During their Ligue 1 match against Angers this Sunday, FC Nantes will celebrate their 2,000th match in the first division. The fictitious kickoff will be given by Jean-Claude Suaudeau and two other former Canaries of the first match in the elite of French football, in 1963.
FC Nantes is the 13th French club to reach this level, far behind Marseille, in the lead with 2,571 matches played in Ligue 1. Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne have also exceeded 2,500 matches, while Sochaux (currently in Ligue 2), Lyon , Rennes, Monaco, Nice, Lille, Metz, Lens and Strasbourg also crossed 2,000.
Eight titles of champion of France
For Nantes, the beginnings date back to August 31, 1963, twenty years after the creation of the club: in pouring rain and in front of some 12,000 spectators, the Canaries had drawn 2-2 against Sedan-Torcy. With two future legends of the club already in place: on the bench, coach José Arribas, and on the field defensive midfielder Coco Suaudeau, who then led the training center and then the first team. Under the leadership of these two men and their successors, Nantes has been crowned champion of France eight times, even if the last title dates back more than 20 years.
Now 83, Suaudeau will be on Sunday alongside his former teammates from the first match, Bernard Blanchet (78) and Gilbert Le Chenadec (83), to kick off the 2,000th, at the Stade de Beaujoire. For the occasion, the club’s foundation invited 2,000 people linked to the activities it supports in the region.