Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (; ), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC, is a French professional
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 ...
club based in the city of
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
in Occitanie. The original club was founded in 1919, while the current incarnation was founded through a merger in 1974. Montpellier currently plays 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 ...
, the second level of
French football
Association football is the most popular sport in France. In 2024, 53% of people in France declared an interest in football, with 26% being very interested. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the natio ...
and plays its home matches at the
Stade de la Mosson
The Stade de la Mosson () is a association football, football stadium in Montpellier, France. It is the home of Ligue 1 club Montpellier HSC, and has a capacity of 32,900. Formerly a 16,000-seater stadium, it was entirely rebuilt in 1998 to hos ...
, located within the city. The first team is managed by
Zoumana Camara
Zoumana Camara (born 3 April 1979) is a French professional football manager and former player who works as the manager of club Montpellier.
After starting out at Saint-Étienne as a centre-back, he went on to amass Ligue 1 totals of 344 matche ...
.
Montpellier is owned by Laurent Nicollin, the son of the late Louis Nicollin, a French entrepreneur, who had been owner since 1974. The club have produced several famous players in its history, most notably
Laurent Blanc
Laurent Robert Blanc (; born 19 November 1965) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back and is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Club (J ...
, who has served as manager of the
France national team
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 ...
. Blanc is also the club's all-time leading goalscorer.
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French former professional footballer who is currently an actor. In his football career Eric Cantona was a physically strong, hard-working and tenacious player. He combined technical skill a ...
,
Roger Milla
Albert Roger Miller (born 20 May 1952), known as Roger Milla, is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage. He played in three Wo ...
,
Carlos Valderrama
Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Colombian Spanish: ; born 2 September 1961), also known as ''"El Pibe"'' ("The Kid"), is a Colombian former professional footballer and sports commentator for Fútbol de Primera, who played as an attacking m ...
and
Olivier Giroud
Olivier Jonathan Giroud (; born 30 September 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC.
Giroud began his senior club career ...
are other players who have played in Montpellier's colours. In 2001, Montpellier introduced a
women's team
A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl.
Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...
.
History
Montpellier was founded under the name Stade Olympique Montpelliérain (SOM) and played under the name for most of its existence. In 1989, after playing under various names, the club changed its name to its current form. Montpellier is one of the founding members of the first division of French football. Along with
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
,
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 ...
and
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million The club won
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 ...
for the first time in the 2011–12 season. Montpellier's other honours to date include winning 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 ...
in
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
and
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, 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 ...
in 1992, and the
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 ...
in
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 ...
.
In the 2011–12 season, Montpellier won its first Ligue 1 title, finishing the season with 82 points, three points ahead of runners-up
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 20 May 2012, in a game marred by stoppages for crowd violence,
John Utaka
John Chukwudi Utaka (born 8 January 1982) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a striker and is currently a youth coach at Montpellier HSC. He is the older brother of fellow professional footballer Peter Utaka.
Utaka has played for s ...
scored a brace to secure a 2–1 victory over
Auxerre
Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...
and win the Ligue 1 title for Montpellier.
Olivier Giroud
Olivier Jonathan Giroud (; born 30 September 1986) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC.
Giroud began his senior club career ...
, who finished the season with 21 goals and 9 assists, was the league's top goal scorer. Despite being tied on goals with Paris Saint-Germain attacker
Nenê
Nenê (; born Maybyner Rodney Hilário, September 13, 1982) is a Brazilian former professional basketball player. Known previously as Nenê Hilario, he legally changed his name to simply Nenê in 2003.
Early life
Born Maybyner Rodney Hilário i ...
, he was named the league's top scorer by the Ligue de Football Professionnel due to finishing with more goals in open play.
On 26 April 2025, after 16 consecutive seasons in the top flight, Montpellier was 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 ...
.
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Reserves
Records
Most appearances
Top scorers
Management and staff
Club officials
Senior club staff
*President: Laurent Nicollin
*Association chairman: Gilbert Varlot
*Sporting Director: Bruno Carotti
*Head of Youth: Francis De Taddeo
Coaching and medical staff
*Head coach:
Zoumana Camara
Zoumana Camara (born 3 April 1979) is a French professional football manager and former player who works as the manager of club Montpellier.
After starting out at Saint-Étienne as a centre-back, he went on to amass Ligue 1 totals of 344 matche ...
*Assistant head coach:
Ghislain Printant
Ghislain Printant (born 13 May 1961) is a French football coach and former player who is the assistant head coach of Ligue 1 club Montpellier. He played as a goalkeeper.
Managerial career
On 30 January 2017, Printant was hired as an assistant ...
*First-Team coach: Hilton
*Goalkeeper coach: Robin Gasset
*Fitness coach: Claude Duvergne
*Scout: Adrien Bordeau
Coaching history
Honours
Domestic
*
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
**''Champions'' (1):
**''Runners-up'' (2):
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
*Division d'Honneur (Languedoc-Roussillon)
**''Champions'' (2): 1981, 1992The two DH titles won were achieved by the club's reserve team.
Europe
*
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'' (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 ...
Coupe Gambardella
The Coupe Gambardella is a French football cup competition held between the under-18s of the French football clubs, organized by the French Football Federation (FFF).
The cup is regarded as an opportunity for young hopefuls to showcase their s ...
Montpellier HSC (women)
Montpellier Hérault Sport Club Féminines (; commonly referred to as simply Montpellier) is a French women's football club based in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, a commune in the arrondissement of Montpellier. The club was founded in 1990. Montpe ...