Red Star Football Club, also known simply as Red Star (), is a French association football club founded in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1897, and is the fourth oldest French football club, after Standard AC of Paris,

Le Havre AC Le Havre Athletic Club (; commonly referred to as Le Havre) is a French association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The club was founded as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, making Le Havre AC the oldest professional French fo ...

and Girondins de Bordeaux. In the 2019–20 season the club plays in the

Championnat National The Championnat de France National ( en, French National Championship), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, serves as the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, ...

, the French third tier, after being relegated from Ligue 2 at the end of the 2018–19 season. It plays matches at Stade Bauer. The team is managed by

Habib Beye Habib Frédéric Beye (born 19 October 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He is the manager of Championnat National club Red Star. Born in France, he represented the Senegal national team. He is also a pundit ...

. Despite the club's long spell under a semi-pro status, Red Star has a rich history. The club was founded in 1897 under the name ''Red Star Club Français'' by French football legend

Jules Rimet Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the presid ...

. Rimet later went on to serve as president of both the French Football Federation and FIFA. The original FIFA World Cup Trophy was named in his honour. Red Star was one of the founding member clubs of Ligue 1 and has spent 19 seasons in the first division; the club's last top tier stint being in 1974–75. In cup competitions, the club has won five

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

titles, which is tied for fifth-best among all French clubs. While the club have enjoyed only modest success on the field, the club is widely recognised for its distinctive social culture. Red Star supporters are strongly identified with their support of

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soc ...

social activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and a party atmosphere they create at the club's matches. The club was purchased by US-based private investment firm 777 Partners in May 2022, a move which saw demonstrations from fans leading to the postponement of a Championnat National match in April 2022.

History

Red Star Football Club was founded on 21 February 1897 in a Parisian café by

and Ernest Weber under the name ''Red Star Club Français''. The derivation of the name is uncertain; it is possibly taken from the red star of Buffalo Bill or possibly in reference to Miss Jenny, a British governess based in Paris who was adopted as the godmother of the club, who recommended the club be named after the historic shipping line, the

Red Star Line The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belg ...

. Upon its creation, Rimet installed Jean de Piessac as club president and one of his younger brothers as club secretary. The club was officially inaugurated on 12 March 1897 after Rimet signed the club's statutes and sent them to the

USFSA U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee "USOPC" under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act an ...

, which, during this time, served as the head of French football. Members of the club were required to pay ₣100 a month to help the club meet its daily quota. Red Star officially joined the USFSA in 1898 and was inserted into the third-tier of the association's football league system. In the club's infancy, the team played in navy blue and white at the

Champ de Mars The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after t ...

. However, soon after, Red Star moved to

Meudon Meudon () is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris. The city is known for many historic monuments and some extraordinary trees. One of t ...

playing on a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...

overlooking the

Seine Valley ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

. Midway through the year, de Piessac left his post as club president. Rimet quickly succeeded him and, by 1904, Red Star were playing in the first division of the USFSA league. In 1907, Red Star changed its name to ''Red Star Amical Club'' after merging with Amical Football Club. Due to the merger, the club departed Meudon and moved to

Grenelle Grenelle () is a neighbourhood in southwestern Paris, France. It is a part of the 15th arrondissement of the city. There is currently a Boulevard de Grenelle which runs along the North delimitation of the ''quartier'', and a Rue de Grenelle, ...

. After three years in Grenelle, the club moved to Saint-Ouen in Seine-Saint-Denis to play in the newly built Stade de Paris. On 25 October 1909, the stadium was inaugurated following a match between Red Star and English club Old Westminsters. The stadium was later renamed to its present name today. With the USFSA becoming disorganised in the early 1900s, Red Star joined the newly created Ligue de Football Association (LFA) in 1910. In 1912, the club earned its first honour after winning the association's ''Ligue Nationale''. In the same year, the club also finished runner-up to Étoile des Deux Lacs in the Trophée de France. In 1919, the French Football Federation was created and months later, the

. From 1920–34, Red Star embarked on a remarkable uprising in which the club won four Coupe de France titles, achieved professional status, and were founding members of the

French Division 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

. The club's first Coupe de France victory came in 1921, when the club, led by French internationals

Pierre Chayriguès Pierre Chayriguès (2 May 1892 – 19 March 1965) was a French footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was part of France national team at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was the first prominent French goalkeeper and is still today the younges ...

Paul Nicolas Paul Nicolas (4 November 1899 – 3 March 1959) was a French footballer who played as a striker. He was part of the France national football teams at the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist ...

, Juste Brouzes, Lucien Gamblin and Maurice Meyer, defeated

Olympique de Paris Olympique de Paris was a French association football team based in Paris which existed from 1908 to 1926. Founded with the name Olympique de Pantin, it won the Coupe de France in 1918 and played in the finals in 1919 and 1921. It merged with Red S ...

