Football Club de Metz () is a French association football club based in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. The club was formed in 1932 and plays 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 ...

, the highest division in the

French football league system The French football league system, also known as the French football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in France and Monaco, and includes one Spanish side. At the top two levels of the system is the Ligue de Footb ...

, for the 2025–26 season following their promotion from the second division in the 2024–2025 season. They play their home matches at Stade Saint-Symphorien located within the city. The team is currently managed by Stéphane Le Mignan. Despite never winning the top flight, they have won 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 ...

twice and the

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

twice.

History

FC Metz was founded in 23 March 1932 by the amalgamation of two amateur athletic clubs, and shortly thereafter became a professional team; it is one of the oldest professional football teams in France. Its roots trace back further, to the ''SpVgg Metz'' club, formed in 1905 when the city of Metz was part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. ''SpVgg'' played in the tier-one '' Westkreis-Liga'' for a season in 1913–14, before the outbreak of the First World War stopped all play. Some players of this club were part of the ''Cercle Athlétique Messin'' in 1919, which went on to become FC Metz in 1932. ''Messin'' was a leading club in the ''Division d'Honneur – Lorraine'', taking out league titles in 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1929 and 1931. The club played in the French second division north from 1933, winning the league in 1935 and earning promotion to

for the first time. The team became a mid-table side in the first division until the outbreak of the war interfered with play once more. ''FCM'' did not take part in the top-tier regional competitions in 1939–40. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, due to the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

being annexed by Germany, the club had to play under the Germanised name of ''FV Metz'' in the ''

Gauliga Westmark A Gauliga () was the highest level of play in German football from 1933 to 1945. The leagues were introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power by the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise. Name The German word ' ...

''. In the three completed seasons of this league from 1941 to 1944, the club finished runners-up each year. Despite the city of Metz being retaken by allied forces in autumn 1944, the club did not take part in French league football in 1944–45 but returned to Ligue 1 in 1945–46, to come 17th out of 18 clubs. An expansion of the league to 20 clubs meant, the team was not relegated and stayed at the highest level until 1950, when a last place finish ended its Ligue 1 membership. Metz was allowed to stay within Ligue 1 as a special privilege due to its catastrophic situation in the year following the war: the stadium had been damaged, almost beyond repair. The team had to start from scratch once again. The club rebounded immediately, finishing second in Ligue 2, behind

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and returned to the first division. FC Metz made a strong return to this league, finishing fifth in its first season back. After this, the club once more had to battle against relegation season-by-season, finishing second-last in 1958 and having to return to Ligue 2. It took three seasons in this league before it could manage to return to Ligue 1 in 1961, but lasted for only one year in the top flight. FC Metz spent the next five seasons at second division level. FC Metz ascended to the top level of French football once more in 1967; the team remained in the highest division until they were relegated in 2001, although they bounced back immediately and returned to the Ligue 1 the following year. After losing the first leg of their

1984–85 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1984–85 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Everton in the final against Rapid Wien. Everton also won the English Football League that season and would therefore have entered the European Cup the following season. However, ...

tie 4–2 to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

at Stade Saint-Symphorien, FC Metz were widely expected to be thrashed at

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

. However, a hat-trick from Yugoslav striker Tony Kurbos gave Les Grenats a shock 4–1 win in the second leg to send the French side through 6–5 on aggregate. In 1998, the team competed in the qualifications to the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, but lost in the third round to Finnish team

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki (), or simply as HJK (), is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. The club competes in Veikkausliiga, the top division of the Finnish football league system. Founded in 1907, the ...

. In 2006, FC Metz were relegated from Ligue 1, finishing at the bottom of the table, despite the regular presence of an extremely promising prospect,

Miralem Pjanić Miralem Pjanić (born 2 April 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow. Pjanić started his professional career at Metz, playing there for one season. He signed for fellow ...

, who would later be transferred to giants Lyon, for an astonishing fee of €7.5 million. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Metz finished 18th in Ligue 2 and were 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 ...

, the third tier of French football after a 1–1 draw with

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

at home on 20 May 2012, in very tense circumstances. Metz spent only one season at this level, rebuilding a team with iconic former player Albert Cartier as coach, winning promotion to Ligue 2, and then immediately finishing first and winning promotion to Ligue 1. The team was relegated again to Ligue 2, but won promotion the next season. This time, Metz managed to secure a 14th place finish, ensuring another season in Ligue 1. For the

2017–18 Ligue 1 The 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, also known as Ligue 1 Conforama for sponsorship reasons, was the 80th season since its establishment. The season started on 4 August 2017 and ended on 19 May 2018. AS Monaco FC, Monaco were the defending champions. O ...

season, Metz endured a horrid campaign, losing eleven out of their first twelve matches. The club recovered later in the season but finished bottom of the table and were relegated back to Ligue 2. On 26 April 2019, Metz were promoted back to Ligue 1 at the first time of asking by finishing first in Ligue 2. The promotion was confirmed with a 2–1 victory over

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

. In the clubs first season back in the top flight, Metz finished 15th on the table followed by an improved 10th place finish the following season. In the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season, Metz finished 19th and were relegated back 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 ...

