Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne
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Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a French professional association football club based in
Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
that competes in
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
. It plays its home matches at the
Stade de l'Aube Stade de l'Aube () is a multi-use stadium in Troyes, France. It is currently used mostly for football (soccer), football matches, by Troyes AC. The stadium is able to hold 20,400 people and was built in 1956. In June 2013, the Stade de l'Aube ...
. Founded in 1986, it is the third professional club from the city, after AS Troyes-Savinienne and Troyes AF. The club is part of the
City Football Group City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a British-based holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations, of which 81% is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, 18% by the American firm Silve ...
.


History


Previous clubs in Troyes (1900–1979)

The first ever football club in Troyes was created in 1900, as Union Sportive Troyenne (UST). In 1931, it merged with the AS Savinienne, a club from the suburbs of Troyes, to form the Association Sportive Troyenne et Savinienne (ASTS). The newly formed club became professional in 1935, and joined
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
. The club reached Première Division in 1954–55, under the guidance of manager and former international player Roger Courtois (1952–1963), with players such as Abdelaziz Ben Tifour,
Marcel Artelesa Marcel Artelesa (2 July 1938 – 23 September 2016) was a French footballer who played as a defender. He played for France at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England.Pierre Flamion. It constituted one of the more glorious times for the club, as they reached the
Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...
final in 1956, against Sedan, which they went on to lose 3–1. The same day, the youth team of the club won the Coupe Gambardella, the French Youth cup. That very same year, the club failed to keep its place in French top flight, and was back in Division 2. It finally succeed in reaching the Première Division again in 1960, but only lasted one season, and was relegated in 1961. The club had some financial difficulties, and had to leave professional football at the end of the 1962–63 season, which they finished 17th out of 20. They continued for four more seasons at regional level, under the guidance of former ASTS player Jacques Diebold, before disappearing. Shortly after without any major club in Troyes, a new one was created in 1967, under the name Troyes Omnisports, still at regional level. It renamed itself Troyes Aube Football (TAF) in 1970 as it took back professional status, and was admitted to play in the Third Division. They were promoted to the Second Division after just one year. For their first season in Second division, under the lead of Pierre Flamion, they finished second, but failed to win promotion, as there were three Second division groups that season. They finished first next year, in 1973, and lost in the Champions final between the Champions of the two new groups against
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
. The club had its longest consecutive run in
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
, as they stayed five consecutive seasons in the top flight, from 1973 to 1978. It was however a difficult spell, as it struggled each season against relegation. Pierre Flamion left in 1975, and was replaced by René Cédolin, former
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
manager. Its best position was 15th out of 20 in 1976–77. Even though they had some very good players, such as striker Gérard Tonnel (1972–1975, 107 games, 69 goals in
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
and
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
), right-back René Le Lamer (1973–1978), keeper Guy Formici (1970–1978) and Yugoslavian star, winger
Ilija Petković Ilija Petković ( sr-Cyrl, Илија Петковић, ; 22 September 1945 – 27 June 2020) was a Serbian footballer and manager. Petković was capped 43 times for Yugoslavia, participating in the 1968 European Football Championship, and in ...
(1973–1976). They were finally relegated in 1978, finishing 19th. They suffered back to back relegations finishing 17th in the second division and dropped to the third division. This led to the club becoming bankrupt and merging with Patronage Laïque de Troyes, leaving Troyes without a professional Football Club yet again.


Current club ATAC/ESTAC (1986–present)

