Nîmes Olympique (commonly referred to as simply Nîmes) is a French association football club based in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of ...

. The club was founded on 10 April 1937 and currently plays in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue ...

, the second level of French football. Until November 2022, the club played its home matches at the Stade des Costières.

History

In the 1995–96 season, Nîmes reached the final of the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

, allowing them to compete the following year in the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

. In September 1996, in the Round of 32, Nîmes beat

Budapest Honvéd Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...

(4–1 on aggregate), before losing to

AIK Stockholm AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

in the next round (2–3 on aggregate). On 5 May 2018, Nîmes secured promotion back to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

for the first time since the 1992–93 season after finishing second in

. In the 2018–19 season, Nimes finished comfortably above the relegation zone in Ligue 1, placing 9th among 20 teams. On 5 November 2022, Nîmes played its final match at the Stade des Costières, a 1–0 Ligue 2 victory over

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

. The club would move into the {{Interlanguage link, Stade des Antonins, lt=Stade des Antonins, fr, Stade des Antonins on a temporary basis, before the demolition of the Stade des Costières would pave the way for the construction of the Stade Nemausus, for a projected completion in 2026.

Players

Current squad

{{Updated, 31 August 2022 {{Fs start {{Fs player, no= 1, nat=FRA, name= Axel Maraval, pos=GK {{Fs player, no= 2, nat=FRA, name= Kelyan Guessoum, pos=DF {{Fs player, no= 3, nat=FRA, name= Scotty Sadzoute, pos=DF, other=on loan from

OH Leuven Oud-Heverlee Leuven (), also called OH Leuven or OHL, is a Belgian football club from the city of Leuven. It was created in 2002 from the merger of three clubs, '' F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee'', whose registration number it inherited, '' ...

{{Fs player, no= 4, nat=FRA, name= Maël de Gevigney, pos=DF {{Fs player, no= 5, nat=JPN, name=

Naomichi Ueda is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for J1 League club Kashima Antlers and the Japan national team. Club career Early career Born in Uto, Kumamoto, Japan, Ueda began playing football when he was at third grade e ...

, pos=DF {{Fs player, no= 6, nat=FRA, name=

Benoît Poulain Benoît Guy Jean Poulain (born 27 July 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Nîmes. Career On 14 July 2022, Poulain returned to Nîmes on a one-season deal. Career statistics Honours Club Brugge ...

, pos=DF {{Fs player, no= 8, nat=FRA, name= Thibaut Vargas, pos=DF {{Fs player, no= 9, nat=ISL, name= Elías Már Ómarsson, pos=FW {{Fs player, no=10, nat=FRA, name=

Nicolas Benezet Nicolas Benezet (born 24 February 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Nîmes. Club career France Born in Montpellier, Benezet played in the youth academy of Montpellier before signing with N ...

, pos=MF {{Fs player, no=11, nat=FRA, name= Pablo Pagis, pos=FW, other=on loan from

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

{{Fs player, no=12, nat=FRA, name= Lamine Fomba, pos=MF {{Fs player, no=14, nat=DEN, name= Jens Jakob Thomasen, pos=MF {{Fs mid {{Fs player, no=15, nat=COM, name= Rafiki Saïd, pos=FW {{Fs player, no=16, nat=FRA, name= Lucas Dias, pos=GK {{Fs player, no=17, nat=MTQ, name= Ronny Labonne, pos=DF, flagvar=local {{fs player, no=18, nat=FRA, name= Malik Tchokounté, pos=FW {{Fs player, no=19, nat=BFA, name= Nasser Djiga, pos=DF, other=on loan from

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

{{Fs player, no=20, nat=FRA, name= Léon Delpech, pos=MF {{Fs player, no=21, nat=CIV, name= Jean N'Guessan, pos=MF, other=on loan from

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

{{Fs player, no=22, nat=MAR, name= Yassine Benrahou, pos=MF {{Fs player, no=24, nat=MLI, name= Mahamadou Doucouré, pos=FW {{Fs player, no=30, nat=FRA, name= Amjhad Nazih, pos=GK {{Fs player, no=65, nat=SEN, name= Moussa Koné, pos=FW {{Fs player, no=97, nat=MTQ, name=

Patrick Burner Patrick Burner (born 11 April 1996) is a Martiniquais professional footballer who plays as full-back for club Nîmes and the Martinique national team. Club career Early career Born in Fort-de-France in 1996, Burner started his football care ...