. The club were promoted back to

runners-up for the 2022-23 season. On Pentecost Sunday, May 29, 2023, there was a dispute at a youth football tournament on the field of SV Viktoria Preußen e.V. in the Eckenheim district of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

between young players from FC Metz and JFC Berlin, in which a 16-year-old Moroccan player from FC Metz killed a 15-year-old

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

player from JFC Berlin. On 12 June 2023, LFP Decision that FC Metz secure promotion to Ligue 1 from 2023–24 season after Bordeaux against Rodez has been suspended and return to top flight after one year absence. In the 2023–24 Ligue 1 season, Metz finished in the relegation/promotion playoff spot and faced off against

AS Saint-Étienne Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (), abbreviated as A.S.S.E. () and commonly known as Saint-Étienne, is a French professional football club based in Saint-Étienne, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The club was founded in 1933 and competes ...

from Ligue 2. Metz would lose the playoff 4-3 on aggregate and were relegated back to Ligue 2.

Supporters and rivalries

Metz's biggest rivals are

AS Nancy Association Sportive Nancy Lorraine (), known as AS Nancy Lorraine, and more commonly as Nancy, is a French football club founded in 1967 and based in Nancy, Grand Est. The club plays its home matches at the Stade Marcel Picot located in Tomb ...

with whom they contest the Lorraine derby. The other major rivals are Racing Strasbourg. There are currently two

ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...

groups: ''Gradins Populaires Ouest'' and ''Horda Frénétik'' (founded 1997). FC Metz has fan friendships with

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...

, the German clubs

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; ) is a town in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 m ...

and

Eintracht Trier SV Eintracht-Trier 05 e. V., commonly known as Eintracht Trier (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club was established on 11 March 1948 through the merger of Westmark 05 Trier ...

and the Italian club

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

Stadium

FC Metz plays its home matches at Stade Saint-Symphorien, which has a capacity of 25,636. Thus, it is the largest venue dedicated to football in

Crest

Its official colours are grenat (maroon) and white, from which the team derives its nickname Les Grenats. The team's crest features the Lorraine cross, symbolic of the team's regional affiliation, and the dragon called the '' Graoully'', which in local legend was tamed by Saint Clement of Metz.

Youth academy

FC Metz also gained recognition in France and Europe for its successful youth academy, which produced star players including:

Rigobert Song Rigobert Song Bahanag (born 1 July 1976) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who is the manager of the Central African Republic national team. Known for his defensive skills, Song usually played as a centre-back, but could also oper ...

Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...

Louis Saha Louis Laurent Saha (born 8 August 1978) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. Saha was capped 20 times for the France national team and scored four goals. Louis Saha was a former scholar at the Clairefontaine foo ...

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career, he played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, as well as ...

, Papiss Cissé,

, Kalidou Koulibaly, and

Sadio Mané Sadio Mané (born 10 April 1992) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr and the Senegal national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest African players o ...

. The city's proximity to Luxembourg (about 55 km) plays a significant role in the importation of young prospects. The club's board has close ties with the Luxembourgish Football Federation. Nicolas "Nico" Braun, the team's top all-time goalscorer, as well as Pjanić or more recently Chris Philipps, have played in the G-D's amateur leagues before joining "les Grenats". Despite this, not all Luxembourgers enjoy success with Metz, with Robert "Robby" Langers as the best example.

FC Metz in European football

Honours

Metz has never won the French championship; its best result was a second-place finish in 1998, behind

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 title race lasted until the ultimate fixture, however Metz never recovered from a 0–2 loss against Lens on their home turf. Metz won the

twice, in 1984 and 1988, the first of these victories enabled it to qualify for the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

where it achieved arguably the team's greatest moment, an upset of

in the first round of the competition in October 1984. It lost 4–2 at home in the first leg but won 4–1 away in the return leg, thus qualifying 6–5 on aggregate, making Metz unique among the French teams who have beaten Barcelona at the

. Metz also won the

twice, in 1986 and 1996, and has made a total of ten appearances in European tournaments. *

**''Runners-up (1):'' 1997–98 *

**Winners (4): 1934–35, 2006–07, 2013–14, 2018–19 **''Runners-up (4):'' 1950–51, 1960–61, 1966–67, 2022–23 *

**Winners (2): 1983–84, 1987–88 **''Runners-up (1):'' 1937–38 *

**Winners (2): 1985–86, 1995–96 **''Runners-up (1):'' 1998–99 *

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 ...

