FC Sochaux-Montbéliard

Formation and early success (1928–1938)

Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard was founded on 14 June 1928 under the name Football Club Sochaux by Jean-Pierre Peugeot, a director of Peugeot, a French car manufacturing company. Peugeot sought to create a football club for the leisure time of the company's workers. He installed Louis Maillard-Salin as the club's first president, and made Maurice Bailly the club's first manager. Bailly was also a member of the team. Sochaux played its first match on 2 September 1928 against the reserve team of local club AS Montbéliard. The club was inserted into the lowest level of league football in the Franche-Comté region and played its first league match three weeks later winning 12–1.

Peugeot was among the first to advocate for the professionalisation of French football and, in 1929, went as far as to admit to paying his players, which was strictly forbidden during this time. The subsequent recruitment of several French internationals and players from abroad led to Sochaux gaining a stranglehold on the region easily disposing of local rivals AS Montbéliard and AS Valentigney. In June 1930, Montbéliard decided to merge with Sochaux to form the club that exists today. The following month, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. With Peugeot being a strong advocate for professionalism, Sochaux were among the first clubs to adopt the new statute and,…

Honours

The following table lists the honours of FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, updated as of 1 January 2010, in various official competitions at the national and international levels, as well as in youth competitions. In friendly tournaments, the club won the Coupe Peugeot in 1931 and was a finalist in the Trophée Joan Gamper in 1989.

National records

Largest victory: 12-1, on 25 August 1935, against Valenciennes Youngest player to achieve a hat-trick: Jérémy Ménez, on 22 January 2005 against Bordeaux at 17 years 8 months and 15 days

Club records

Most consecutive seasons in Ligue 2: 9 (2014–2023) Largest home victory: 12-1, Sochaux vs. Valenciennes, 1935/1936 (Ligue 1) Largest away victory: 1-7, Lyon vs. Sochaux, 1987/1988 (Ligue 2) Largest home defeat: 0-5, Sochaux vs. Monaco, 1994/1995 (Ligue 1)1-6, Sochaux vs. Ajaccio, 2017/2018 (Ligue 2)1-6, Sochaux vs. Rennes, 2023/2024 (French Cup) Largest away defeat: 8-0, RC Paris vs. Sochaux, 1959/1960 (Ligue 1) Most appearances (all competitions): Albert Rust (454 matches) Most goals scored (all competitions): Roger Courtois (281 goals) Youngest player in an official match: Eliezer Mayenda (16 years, 7 months, and 10 days).

Domestic

Ligue 1 Champions: 1934–35, 1937–38 Ligue 2 Champions: 1946–47, 1987–88 (Group A), 2000–01 Coupe de France Champions: 1936–37, 2006–07 Runners-up: 1958–59, 1966–67, 1987–88 Coupe de la Ligue Champions: 2003–04 Runners-up: 2002–03 Trophée des Champions Runners-up: 2007 Coupe Charles Drago Champions: 1953, 1963, 1964

Other

Coupe Peugeot Champions (1): 1931 Mohammed V Cup Champions (1): 1989 Joan Gamper Trophy Runners-up (1): 1989