, pos=DF {{Fs end

Reserve squad

{{Updated, 4 November 2019 {{Fs start {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=GK, name=Côme Charrier {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=DF, name=Alexandre Ferreira {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=DF, name=Jérémy Iafrate {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=DF, name=Enzo Fontanelli {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=DF, name=Matéo Maillefaud {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=DF, name=Julien Megier {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=DF, name=Mickaël Gas {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=DF, name= Adilson Malanda {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=MF, name=Kléri Serber {{Fs mid {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=MF, name=Simon Calancha {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=MF, name=Quentin Gregorio {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=MF, name=Hugo Huriez {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=MF, name=Houssine Labiad {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=FW, name=Luca Valls {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=FW, name=Axel Urie {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=FW, name=Timothy Cardona {{Fs player, no=, nat=FRA, pos=FW, name= Marco Majouga {{Fs end

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Nîmes in

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and international competition since the club's foundation in 1937. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 80 official matches for the club or represented the national team for which the player is eligible during his stint with Nîmes or following his departure. ''For a complete list of Nîmes Olympique players, see :Nîmes Olympique players'' {{columns-list, colwidth=22em, {{flag, France *

Jean-Pierre Adams Jean-Pierre Adams (10 March 1948 – 6 September 2021) was a French professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was capped 22 times for France in the 1970s, and at club level, he played Division 1 football for Nîmes, Nice and ...

* William Ayache * Ivan Bek * Pierre Bernard *

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (born 19 November 1965) is a French professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back, and is currently the manager of Ligue 1 club Lyon. He has the nickname ''Le Président'', which was given to hi ...

Bernard Boissier Bernard Boissier (born 3 October 1952) is a French former footballer. A defender, Boissier played successively for Nîmes Olympique (from 1964 to 1981), Lyon (1981–1982), Toulon (from 1982 to 1986) and Le Grau-du-Roi (from 1986 to 1988). ...

Éric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

* André Chardar * Johann Charpenet *

Paul Chillan Paul Chillan (17 December 1935 – 1 September 2021) was a French footballer who played as a forward in over 200 matches for French Ligue 1 club Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard departm ...

Patrick Cubaynes Patrick Cubaynes (born 6 May 1960 in Nîmes) is a French former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. International career Cubaynes was a member of the French squad that won the g ...

* Johnny Ecker * Jean-Marc Ferratge *

Jordan Ferri Jordan Ferri (born 12 March 1992) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Montpellier. He principally plays as a defensive midfielder and is known for his passing ability. Career Ferri made his debut in the Europa Leag ...

* Kader Firoud * René Girard * Edmond Haan * Mahi Khennane * Maurice Lafont * Michel Mézy *

Jacky Novi Jacques Novi (born 18 July 1946), most commonly called Jacky Novi, is a French former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are ...

* Christian Perez *

Frédéric Piquionne Frédéric Michel Piquionne (born 8 December 1978) is a Martiniquais former professional footballer who played as a forward. Piquionne's former clubs are Golden Star of Martinique, Nîmes, Rennes, Saint-Étienne, Monaco, Lyon, Portsmouth, We ...

* Bernard Rahis * Téji Savanier * Henri Skiba *

Joseph Ujlaki Joseph Ujlaki ( hu, Újlaki József) (10 August 1929 – 13 February 2006) was a French footballer of Hungarian descent, one of the best strikers in Division 1 (190 goals) in the 1950s and 1960s. He acquired French nationality by naturalizatio ...

* Philippe Vercruysse * Jacky Vergnes *

Alexandre Villaplane Alexandre Villaplane (24 December 1904 – 27 December 1944) was a French football player who played as a midfielder. He played for France at the 1928 Summer Olympics and captained the national team at the 1930 FIFA World Cup. Villaplane was als ...

* Anthony Vosahlo {{flag, Algeria * Omar Belbey * Ali Boulebda *

Rabah Gamouh Rabah Gamouh (born 21 October 1952) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and forward. International career Gamouh was a member of the Algeria national team that qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, playin ...

* Mahi Khennane *

Faouzi Mansouri Faouzi Mansouri ( ar, فوزي منصوري; 17 January 1956 – 18 May 2022) was an Algerian professional footballer who played as a defender. He played mostly in France with Montpellier. For the Algeria national team he participated at two ed ...

* Djamel Menad * Mehdi Mostefa * Abder Ramdane * Amokrane Oualiken *

Abderraouf Zarabi Abderraouf Zarabi (born 26 March 1979) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He made 22 appearances for the Algeria national team. Club career Hibernian Zarabi was born in Algiers, Algeria. He signed with th ...

{{flag, Argentina * José Luis Cuciuffo * Jorge Domínguez (footballer) * José Daniel Ponce {{flag, Austria * Heinz Schilcher {{flag, Belgium * Roger Van Gool {{flag, Benin * Mouritala Ogunbiyi * Steve Mounié {{flag, Bosnia and Herzegovina *

Mehmed Baždarević Mehmed Baždarević (born 28 September 1960) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Ligue 2 club Guingamp. Baždarević played for Bosnian side Željezničar and French outfit Sochau ...

