FC Gueugnon - History

History

Football Club de Gueugnon was founded in 1940. Upon the club's creation, it earned the nickname Les Forgerons (English: The Blacksmiths), due to having strong support from the commune's local steelworks area. The club won the Championnat de France amateur in 1947 and, by 1970, were playing in the second division of French football. In 1974, inspired by playmaker Casimir Nowotarski, Gueugnon reached the second division promotion play-offs, but lost to Rouen. In 1979, the club won the second division title, however, due to the club's non-professional status and its inability to gain professional status by the start of the 1979–80 season, it was not allowed to participate in the first division.

The 1980s steel crisis forced the club to turn professional, and after several seasons of struggles to prevent relegation, the tide turned in 1991 when Gueugnon reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France where the club was defeated by Monaco. In 1995, Gueugnon earned were officially promoted to Division 1 for the first time in the club's history after finishing runner-up in the second division. The promotion was short-lived, though, as the club returned to the lower league after an unsuccessful debut season.

In 2000, Gueugnon shocked French football supporters around the country after winning the Coupe de la Ligue. The club defeated the two-time champions of the competition Paris Saint-Germain 2–0 in the final. The victory resulted in Gueugnon becoming the first and only club to win the cup while playing in Ligue 2. The resulting success led to drastic consequences as many of the club's top players such as Sylvain Distin departed the club for better sporting and monetary opportunities. The following season, Gueugnon played the UEFA Cup but lost to Greek club Iraklis 1–0 on aggregate in the first round. After that season, the club hovered mid-table and just barely avoided relegation in 2004 with a 5–0 win over Lorient on the final match day of the season. The 2007–08 season proved disastrous with the club remaining blocked in the last position for most of the season. With only five wins overall, Gueugnon were relegated to third-tier National, where the club currently remains.

At the beginning of the season 2009–10, former French international Tony Vairelles joined the club and, subsequently, became the club's main investor. On 27 October 2009, his father, Guy Vairelles, became Gueugnon's new chairman.