racing plays the Achrafieh derby with
Sagesse
''Sagesse'' (literal trans. "Wisdom") is a volume of France, French poetry by Paul Verlaine. First published in 1881 (see 1881 in poetry, 1880), it was important in the symbolism (arts), symbolist and modernism, modernist movements. The subject m ...
.
Players
Squad
Shirt manufacturers
*2008:
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
*2009:
Lotto Lotto may refer to:
* Lotto, original, 15th century name of the Italian lottery
* Lotto (Milan Metro), a railway station in Milan, Italy
* Lotto carpet, a carpet having a lacy arabesque pattern
* Lotto Sport Italia, an Italian sports apparel manuf ...
*2010:
Lotto Lotto may refer to:
* Lotto, original, 15th century name of the Italian lottery
* Lotto (Milan Metro), a railway station in Milan, Italy
* Lotto carpet, a carpet having a lacy arabesque pattern
* Lotto Sport Italia, an Italian sports apparel manuf ...
*2011–2013:
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
*2014–2016:
Diadora
Diadora is an Italian sportswear and footwear manufacturing company based in Caerano di San Marco (Veneto), subsidiary of Geox, founded in 1948. Diadora produces football boots and athletic shoes, as well as a range of apparel that includes ...
*2016–2018:
Joma
Joma () is a Spanish sports clothing manufacturer that currently produces footwear and clothing for football, futsal, handball, basketball, volleyball, running, tennis, and padel. Its headquarters are located in Portillo de Toledo, Spain.
Histor ...
*2018–present: Capelli
Honours
League
*
Lebanese Premier League
** Winners (3): 1955–56, 1964–65, 1969–70
*
Lebanese Challenge Cup
The Lebanese Challenge Cup () is a Lebanese football annual cup competition contested by the teams placed between 7th and 10th in the previous season of the Lebanese Premier League and the two newly promoted teams from the Lebanese Second Divisio ...
**Winners (2; joint record): 2016, 2017
*
Lebanese Second Division
The Lebanese Second Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الثانية) is the second division of Lebanese football. Established in 1933, it is controlled by the Lebanese Football Association. The 12 teams that participate ...
**Winners (3): 1938–39, 1999–2000, 2006–07
*
Lebanese FA Cup
** ''Runners-up (2):'' 1944–45, 1947–48
Managerial history
*
Ljubiša Broćić
Ljubiša Broćić ( sr-Cyrl, Љубиша Броћић; 3 October 1911 – 16 August 1995) was a Serbian football manager.
Biography
Over the course of his career he was at the helm of some of the top European sides: PSV Eindhoven, Juventus, FC ...
(1955)
*
Ion Bogdan
Ion Bogdan (6 March 1915 – 10 July 1992) was a Romanian international footballer and Manager (association football), coach, he played for Unirea Tricolor București, CFR București, Red Star Paris, MTK Budapest, and AS Bari in the Serie A ...
(1967–1970)
*
Dorian Marin
Dorian Marin (born 18 June 1960) is a Romanian football coach who last managed Nigerian side Calabar Rovers.
Coaching career
In 1991, Marin attended the federal coaching school of the Romanian Football Federation which he graduated in 1992.
He b ...
(2004–2005)
*
Libor Pala
Libor Pala (born 22 July 1961) is a Czech football coach. As well as leading teams in his native Czech Republic, he has coached clubs in Poland and the Middle East. He started his coaching career at the age of 28.
Before heading into management, ...
(2012–2015)
*
Eugen Moldovan
Eugen Moldovan ( ar, يوجين مولدوفان, born 5 November 1961 in Braşov), also known as ''Ojine Moldovane'' in Morocco, is a Romanian football manager who last managed Saham Club in Oman.
He has coached several clubs in the Arabic cou ...
(2015–2016)
*
Moussa Hojeij (2016–2017)
*
Roda Antar (2017–2019)
*
Jalal Radwan (2019–2020)
*
Said Jraidini (2020–2021)
*
Ismail Kortam (2021–present)
See also
*
List of football clubs in Lebanon
This is a list of football clubs that compete within the leagues and divisions of the Lebanese football league system as far down as the Lebanese Third Division.
By league and division
* Lebanese Premier League (Level 1)
* Lebanese Second Division ...
References
Football clubs in Lebanon
Sport in Beirut
1934 establishments in Lebanon
Christianity in Beirut
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