{{flag, Burkina Faso * Issouf Ouattara {{flag, Cameroon *

Benjamin Moukandjo Benjamin Moukandjo Bilé (born 12 November 1988) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who last played as a forward for Greek club AEL. Club career Moukandjo began his career in hometown's Kadji Sports Academy, joining the club's youth ...

{{flag, Central African Republic * Eloge Enza-Yamissi * Manassé Enza-Yamissi {{flag, Comoros * Mohamed M'Changama {{flag, Côte d'Ivoire * Guy Demel {{flag, Croatia *

Darko Vukić Darko Vukić (born 2 December 1968 in Yugoslavia) is a Croatian former footballer played as a midfielder. International career He played once for Croatia, in an April 1994 friendly match away against Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ) ...

{{flag, Czechoslovakia *

Adolf Scherer Adolf Scherer (born 5 May 1938) is a Slovak footballer who played as a striker. He is of Carpathian German descent. He played 36 games and scored 22 goals for the Czechoslovakia national team. Scherer represented Czechoslovakia at the 1960 Eu ...

* Dušan Tittel {{flag, Democratic Republic of Congo * Alain Masudi {{flag, Denmark * Kristen Nygaard {{flag, Gabon * Denis Bouanga {{flag, Ghana *

Arthur Moses Arthur Moses (born 3 March 1973) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the owner and vice-president of Bechem Chelsea. Club career Moses was born in Accra. In 1992, he was the leading scorer in the Nigeri ...

{{flag, Greece * Panagiotis Vlachodimos {{flag, Hungary * Vilmos Kohut {{flag, Liberia * Edward Weah Dixon {{flag, Macedonia * Milko Gjurovski * Vlatko Stojanovski {{flag, Mali * Dramane Coulibaly * Alphousseyni Keita * Moussa Sidibé {{flag, Mauritania * Moïse Kandé {{flag, Morocco * Hassan Akesbi * Rachid Alioui * Adil Hermach *

Hassan Kachloul Hassan Kachloul ( ar, حسان كشلول; born 19 February 1973) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He represented the Morocco national team and was a squad member at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Career Born i ...

* Mohammed Mahroufi * Mustapha Merry {{flag, Netherlands *

Ton Lokhoff Antonius Johannes Jacobus "Ton" Lokhoff (born 25 December 1959) is a Dutch football manager and former player, currently serving as assistant coach and interim head coach of NAC Breda. Playing career Lokhoff is named ''Mister NAC'' due to his lo ...

Jan Poortvliet Jan Poortvliet (; born 21 September 1955) is a Dutch professional football coach and a former player who played as a left-back. He works as the coach of the Under-18 squad of FC Eindhoven He represented the Netherlands national team at the 1978 ...

{{flag, Nigeria * Wilson Oruma {{flag, Norway * Birger Meling {{flag, Palestine * Imad Zatara {{flag, Paraguay * Andrés Cubas *

Sebastián Fleitas Sebastián Fleitas Miranda (22 February 1947 – 14 April 2000) was a footballer from Paraguay who played as a striker. Club career Born in Asunción, Fleitas started his career at Club Libertad of Paraguay, making his debut at the age of 17 a ...

* José Parodi {{flag, Poland *

Jan Domarski Jan Andrzej Domarski (born 28 October 1946 in Rzeszów) is a Polish former footballer and bronze-medal winner in the 1974 World Cup tournament in Germany. He played in seventeen matches for the Poland national team and was a double-champion Stal ...

{{flag, Republic of the Congo * Ladislas Douniama *

François Makita François Makita (born 6 May 1963) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented the Republic of the Congo national team internationally from 1984 to 1993. Career Born in Brazzaville, Makita began playi ...

{{flag, Republic of Ireland * Jacko McDonagh {{flag, Romania * Ion Pârcălab *

Florea Voinea Florea Voinea (born 21 April 1941) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a striker. Club career Florea Voinea was born on 21 April 1941 in Puchenii Moșneni, Prahova County and started to play football at junior level at Rafinăria 1 ...

{{flag, Scotland * Alec Cheyne * Andrew Wilson {{flag, Senegal *

Aliou Cissé Aliou Cissé (born 24 March 1976) is a Senegalese football coach and former player who is the manager of the Senegal national team. Cissé is best known for captaining the Senegal team which reached the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations Final and for ...

* Lamine Sakho * Mamadou Seck {{flag, Serbia * Nenad Kovačević {{flag, Slovakia * Dušan Tittel {{flag, Sweden * Niclas Eliasson {{flag, Togo * Komlan Amewou * Jonathan Ayité * Robert Malm {{flag, Yugoslavia * Ivan Bek * Milko Gjurovski *

Josip Pirmajer Josip Pirmajer (14 February 1944 – 24 June 2018) was a Slovenian football player and manager who played as a winger. At international level, he represented the Yugoslavia national team. Playing career Club Pirmajer was born in Trbovlje in p ...

