Montpellier HSC

Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (mɔ̃pəlje eʁo spɔʁ klœb; Occitan: Montpelhièr Erau Sport Club), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC, is a French professional football club based in Montpellier, Occitanie, France. The club's origins date back to 1919, but it was officially founded in 1974 through a merger of both Stade Olympique Montpelliérain and AS Paillade.^[1]

The club currently competes in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. They play their home matches at the Stade de la Mosson, located within the city. The first team is managed by Zoumana Camara.

Montpellier is owned by Laurent Nicollin, the son of 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, who has served as manager of the France national team. Blanc is also the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Eric Cantona, Roger Milla, Carlos Valderrama and Olivier Giroud are other players who have played in Montpellier's colours. In 2001, Montpellier introduced a women's team.

History

Origins (1919–1974)

Montpellier was founded in 1919 as Stade Olympique Montpelliérain and soon went on to win the Coupe de France in 1929 in a 2–0 victory over FC Sète.^[2] SO Montpelliérain was one of twenty clubs to have played in the inaugural 1932–33 Division 1 season, the first season of professional top flight football in France.^[3] In 1974, SO Montpelliérain merged with AS Paillade to form the current iteration of the club, Montpellier Hérault Sport Club.^[4]

Continued success & promotions and relegations (1974–2011)

Many decades later, Montpellier went on to win their second Coupe de France in 1990 in a 2–1 victory over RC Paris. The club went on to win the Coupe de la Ligue in 1992 in a 3–1 victory over Angers. The club ended the decade winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999.^[5] Montpellier was relegated to Division 2, as it was known as at the time, at the end of the 1999–2000 season finishing in last place on 31 points. They were promoted the following season, returning to Division 1 for the 2001–02 season. The club was again relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2003–04 season and went on to spend five consecutive seasons in Ligue 2 before being promoted back to Ligue 1 for the 2009–10 season where they finished in 5th place.

Title winners & eventual relegation (2011–present)

At the end of 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. The league-winning match took place on 20 May 2012, in a game marred by stoppages for crowd violence which saw John Utaka score a brace to secure a 2–1 victory over Auxerre. Olivier Giroud, 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, he was named the league's top scorer by the Ligue de Football Professionnel due to finishing with more goals in open play.^[6][7]

On 26 April 2025, after 16 consecutive seasons in Ligue 1, Montpellier was relegated to Ligue 2.^[8]

Players

Current squad

^[9]

Records

Most appearances

Top scorers

Management and staff

Club officials

Senior club staff^[10]

• President: Laurent Nicollin
• Association chairman: Gilbert Varlot
• Sporting Director: Bruno Carotti
• Head of Youth: Francis De Taddeo

Coaching and medical staff^[11]

• Head coach: Zoumana Camara
• Assistant head coach: Ghislain Printant
• First-Team coach: Hilton
• Goalkeeper coach: Robin Gasset
• Fitness coach: Claude Duvergne
• Scout: Adrien Bordeau

Coaching history

Honours

Domestic

• Ligue 1
  • Champions (1): 2011–12
• Ligue 2
  • Champions (3): 1945–46, 1960–61, 1986–87
• Coupe de France
  • Champions (2): 1928–29, 1989–90
  • Runners-up (2): 1930–31, 1993–94
• Coupe de la Ligue
  • Champions (1): 1992
  • Runners-up (2): 1994, 2010–11
• Division d'Honneur (Languedoc-Roussillon)
  • Champions (2): 1981, 1992^[13]

Europe

• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Winners (1): 1999

Other

• Division d'Honneur (Sud-Est)
  • Champions (3): 1928, 1932, 1976

U19

• Coupe Gambardella
  • Champions (3): 1996, 2009, 2017
  • Runners-up (3): 1984, 1985, 1997

See also

• Montpellier HSC (women)

References

1. ^ "50 years of Montpellier HSC!". Ligue 1. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
2. ^ "Montpellier HSC Club Profile: News, Data & Analysis". Football Team News. Archived 18 July 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
3. ^ "Montpellier HSC Tryouts & Club Guide: History, Stadium, Players, and More!". FCScout.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
4. ^ "Everything you need to know about Montpellier HSC". Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
5. ^ "From Nîmes to Montpellier: Crossing the derby divide". www.ligue1.com. Archived 15 May 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
6. ^ "Olivier Giroud couronné" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 20 May 2012. Archived 27 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
7. ^ "When Montpellier Ruled France: A Look Back at the 2011/12 Ligue 1 Champions". breakingthelines.com. 21 January 2023. Archived 15 May 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
8. ^ "Montpellier relegated to Ligue 2 after 16-year top-flight stint". Reuters. Archived 2025-04-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
9. ^ "Effectif et staff" [Squad and staff] (in French). Montpellier HSC. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
10. ^ "Organigramme" (in French). Montpellier HSC. Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
11. ^ "Le Staff" (in French). Montpellier HSC. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
12. ^ "France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs on RSSSF". RSSSF. Archived 18 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
13. ^ The two DH titles won were achieved by the club's reserve team.

External links

• (in French)