Royal Charleroi S.C.

Last updated

Sporting Charleroi
Royal Charleroi Sporting Club logo.svg
Full nameRoyal Charleroi Sporting Club
Nickname(s)Les Zèbres (The Zebras),
Les Carolos
Founded1 January 1904;120 years ago (1904-01-01)
Ground Stade du Pays de Charleroi
Capacity15,000 [1]
ChairmanFabien Debecq [2]
Managing Director Mehdi Bayat
Manager Rik De Mil
League Belgian First Division A
2022–23 Belgian First Division A, 9th
Website Club website
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Royal Charleroi Sporting Club, often simply known as Charleroi or Sporting Charleroi, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Charleroi, in the province of Hainaut. Charleroi plays in the Belgian Pro League and their current spell at the highest level in Belgian football has started in the 2012–13 season. Charleroi was founded in 1904 and they first reached the first division in 1947–48. Their highest finish was runner-up in the 1968–69 season. They have also twice reached the Belgian Cup final, losing in 1977–78 to Beveren and in 1992–93 to Standard Liège.

Contents

Sporting Charleroi have a long-standing rivalry with their crosstown rival ROC de Charleroi-Marchienne, currently playing in the third division. Charleroi play their home matches at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi, which was refurbished for the UEFA Euro 2000. The stadium hosted 3 group stage games in the Euro 2000 among which the 1–0 victory of England against Germany. Charleroi have been recruiting several French players in recent years, including Michaël Ciani, Cyril Théréau and goalkeeper Bertrand Laquait.

History

Charleroi Sporting Club was founded in 1904 and they received the matricule n°22. Twenty years after their foundation, they qualified to play in the Promotion (then the second level in Belgian football) and in 1929, the club changed its name to Royal Charleroi Sporting Club. Rivals from Olympic Charleroi were playing in the first division in the late 1930s and the 1940s, while Sporting Charleroi was playing one level down, until they promoted in 1947. In 1949, Sporting Charleroi finished 4th (2 points behind Standard Liège) whereas Olympic Charleroi was 14th. But Olympic took the lead again until 1955 and their relegation to the second division. At the end of the 1956–57 season, Olympic Charleroi had promoted to the first division but Sporting Charleroi finished last in the first division and was thus relegated to the second division. A spell of 9 seasons in the second division followed and in 1966–67 Sporting Charleroi was back at the top level. They finished at the second place in 1968–69 5 points behind Standard Liège but within two years they were relegated again.

In 1974 the first division was changing from 16 to 20 teams and Sporting Charleroi was chosen to play at the top level. Olympic Charleroi promoted too as they had won the second division right before but they remained at the top level for just one season. Sporting underwent a new relegation in 1979–80 (17th on 18) but was back five years later. Their best result since then in the first division is a 4th place in 1993–94. In September 2005, the G-14 took FIFA to court over the eight-month injury incurred by Abdelmajid Oulmers whilst on international duty with Morocco.

Colours and badge

Characters Boule et Bill as Charleroi-supporters Charleroi - Cartoon characters - panoramio (1).jpg
Characters Boule et Bill as Charleroi-supporters

The colours of Charleroi are black and white with a shirt generally striped, which led to the team being nicknamed The Zebras.

Stadium

Stade du Pays de Charleroi Charleroi Stade du Pays de Charleroi 1.jpg
Stade du Pays de Charleroi

The actual ground was baptized in 1939 with a match Sporting-Union du Centre and it was located near the coal mine named Mambourg. In 1985 the stadium was slightly modernized as the club had qualified for the first division. It was then heavily renewed in the late 1990s in view of the 2000 European Football Championship. The name changed on 24 May 1999 from Stade du Mambourg to Stade du Pays de Charleroi. During the tournament, the full capacity of the stadium was up to 30,000 seats. The Stade du Pays de Charleroi hosted notably the match between Germany and England. The highest stand was eventually reduced and the capacity is now 15,000. [3]

Honours

European record

Overview

Correct as of May 2016

CompetitionPlayedWDLGFGA
UEFA Cup 210123
UEFA Intertoto Cup 103341111
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 430185
UEFA Europa League 420297
TOTAL209383026

Matches

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1R Flag of Croatia.svg Zagreb 2–13–15–2
2R Flag of France.svg FC Rouen 3–10–23–3(a)
1994–95 UEFA Cup 1R Flag of Romania.svg Rapid București 2–10–22–3
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 10 Flag of Israel.svg Beitar Jerusalem 1–03rd
Flag of Turkey.svg Bursaspor 0–2
Flag of Slovakia.svg FC Košice 2–3
Flag of England.svg Wimbledon 3–0
1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 4 Flag of Denmark.svg Silkeborg IF 2–43rd
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Conwy United 0–0
Flag of Poland.svg Zagłębie Lubin 0–0
Flag of Austria.svg SV Ried 3–1
2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2R Flag of Finland.svg Tampere United 0–00–10–1
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 2Q Flag of Israel.svg Beitar Jerusalem 5–14–19–2
3Q Flag of Ukraine.svg Zorya Luhansk 0–20–30–5
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 3Q Flag of Serbia.svg Partizan 2–1 (aet)
PO Flag of Poland.svg Lech Poznań 1–2

Current squad

As of 10 February 2024 [4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of France.svg  FRA Pierre Patron
2 DF Flag of Denmark.svg  DEN Jonas Bager
3 DF Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  SUI Stefan Knezevic
4 DF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Jules Van Cleemput
5 MF Flag of France.svg  FRA Etienne Camara
6 MF Flag of Algeria.svg  ALG Adem Zorgane
7 MF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Isaac Mbenza
8 MF Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  CIV Parfait Guiagon
9 FW Flag of Palestine.svg  PLE Oday Dabbagh
10 FW Flag of Senegal.svg  SEN Youssouph Badji
12 GK Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Nicolas Closset
13 FW Flag of Algeria.svg  ALG Nadhir Benbouali
15 DF Flag of Norway.svg  NOR Vetle Dragsnes
16 GK Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  BFA Hervé Koffi
17 MF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Antoine Bernier
18 MF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Daan Heymans
No.Pos.NationPlayer
19 FW Flag of Serbia.svg  SRB Nikola Štulić
21 DF Flag of Cyprus.svg  CYP Stelios Andreou
22 MF Flag of France.svg  FRA Adrien Trebel
25 DF Flag of France.svg  FRA Damien Marcq
26 MF Flag of Madagascar.svg  MAD Marco Ilaimaharitra (captain)
27 DF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Roméo Monticelli
29 DF Flag of Slovenia.svg  SVN Žan Rogelj
32 DF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Mehdi Boukamir
37 DF Flag of Morocco.svg  MAR Achraf Dari (on loan from Brest)
42 MF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Thomas Lutte
44 MF Flag of Japan.svg  JPN Ryota Morioka
55 GK Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Martin Delavallée
66 DF Flag of Nigeria.svg  NGA Valentine Ozornwafor
80 FW Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Youssuf Sylla
98 DF Flag of France.svg  FRA Jeremy Petris

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
DF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Martin Wasinski (at Kortrijk until 30 June 2024)
MF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Jackson Tchatchoua (at Hellas Verona until 30 June 2024)

Coaches

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References

  1. Het Stade du Pays de Charleroi sporting-charleroi.be (last check 30 March 2018)
  2. "Fabien Debecq nouveau président du Sporting de Charleroi". RTL Sport. RTL Belux S.A. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  3. Het Stade du Pays de Charleroi sporting-charleroi.be (last check 30 March 2018)
  4. "Équipes | RCSC". R. Charleroi S.C. - Web Oficial. Retrieved 23 July 2021.