Nimes Olympique

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NICKNAME – Les Crocodiles (The Crocodiles)
FOUNDED – 1937
LOCATED IN – Nimes, Occitanie
STADIUM – Stade des Costieres
BY BUS – 10 minutes from the amphitheatre / train station (Line 1)
CAPACITY – 18,562
RELEGATED – 2021
BEST LEAGUE FINISH – Runners Up (4 times)
BEST COUPE DE FRANCE RUN – Runners Up (3 times)
BEST COUPE DE LA LIGUE/D’ETE RUN – QF (1964/1965)
BEST UC/EL FINISH – 1st Round (Twice)
BEST CWC FINISH – R16 (1996/1997)
RECORD GOALSCORER – Hassan Akesbi (140)
2022/2023 FINISH – 19th (Ligue 2)

FIVE FACTS ABOUT NIMES OLYMPIQUE
1. The nickname of the “Crocodiles” originates from a Roman coin minted in Nimes of a crocodile tethered to a palm tree, symbolising the submission of Egypt to Rome.
2. The first forerunner of the modern club, “Sporting Club Nimois”, was founded in 1901 and only fielded Protestants.
3. The “Costieres”, which the stadium is named after, is a plateau to the south of the city covered in vineyards.
4. Whilst playing for Nimes, Eric Cantona threw a ball at a referee and subsequently quit football … at the age of 25. Luckily, he returned and did rather well at Leeds and Man U.
5. The main rivals of the club are nearby Montpellier, but encounters with Marseille are also intense.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT NIMES
1. Early Celtic inhabitants of Nimes worshipped the god “Nemausus”, who gave the city its name.
2. Nicknamed the “French Rome”, it boasts a well-preserved temple and amphitheatre.
3. Roman Games are reenacted annually in the “Arena”, which also hosts two bullfighting events a year.
4. The impressive “Pont du Gard” aqueduct was built to bring water to the city in Roman times.
5. Denim (“De Nimes”) was first used here as a fabric.

INTERESTING VIDEO LINKS
“Allez Nimes”
Celebrating promotion in 2020
“Colnem”
A look around Nimes

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