Montpellier HSC

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NICKNAME – La Paillade
FOUNDED – 1919
LOCATED IN – Montpellier, Occitanie
STADIUM – Stade de la Mosson
BY TRAM – 30 minutes from the train station (Line 1)
CAPACITY – 32,900
PROMOTED – 2009
BEST LEAGUE FINISH – Winners (2011/2012)
BEST COUPE DE FRANCE RUN – Winners (Twice)
BEST COUPE DE LA LIGUE/D’ETE RUN – Winners (1992)
BEST EC/CL FINISH – Group Stage (2012/2013)
BEST UC/EL FINISH – 2R (1999/2000)
BEST CWC FINISH – QF (1990/1991)
RECORD GOALSCORER – Laurent Blanc (82)
2022/2023 FINISH – 12th

FIVE FACTS ABOUT MONTPELLIER HSC
1. Montpellier were one of the founding members of the French league, but dropped down to amateur football in 1969 due to financial difficulties.
2. Although Laurent Blanc is better known as a defender, he started his career further up the pitch and remains the club’s record marksman to this day.
3. The club was given a makeover (and a change of name) in 1989 when the department of Hérault became a backer. Eric Cantona, Roger Milla and Carlos Valderrama were on the books at the time!
4. Montpellier won their only Championnat in 2012 on the back of Olivier Giroud’s season high tally of 21 goals.
5. Their biggest local rivals are Nimes, who once beat them in a Coupe de France semi-final.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT MONTPELLIER
1. The University of Montpellier was founded in 1220 and counts Rabelais, Petrarch and Nostradamus as alumni. The latter was thrown out for working as an apothecary.
2. After the Reformation, the city hosted a large amount of Protestant Huguenots who opposed the Catholic French monarchy, culminating in the Siege of Montpellier in 1662.
3. Montpellier later became a major wine producer due to the high amount of sunshine it receives each year.
4. The centre of the city is known as “L’Écusson” (the escutcheon) due to its shield like shape.
5. The fortified cathedral has a pair of turrets in front of one entrance, a reminder of the city’s turbulent past.

INTERESTING VIDEO LINKS
Official anthem
Ricoune’s anthem
“Los Paillados” in full voice
A look around Montpellier

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