2–1, courtesy of goals from Marcel Naudin and Robert Clavel. In the ensuing two seasons, Red Star won back-to-back Coupe de France titles. In

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

, the club defeated

Stade Rennais UC Stade Rennais Football Club (), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais FC, Stade Rennais, Rennes, or simply SRFC, is a French professional football club based in Rennes, Brittany. They compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, and pl ...

2–0 and, in

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

, Red Star beat Cette 4–2 to complete the hat trick. In 1926, Red Star completed a second merger, this time with its local rivals Olympique de Paris whom it had defeated just five years ago in a Coupe de France final. Due to the merger, Red Star changed its name to ''Red Star Olympique'' and dropped its navy blue and white combination for a simple white blouse. In 1928, Red Star won its fourth Coupe de France title of the decade defeating CA Paris 3–1 at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes. In July 1930, the National Council of the French Football Federation voted 128–20 in support of professionalism in French football. Red Star were among the first clubs to adopt the new statute and, subsequently, became professional and were founding members of the new league. In the league's inaugural season, Red Star were relegated after finishing in the bottom three of its group. As a result, the club played the following season in the inaugural season of the Division 2. Red Star won the league and returned to the first division for the 1934–35 season. Following the club's return to Division 1, Red Star switched its colours from white to the green and white that exists today. In 1967, they merged with Toulouse FC (not the current club) out of the latter club's financial reasons and bought Toulouse's place in the top division. The merged club last played in first division in the 1974–75 season. After a long spell in the lower leagues, following a successful 2014–15 campaign, the team won promotion to Ligue 2, the second tier of

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the cou ...

. In their first season back in Ligue 2, Red Star finished 5th on the table missing promotion to Ligue 1 by a single point. In the 2016–17 Ligue 2 season, Red Star finished 19th and were relegated back to the third division of French football. Due to safety regulation issues with Stade Bauer, Red Star has been forced to play at different stadiums the past few seasons when in Ligue 2. They have employed Stade Jean-Bouin in the past and then used Stade Pierre Brisson located in Beauvais. Since returning to the third tier in 2019, the club has returned to playing home matches at Stade Bauer. In 2018, Red Star were promoted back to Ligue 2 as champions of the

. They were relegated again the following season, finishing bottom of Ligue 2. Their relegation was confirmed on 27 April 2019 after losing 2–1 to champions

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

Divisional Movements of Red Star

(''Italics'' indicates winning seasons) * Ligue 1: 1932–33, 1934–38, 1939–50, 1965–66, 1967–73, 1974–75 * Ligue 2: 1933–34, 1938–39, 1952–60, 1961–65, 1966–67, 1973–74, 1975–78, 1982–87, 1989–99, 2015–17, 2018–19 * Third Level: 1950–52, 1960–61, 1981–82, 1987–89, 1999–01, 2011–15, 2017–18, 2019– * Fourth Level: 1980–81, 2001–02, 2006–11 * Fifth Level: 1978–80, 2002–03, 2005–06 * Sixth Level: 2003–05

Name Changes

* Red Star Club Français (1897–04) * Red Star Amical Club (1904–25) * Red Star Olympique (1925–44) * Red Star Olympique Audonien (1944–46) * Stade Français-Red Star (1946–48) * Red Star Olympique Audonien (1948–55) * Red Star Football Club (1955–66) * AS Red Star (1976–82) * AS Red Star 93 (1982–01) * Red Star Football Club 93 (2001–10) * Red Star Football Club (2010–)

Supporters

The club has relatively modest but loyal support, mostly centered around Saint-Ouen and the northern suburbs of

. Overtly

antifascists Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

, most of the fans are

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, and the club identifies itself as a

banlieue In France, the term banlieue (; ) refers to a suburb of a large city. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80% of the inhabitants of the Paris Metropolitan Are ...

working-class club. Attendances usually oscillate between 1,000 and 2,000 spectators per match. The club has several

ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...

groups; "Red Star Fans", "''Gang Green''", "''Perry Boys''" and the smaller "'' Splif Brothers''". The fans have a long-standing friendship with "''Red Kaos''" of

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

. Red Star have rivalries with fellow Parisian derby rivals; with

US Créteil The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and a fierce rivalry with

Paris FC Paris Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional football club based in Paris, that competes in the Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Paris FC play their home matches at the Stade C ...

Youth system

Red Star unearthed several talented players during its early existence, most notably

, who spent nine years at the club, Nicolas later became a catalyst towards the development of professional football in France and was partly responsible for the creation of the

Ligue de Football Professionnel The Ligue de Football Professionnel (, ''Professional Football League''), commonly known as the LFP, is a French governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France. It was founded in 1944 and serves under the authority o ...