After the death of the second professional club from Troyes, some people tried to rebuild a new club, which could be able to come back to professional status. At first, in 1979, just after the disappearing of the TAF, they merged the amateurs teams the TAF with the Patronage Laïque de Troyes, creating the PL Foot, once again under the guidance of Jacques Diebold. The club only managed to reach the Fourth division in 1984, but became relegated after just one season, finishing 17th. To build a more lasting club, Maurice Cacciaguerra, Angel Masoni and others decided to create the Association Troyes Aube Champagne (ATAC), taking the place of the PL Foot in Division d'Honneur, French sixth division, at regional level. The new club won the championship in its first season, and was promoted to Fourth division in 1987. After just three seasons, they finished first of the Fourth Division in 1990, and reached the Third Division. Despite being well listed during the next three seasons, the club failed to gain promotion to the Second division. Due to the reform of French football leagues in 1993, the club was transferred to the newly formed Nationale 2, the new fourth level of French football. New president Angel Masoni called
Alain Perrin Alain André Christian Perrin (; born 7 October 1956) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at Troyes AC, Troyes, whom he took from t ...
to take the lead of the team. He was to become the most successful manager ever in Troyes, and stayed nine years, from 1993 to 2002. In his first year, he won the Nationale 2, and ATAC was promoted to the Nationale 1 in 1994. The following year, Troyes finished 10th, before finishing 2nd in 1995–96, and was promoted to
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
: for the first time since 1979, Troyes were playing professional football. Troyes first season was very difficult, as they finished 20th out of 22 teams, only keeping its place in Deuxième division due to the bankruptcy of Perpignan and Charleville. The next two seasons were much more successful, they finished fifth in 1997–98 and third in 1998–99, due to the presence of players more used to this level, such as Frédéric Adam, Richard Jeziersky, David Hamed, Samuel Boutal, fan favourite Slađan Đukić and local players, such as captain Mohammed Bradja. Troyes took the lead during the first part of the season. Even if the second part was more difficult, the team finished third, only on goal average, after a last win against
Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
. But most importantly Troyes was promoted to
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
, 21 years after its last season at this level. In Troyes' first season in Ligue 1 in 1999–2000, the team finished in 14th place, thereby avoiding relegation. At the end of the season, the name ATAC was changed to ESTAC due to the complaints of a French discount supermarket chain having the same name. The glory days came in the next two seasons, as they twice finished seventh, qualifying them for the first time in their history for the
Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...
in 2001 and 2002. In 2001, with players Jérôme Rothen, Rafik Saïfi, Tony Heurtebis, Fabio Celestini and Nicolas Goussé in the side, they defeated
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
in an epic Intertoto Cup second leg final, which finished 4–4 at
St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...
. After a first round qualification in UEFA Cup over Slovakian MFK Ruzomberok (6–1; 0–1), Troyes lost to
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
4–5 on aggregate despite winning the second leg 3–2, and failed to qualify to the third round. The following year, they beat Spanish side
Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...
, drawing 0–0 in the first leg and winning the second leg 2–1. However, the result was voided as Troyes fielded a disqualified player, David Vairelles.
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
disqualified ESTAC, and Villarreal took their place instead. The sacking of new manager Jacky Bonnevay and the nomination of Faruk Hadzibegic in January did not save Troyes. They finished at the bottom of the
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
, and were relegated to
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
. Thanks to the takeover of new President Thierry Gomez, Troyes avoided bankruptcy to finish 10th the following season. In 2004, Jean-Marc Furlan, who had spectacular results in
Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...
with amateur side Libourne Saint-Seurin, was appointed manager. In his first season, the club secured promotion by finishing third, largely due to the great performances of two young strikers on loan,
Sébastien Grax Sébastien Grax (born 23 June 1984) is a French former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. Career Grax started his career at Monaco in 2001 where he played four matches in three ...
from
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
and Bafétimbi Gomis from Saint-Etienne. The club played some attractive football, in the style of former manager
Alain Perrin Alain André Christian Perrin (; born 7 October 1956) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. Perrin made his managerial breakthrough at Troyes AC, Troyes, whom he took from t ...
. The club maintained itself in
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
in 2005–06, but failed the following season (2006–07), finishing in 18th position. Furlan left at the end of the season, and Denis Troch became the new manager. After failing to win promotion, with Troyes taking only four points in the last eleven games of the season and finishing in sixth place, despite being in the top three during the majority of the season, Troch was sacked at the conclusion of the season. Ludovic Batelli was appointed next season, but had to struggle against relegation. He was sacked in April 2009 and caretaker manager, Claude Robin, previously Troyes' director of formation, did not manage to avoid relegation. With the club finding itself once again in financial difficulties, Thierry Gomez stepped down as president and was replaced by Daniel Masoni, son of former president Angel Masoni. In July 2009, Daniel Masoni engaged Patrick Rémy to replace Robin as manager. Rémy succeeded in taking Troyes back to Ligue 2, finishing third in the
Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...
in 2010. However, after a disagreement with president Masoni, Remy quit in June 2010 and Jean-Marc Furlan returned to manage the club. The club stayed in
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
in the 2010–11 season, finishing 16th. After a slow start at the beginning of the new season, results improved as the season went on. Things improved greatly and Troyes found themselves challenging for promotion. They achieved this in the 37th game of the season, with a win over AS Monaco, on 11 May 2012. Crucial wins over arch-rivals Sedan, with a goal in the last minute to right back youngster Djibril Sidibé, and then a few weeks later against Clermont, who was third at the time, allowed Troyes to climb into the top three. Producing some of the most exciting football of the league, with players such as
Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) * Marcos family Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Né ...
or Mounir Obbadi, a strong defence led by Rincón, Julien Outrebon, Matthieu Saunier and Stephen Drouin with the left back Fabrice N'Sakala and right back Djibril Sidibé, both products of the academy, as well as midfielders Julien Faussurier and captain Eloge Enza Yamissi actually did what nobody expected at the beginning of the season. They had a strong second half of the season, with only 4 defeats, 5 draws and 10 victories (with just one loss in the 10 last games of the season). Troyes found themselves back in
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
five years after their last stint, and just two season after playing in the third division. In the 2015–16
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
season, Troyes were relegated to
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
after finishing last on the table winning only three games all year and were humiliated in one match when they lost 9–0 at the hands of
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
. On 29 May 2017, Troyes were promoted back to Ligue 1 at the first time of asking after defeating Lorient 2–1 on aggregate in the playoff/relegation match. On 20 May 2018, Troyes were relegated back to Ligue 2 after just one season in the top flight, finishing second from bottom. In the 2018–19
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
season, Troyes finished in third place on the table. Troyes would go on to lose the playoff semi final against
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
2–1 after extra time. On 3 September 2020,
City Football Group City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a British-based holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations, of which 81% is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, 18% by the American firm Silve ...
(CFG), a subsidiary of
Abu Dhabi United Group The Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG; ) is a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based private equity company. It is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family and Vice President of the UA ...
, announced that they had purchased a majority stake in Troyes AC. In the 2020–21 Ligue 2 season, Troyes were promoted back to Ligue 1 as champions of the division. They were relegated back down following the 2022–23 Ligue 1 season. Troyes suffered a double relegation to the third tier of French football following the 2023–24 Ligue 2 season. However, after end of season, 12th-placed
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
administratively relegated to the
Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...
by the
Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion Direction may refer to: *Body relative direction, for instance left, right, forward, backwards, up, and down ** Anatomical terms of location for those used in anatomy ** List of ship directions *Cardinal direction *Bearing (navigation) Mathemat ...
(DNCG) due to financial issues, and Troyes were reinstated.


Players


Current squad


On loan


Famous past players

''For a complete list of former Troyes AC players with a Wikipedia article, see
here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...
.''


Management


Stadium

Stade de l'Aube is a multi-use
stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...
in
Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is currently used mostly for
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
matches, by
Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a football in France, French professional association football club based in Troyes that competes in Ligue 2. It plays its home matches at the Stade de l'Aube. Foun ...
. The stadium is able to hold 20,400 people and was built in 1956. In June 2013, the Stade de l'Aube is the first stadium to build its pitch using the AirFibr hybrid turf technology, developed by the French company Natural Grass.


Honours


Domestic

*
Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, 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 de Football Prof ...
: ** Winners: 2014–15, 2020–21


European

*
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...
: ** Winners:
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...


Troyes in European Football


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Troyes AC Association football clubs established in 1986 1986 establishments in France T Football clubs in Grand Est Ligue 1 clubs City Football Group