* Fadil Vokrri

Coaches

{{columns-list, colwidth=22em, * Vilmos Kohut (1939–40) *Marcel Gebelin (1940–42)France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs
/ref> * Louis Gabrillargues (1942–46) *René Dedieu (1946–48) * Pierre Pibarot (1948–55) * Kader Firoud (1955–64) * Pierre Pibarot (1964–67) *Marcel Rouvière (1967) * Marcel Tomazover (1967–69) * Kader Firoud (1969–78) *Henri Noël (1978–82) * Pierre Barlaguet (1982–84) *

Marcel Domingo Marcel Domingo Algara (15 January 1924 – 10 December 2010) was a French football goalkeeper and manager of Spanish origin. He spent part of his career in Spain. Domingo coached RCD Espanyol, UD Las Palmas, UE Lleida, Pontevedra CF, Córdoba C ...

(1984–86) * Kristen Nygaard (1986–87) * Jean Sérafin (1987–88) *

(1988–90) *Daniel Romeo (1990–91) * René Girard (1991–92) * Michel Mézy (1992) *Léonce Lavagne (1992–93) * Michel Mézy (1993) *

René Exbrayat René Exbrayat (born 30 October 1947) is French former footballer and football manager. He played for Arles and Aix-en-Provence, playing for France amateur football team at the Mediterranean Games. He coached Arles, Beaucaire, Avignon, Bastia ...

(1993–94) *

Josip Skoblar Josip Skoblar (born 12 March 1941) is a Croatian former professional football player and manager. He was primarily a forward, and also capable of playing on both wings. He played for Zadar, OFK Belgrade, Hannover 96, Marseille and NK Rijeka. Wh ...

(1994) * René Girard (1994) * Pierre Barlaguet (1994–96) * Pierre Mosca (1996–99) *Serge Delmas (1999–00) * Dominique Bathenay (2000) *

(2001–02) * François Brisson and Armand Sene (2002–03) *Patrick Champ (2003) * Didier Ollé-Nicole (2003–05) *

Régis Brouard Régis Brouard (born 17 January 1967) is a French football manager and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Bastia. Coaching career Brouard was appointed as head coach of Red Star, newly relegated to t ...

(2005–07) * Laurent Fournier (2007) *

Jean-Luc Vannuchi Jean-Luc Vannuchi (born 13 September 1970) is a former French professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. Playing career Vannuchi started his career with Nice, where he was part of the team that won Ligue 2 in 19 ...

(2007–08) * Jean-Michel Cavalli (2008–10) * Noël Tosi (2010–11) * Thierry Froger (2011–12) *

Victor Zvunka Victor Zvunka ( ro, Victor Zvuncă; born 15 November 1951 in Le Ban-Saint-Martin) is a French former football defender and football manager most recently in charge of Sporting Club Toulon. Honours As a player Marseille *Coupe de France: 1976 ...

(2012–13) *

René Marsiglia René Marsiglia (17 September 1959 – 25 September 2016) was a football defender and most recently the manager of Nîmes Olympique. He was born in Aubagne, France. Marsiglia was named head coach of OGC Nice on 15 November 2011. Before tha ...

(2013–14) * José Pasqualetti (2014–15) * Bernard Blaquart (2015–20) * Jérôme Arpinon (2020–21) * Pascal Plancque (2021–22) *

Nicolas Usaï Nicolas Usaï (born 1 May 1974) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Ligue 2 club Pau FC. As a player, he was a left-back. Managerial career Usaï had a career as a semi-amateur footballer, befo ...

(2022) * Frédéric Bompard (2022–present)

Honours

**''Runners-up'': 1958, 1959, 1960, 1972 *

**''Champions'': 1950 **''Runners-up'': 2018 *

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...

**''Champions'': 1997, 2012 *

**''Runners-up'': 1958, 1961, 1996 * Trophée des Champions **''Runners-up'': 1958 * Coppa delle Alpi **''Champions'': 1972 *Coupe Drago **''Runners-up'': 1956 * Coupe Gambardella **''Champions'': 1961, 1966, 1969, 1977

References

{{Reflist

External links

{{commons category *{{Official website {{in lang, fr {{Nîmes Olympique {{Ligue 1 teamlist {{Ligue 2 clubs {{Original Ligue 1 Clubs {{DEFAULTSORT:Nimes Olympique Association football clubs established in 1937 1937 establishments in France Sport in Nîmes Football clubs in Occitania (administrative region) Ligue 1 clubs