**''Runners-up (1):''

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Metz in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1932. To appear in the section below, a player must have played at least a full season for the club. *

Wilmer Aguirre Wilmer Alexander Aguirre Vásquez (born 5 October 1983) is a Peruvian footballer who currently plays for Alianza Lima. Career Aguirre began his career in the youth side for Alianza Lima and joined in January 2002 on loan to Atlas Guadalaj ...

* Sébastien Bassong *

Patrick Battiston Patrick Raymond Jean Battiston (born 12 March 1957) is a French former footballer who played as a defender for the France national team in three World Cups and won UEFA Euro 1984. At club level, he played for Metz, Saint-Étienne, Bordeaux, ...

Eric Black John Eric Black (born 1 October 1963) is a Scottish former professional football player and coach. Black played as a striker for Aberdeen and Metz, winning major trophies with both clubs, and earned two international caps for the Scotland nat ...

* Jocelyn Blanchard *

Danny Boffin Daniel Edouward Boffin (born 10 July 1965) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a left winger and current football coach. During his professional career, which spanned nearly two decades, he played for four clubs in his cou ...

* Nico Braun * Albert Cartier * Papiss Cissé * Hugo Curioni * Mathieu Dossevi * Michel Ettore * Philippe Gaillot * Daniel Gygax * Philippe Hinschberger *

Szabolcs Huszti Szabolcs Huszti (; born 18 April 1983) is a Hungarian professional football coach and a former player. He is the de facto manager of Fehérvár, even though Gábor Toldi formally holds that position. He was well known for his dribbling, pace, p ...

* Božo Janković * Ahn Jung-hwan * Henryk Kasperczak *

Sylvain Kastendeuch Sylvain Pierre Kastendeuch (born 31 August 1963) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was capped nine times by the France national team. He is the player with the sixth-most appearances in the Ligue 1. In his ...

* Eiji Kawashima * Kalidou Koulibaly * Lionel Letizi * Florent Malouda *

* Frédéric Meyrieu * Faryd Mondragón * Tressor Moreno * Marcel Muller * Ludovic Obraniak *

Oguchi Onyewu Oguchialu Chijioke Onyewu (born May 13, 1982) is an American former association football, soccer player who is the Vice President of Sporting for the United States Soccer Federation. He was previously the sporting director for Orlando City B an ...

Michele Padovano Michele Padovano (; born 28 August 1966) is an Italian former footballer who played as a striker. Career Padovano began his professional career at Asti T.S.C. in Serie C2, before short spells at Cosenza, Pisa, Napoli and Genoa. He then signe ...

Pascal Pierre Pascal Pierre (born 28 May 1968) 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 association football, American foo ...

* Grégory Proment * André Rey *

Franck Ribéry Franck Henry Pierre Ribéry (; born 7 April 1983) is a French former professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, preferably on the left side, and was known for his pace, energy, skill, and precise passing. He is regarded as one ...

* Jean-Philippe Rohr *

Franck Signorino Franck Eddy Signorino (born 19 September 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Career Born in Nogent-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Signorino made his professional debut with FC Metz, helping it return to Ligue 1 ...

Jacques Songo'o Jacques Celestin Songo'o (born 17 March 1964) is a Cameroonian former professional football goalkeeper who is the current goalkeeping coach of the Cameroon national team. He spent the vast majority of his professional career in France and Spa ...

* Luc Sonor *

Jeff Strasser Jeff Strasser (born 5 October 1974) is a Luxembourgish former professional football player and the current manager of Progrès Niederkorn. Club career As one of the rare successful professional footballers from Luxembourg, Strasser has made a f ...

* Marian Szeja *

Sylvain Wiltord Sylvain Claude Wiltord (born 10 May 1974) is a French former professional footballer. Mainly a right winger, he also played as a centre-forward, second striker and on the left wing. Wiltord had a four-season spell at Arsenal, with whom he w ...

* Bernard Zénier

Current technical staff

Managerial history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Metz, Fc Sport in Metz Football clubs in Grand Est Association football clubs established in 1932 1932 establishments in France Ligue 1 clubs Football clubs from former German territories