Sagesse Sports Club (), known as Hekmeh () in Arabic, is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Achrafieh Achrafieh () is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter (''quartier''). In p ...

, a district in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon, that competes in the , and is primarily supported by the Maronite Christian community. The club was founded in 1943 as Cercle de la Sagesse. Although they haven't won any major title, Sagesse came second twice in the

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division (), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. Established in 1934 and organized by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), the Lebanese Premier Leagu ...

2002, and were finalists in both the

Lebanese FA Cup The Lebanon Cup (), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic Lebanese football. In the first FA Cup final, held on 26 June 1938, Nahda beat Hilmi-Sport 3–2 in the replay (after drawing 1� ...

, in 2006, and the Lebanese Federation Cup, in 2004.

History

Early history

The Collège de la Sagesse school had a football club with their own students; at the end of each season, graduated players would go on to play for other senior teams, mainly Salam Achrafieh. Sagesse's senior team were formed in 1942 under the patronage of Father Boulos Kik, the general director of the Sagesse Institute, supported by Monseigneur Jean Maroun. The club received their official license on 14 October 1943, and were formed as Cercle de la Sagesse by a group of former students, namely Edward Tyan, Camille Cordahi, Elie Khalife, and Negib Hobeika. Toutoungi was the club's first president. The team first played in the 1943–44 Lebanese Second Division; initially formed of former students, the club later also accepted other players. They won the Second Division in their first season, and were due to be promoted to the

after beating Shabiba Mazraa 4–0 in the promotion play-offs. However, due to a technicality, Sagesse were allocated in the Second Division for the 1944–45 season. From the 1945–46 season, the club were known as Club de la Sagesse.

Recent history

In 2006 Sagesse reached the final of the

, but lost against the cup holder Ansar 3–1. Sagesse finished second in the 2020–21 Lebanese Second Division, and were promoted back to the Lebanese Premier League after five years.

Club rivalries

Sagesse plays the

derby with

Racing Beirut Racing Club (), known as Racing Beirut or simply Racing, is a football club based in Achrafieh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the . They play their home matches at the Fouad Chehab Stadium and are primarily supported by the ...

Players

Current squad

Notable players

Honours

* Lebanese Second Division ** Winners (4): 1943–44, 1947–48, 1955–56, 1998–99 *

** ''Runners-up (1):'' 2001–02 *

** ''Runners-up (1):'' 2005–06 * Lebanese Federation Cup ** ''Runners-up (1):'' 2004

Managerial history

* Eugen Moldovan (2000–2001) * Theo Bücker (2001–2002) *

Emile Rustom Emile Boulos Rustom (; born 27 March 1952) is a Lebanese Association football, football coach and former player who an advisor for club Sagesse SC (football), Sagesse. After playing with Sagesse SC (football), Sagesse for 22 years, and the Leb ...

(2005) * Riad Murad * Fouad Hijazi * Fouad Leila * Sohad Zahran (–2021) *

Vardan Ghazaryan Vardan Martun Ghazaryan (; ; born 1 December 1969) is a football coach and former player. Born in Armenia, Ghazaryan moved to Lebanon and obtained citizenship through naturalisation in 1994. He played for Homenetmen and Sagesse as a striker ...

(2021–2022) *

(2022–2023) * Paul Rustom (2023–present)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sagesse Sagesse SC Football clubs in Beirut 1943 establishments in Lebanon Football clubs in Lebanon Association football clubs established in 1943