(Rouen-Sochaux, January 23, 1938 at the Bruyères stadium in Rouen. / L’Équipe)
Champion of France 1935 and 1938. Founded in 1928 by Jean-Pierre Peugeot, FC Sochaux instantly occupied a prominent place in the French football landscape. Leading to the creation of a professional championship in France, which was born in 1932, the Doubiste club was crowned champion twice during the first six editions: in 1935 and 1938. French defender Étienne Mattler (46 selections) is a symbol of the club at this time.
(The Sochaux team before the 1937 Coupe de France final won 2 goals to 1 against RC Strasbourg, May 9, 1937. /L’Équipe)
Winner of the 1937 French Cup. In addition to Étienne Mattler, who participated in three World Cups with France (1930, 1934 and 1938), the Sochaliens presented a solid team for several years, with French players (Lehmann, Courtois, Lozes…) but also internationals foreigners (Szabo, Abegglen, Williams…). Vice-champions of France in 1937, they won the first French Cup in their history that year against RC Strasbourg (2-1).
(From left to right: Joël Bats, Stéphane Paille, Franck Sauzée and Yannick Stopyra./ L’Équipe)
Creation of the training center in 1974. After a less prosperous period between the 1950s and 1960s, FC Sochaux began to regain color with Michel Watteau or Philippe Piat in particular. Above all, the club passes a milestone by inaugurating its training center in 1974. This will allow the club to reveal many great players over several generations: Joël Bats, Bernard Genghini, Yannick Stopyra, Stéphane Paille, Franck Sauzée, Frank Silvestre, Jérémy Mathieu, Benoît Pedretti, Camel Meriem, Jérémy Ménez, Marcus Thuram…
(Bernard Genghini collapsing in the area of AZ Alkmaar during the semi-final first leg of the UEFA Cup, April 8, 1981. / L’Équipe)
1981 UEFA Cup semi-finalist. Vice-champions of France in 1980, the Sochaliens achieved a high-flying career in the UEFA Cup the following year, led by Bernard Genghini, Yannick Stopyra, Jacky Bonnevay or Jean-Luc Ruty. The Yellow and Blue eliminated Boavista in the round of 16 (2-2; 1-0), Eintracht Frankfurt in the round of 16 (2-4; 2-0) then Zürich in the quarter-finals (0-0; 2-1). Their adventure ended after their 4-3 loss (1-1; 3-2) in their double confrontation against AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals.
(Duel between Benoît Pedretti and Louis Saha in the first leg of the Intertoto Cup semi-final between Sochaux and Fulham, July 31, 2002. /Martin / L’Équipe)
2002 Intertoto Cup semi-finalist. After a complicated decade, Sochaux regained momentum in the 2000s under the impetus of Jean-Claude Plessis, president of the club from 1999 to 2008. The Mathieu/Isabey/Oruma/Pedretti/Pagis generation is distinguished by a fine career European in the Intertoto Cup during the 2001-2002 season. Louis Saha and Steve Marlet’s Fulham finally got the better of the Cubs with a 3-0 victory (1-0; 2-0).
(Failed panenka attempt by Mickaël Landreau against Teddy Richert during the penalty shootout in the League Cup final won by Sochaux against Nantes. / Fevre / L’Équipe)
Winner of the 2004 League Cup. Having not won a major trophy since the Championship in 1938, FC Sochaux-Montbéliard returned to the top in 2004 by winning the League Cup. Already a finalist last season (defeat against AS Monaco in 2003, 4-1), the Francs-Comtois emerged glorious from their duel against FC Nantes in 2004 (1-1, 5-4 on pens) at the from a penalty shootout during which Teddy Richert stops the panenka of his Nantes counterpart, Mickaël Landreau.
(Anthony Le Tallec, Jérémie Bréchet, Dusko Tosic, Philippe Brunel and Walter Birsa encircle their coach, Alain Perrin, after the victory in the Coupe de France final against Marseille (2-2, 5-4 on pens), May 12 2007./B. Fablet / The Team)
Winners of the 2007 French Cup. Shortly after their title in the League Cup, the Cubs won the second French Cup in their history, in 2007. Sochaux goalkeeper Teddy Richert was once again decisive as he stopped Ronald Zubar’s shot on goal. , allowing the Sochaliens to take the best of Marseille (2-2, 5-4 on pens). This is the last major trophy won by the club.
(Marcus Thuram, second scorer in the Gambardella Cup final for FC Sochaux against Olympique Lyonnais in 2015. /J. Prévost / L’Équipe)
Winner of the 2015 Gambardella Cup. FC Sochaux-Montbéliard’s victory in the Gambardella Cup in 2015 (2-0 against OL), the club’s third after 1983 and 2007, clearly demonstrates the quality of Sochaux’s training. The threat of the loss of the club’s professional status could have serious consequences since the FCSM would lose the right to own a training center. While it was ranked 5th best training center in Ligue 2 according to the FFF in 2022-2023.