Main Photo by Yan Agrit

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NICKNAME – Les Merlus (The Merlucciidaes)
FOUNDED – 1926
LOCATED IN – Lorient, Brittany
STADIUM – Stade du Moustoir
ON FOOT – In the centre close to the train station
CAPACITY – 18,970
PROMOTED – 2020
BEST LEAGUE FINISH – 7th (2009/2010)
BEST COUPE DE FRANCE RUN – Winners (2001/2002)
BEST COUPE DE LA LIGUE/D’ETE RUN – SF (2001/2002)
BEST UC/EL FINISH – 1st Round (2002/2003)
RECORD GOALSCORER – Bernard Goraguer (108)
2022/2023 FINISH – 10th

FIVE FACTS ABOUT FC LORIENT
1. Another fish once adorned the Lorient badge before being replaced by the “Merlu”, which was considered more noble.
2. Lorient played amateur football for over 40 years before turning professional in 1967.
3. It took them another 31 years to make it to Ligue 1.
4. They did so under club legend Christian Gourcuff, who managed them for a total of 25 years over 4 decades.
5. Their improbable Coupe De France triumph in 2002 was hijacked by a comedian who celebrated with the players and even got as far as shaking the President’s hand.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT LORIENT
1. “L’orient” means “the east”, but it is located on France’s west coast, the reason being it was once the HQ of the French East India Company.
2. The Nazis established a huge submarine base here during WWII, which has now been turned into a museum.
3. Lorient is known as the “City of 5 Ports” (military, fishing, commercial, passenger and yachting).
4. It hosts a huge Celtic festival every year, with visitors coming from as far afield as Galicia in Spain and Australia.
5. A mix of spices called “Kari Gosse”, inspired by Indian cuisine, was created here to accompany seafood.

INTERESTING VIDEO LINKS
Club anthem
A trip to rivals Stade Brestois
Prankster Rémi Gaillard lifts the cup
A look around Lorient

OTHER FRENCH TEAMS
Ajaccio, Amiens, Angers, Auxerre, Bordeaux, Brest, Clermont, Dijon, Le Havre, Lens, Lille, Lorient, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Monaco, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Nimes, Paris Saint-Germain, Reims, Rennes, Saint-Etienne, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Troyes