. Football manager

Roger Lemerre Roger Léon Maurice Lemerre-Desprez (born 18 June 1941) is a French professional football manager and former player. During his managerial career, he was in charge of the French, Tunisian and Moroccan national teams. He also managed numerous c ...

started his managerial career with the club before leading

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

to titles at

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament wa ...

and the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Red Star's youth academy was once very productive. The likes of

Alex Song Alexandre Dimitri Song Billong (born 9 September 1987), better known as Alex Song, is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Djiboutian side Arta/Solar7 as a central or defensive midfielder. He can also play as a central defender. ...

Moussa Sissoko Moussa Sissoko (born 16 August 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as midfielder for club Nantes and the France national team. He plays as a box-to-box midfielder in the centre of the pitch, and is capable of playing in eit ...

and

Abou Diaby Vassiriki Abou Diaby (born 11 May 1986), known as Abou Diaby, is a French former professional footballer. He played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending. Described as a player who was "languid, elusive, and a ...

, all renowned players in English football, came through the club's youth system. As a matter of fact, no less than five players at the 2014 World Cup had played in the club's youth teams. Nevertheless, during the years spent in lower amateur divisions, the loss of professional status led to the dismantling of the youth academy setup, and although a project to rebuild it has been in the air for a few years, it has yet to be done despite the club's return to professional football.

Players

Current squad

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Red Star in

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and international competition since the club's foundation in 1897. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 official matches for the club or have played for his country's team. ''For a complete list of Red Star players, see :Red Star F.C. players''. * Alfred Aston *

David Bellion David Bellion (born 27 November 1982) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. His previous clubs include Cannes, Sunderland, Manchester United, West Ham United, Nice, Bordeaux and Red Star. Club career Cannes Bellio ...

* Philippe Bonnardel * Jean-Claude Bras * Juste Brouzes *

Augustin Chantrel Augustin Chantrel (11 November 1906 - 4 September 1956) was a French footballer who played as a halfback. He represented France at the 1928 Olympic Football Tournament and at the 1930 FIFA World Cup. Club career * 1924-1925 : Paris Univer ...

* Émilien Devic * Marcel Domergue * Lucien Gamblin * Alfred Gindrat * Jean-Luc Girard * François Hugues * Eugène Langenove * Christian Laudu * Eugène Maës * Steve Marlet * Guilherme Mauricio * Georges Meuris * Maurice Meyer * Pol Morel *

* Marcel Pinel * Julien Du Rhéart * Jacky Simon *

André Simonyi András "André" Simonyi (31 March 1914 – 17 July 2002) was a Hungarian-born French footballer who played for Lille OSC, FC Sochaux, Red Star 93, Rennes, Angers SCO, Stade Français and CO Roubaix-Tourcoing, as well as with the French nation ...

* Georges Stuttler * Peppe Moncef Chahboune *

Alexis Thépot Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–19 ...

* Julien Verbrugge *

Nestor Combin Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, ...

Guillermo Stábile Guillermo Stábile (17 January 1905 – 26 December 1966) was an Argentine professional football player and manager who played as a centre forward. At club level, Stábile won two national championships with Huracán and played in Italy and Fran ...

Helenio Herrera Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentine, naturalized French, football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success with the Inter Milan team known as ''Grande Inter'' in the 1960s. During h ...

* Yves Desmarets * Stéphan Raheriharimanana *

Bror Mellberg Bror Lars Astley Mellberg (9 December 1923 − 8 September 2004) was a Swedish footballer who played as a forward. He played for the Sweden national team at the 1950 FIFA World Cup and 1958 FIFA World Cup where Sweden finished third and seco ...

* Hugo Pérez * Aleksandr Bubnov * Fyodor Cherenkov * Safet Sušić

Management and staff

*Owner and President: Patrice Haddad *Head Coach:

*Assistant Coach: Vincent Doukantie

Coaching history

Honours

Domestic

* Ligue 2 **''Champions'' (2): 1933–34, 1938–39 *

**''Champions'' (2): 2014–15, 2017–18 * Championnat de France amateur 2 **''Champions'' (1): 2006 (Group A) *Division d'Honneur (Paris Île-de-France) **''Champions'' (4): 1920, 1922, 1924, 2005 *

**''Champions'' (5): 1921,

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...

**''Runners-up'' (1): 1946

Other

*Ligue de Football Association (LFA) Championship **''Champions'' (1): 1912 *Challenge de la Renommée **''Champions'' (1): 1919 *Trophée de France **''Runners-up'' (1): 1912

International

*Tournoi du Nouvel An **''Winners'' (2): 1921 (shared), 1923, 1924 (shared) *Tournoi de Pâques **''Winners'' (1): 1923 **''Runners-up'' (2): 1922, 1929 *Tournoi Pascal **''Winners'' (2): 1913, 1924 *Challenge International de Paris **''Winners'' (1): 1913 *Tournoi de Pentecôte **''Runners-up'' (1): 1927

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Star Saint-Ouen Football clubs in Paris Association football clubs established in 1897 1897 establishments in France Sport in Seine-Saint-Denis Ligue 1 clubs 2022 mergers and acquisitions