US Créteil-Lusitanos

Créteil

Full name	Union Sportive Créteil-Lusitanos
Nickname(s)	Les Béliers (The Rams) Les Cristoliens (The Créteiliens) USC
Founded	1936; 88 years ago (1936)
Ground	Stade Dominique Duvauchelle
Capacity	12,150
Chairman	Armand Lopes
Manager	Stéphane Masala
League	National 2 Group C
2023–24	National 2 Group D, 5th of 14
Website	www.uscl.fr
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Union Sportive Créteil-Lusitanos (commonly referred to as US Créteil, USC, or simply Créteil) is a French football club based in Créteil, a southeastern suburb of Paris. The club was founded in 1936 and currently play in the National 2, the fourth level of French football. The football club forms part of an omnisports club that is also known for its handball team.

US Créteil was founded in 1936 as an omnisports club and have a rich history, despite achieving minimal honours.

The club has won the Division d'Honneur on two occasions in 1962 and 1986. In 1987, Créteil were crowned champions of the now-defunct Division 4 and, a year later, captured the Division 3 title. The club's best finish in the prestigious Coupe de France was during the 1985–86 edition of the competition when the team reached the quarter-finals. For eight consecutive seasons (1999–2007), Créteil played in Ligue 2, the second division of French football. It returned to Ligue 2 in the 2013–14 season. In 2018, the club was relegated to the Championnat National 2.

The team is affectionately known as Les Béliers (lit. 'The Rams') or Les Cristoliens, the name given to the inhabitants of Créteil.

Association football ventured to the city of Créteil relatively late compared to other communes located in and around Paris. The first club to enter the fray was Club Sportif de Créteil. However, the club was considered unstable from the start and was declared unofficial as the city was attempting to replicate the passion and heart clubs such as Red Star 93, CA Paris-Charenton, and Racing Club de France displayed in nearby communes. The declaration soon came to fruition following the foundation of Union Sportive Créteil in 1936 by a man commonly known as M. Hemon. Créteil spent almost 30 years hovering in the lower divisions. During this time, the football club played its home matches at the Stade Desmont, which seated only 800 spectators. Under the leadership of B. Hainque, Créteil reached the Championnat de France amateur in 1962. The team then proceeded to falter back into the Promotion d'Honneur before reaching the Division d'Honneur in the new decade.

Créteil were a lucky beneficiary in 1978 when the French Football Federation announced the creation of the Division 4. The club was promoted to the new league despite its 7th-place finish in the Division d'Honneur the previous season. The team's shaky form showed as they were in dead last after ten matches were contested. By the end of the season, Créteil were back in the Division d'Honneur. In 1983, the club moved into its new stadium, the Stade Dominique Duvauchelle, after having spent almost 50 years at the Stade Desmont. Two years later, under the guidance of the city's deputy mayor Laurent Cathala, Union Sportive Créteil merged with the Créteil omnisports club in order to give the city a better sporting identity. The club's main sports became football, swimming, athletics, and cycling.

US Créteil spent the 2000s between the third division and Ligue 2 before being relegated back to Championnat de France National. In 2002, the club merged with its neighbor Lusitanos, from Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, changing its name to the current Créteil-Lusitanos.

In the 2012–13 season, the club was promoted back to Ligue 2 and they reached the round of 16 in the 2012 Coupe de France competition before being eliminated by Girondins de Bordeaux. In 2016, the club was relegated from Ligue 2 back to the Championnat National. In 2018, US Créteil were relegated to the Championnat National 2 after finishing bottom of the table.^[1][2]

On 27 May 2019, Créteil were promoted back to the Championnat National after finishing as champions of the Championnat National 2 Group D.^[3] They were relegated in May 2022, finishing 17th in the 2021–22 season.^[4]

The club has a small but loyal and fanatical fan-base, mostly from Val-de-Marne, the southern and eastern suburbs of Paris. The club has two ultras groups; Urban Devils founded in 2002, later re-formed in 2005 and Kop de Banlieue founded in 2004. The fans are known as the Cristoliens, inhabitants of Créteil.

Despite playing in a modern facility, the club's level attendance is very low, averaging only around 500 spectators during the Championnat National years, although after promotion that number has risen to around 2500 per game in Ligue 2.^[5]

The club has rivalries with Red Star F.C. and Paris FC,^[6] with whom they contest the Parisian derbies.

Average attendances:^[5][7][8]

• 2016–17: 508
• 2015–16: 2 188
• 2014–15: 2 389
• 2013–14: 2 603
• 2012–13: 945
• 2011–12: 424
• 2010–11: 515
• 2009–10: 695
• 2008–09: 373
• 2007–08: 403

Créteil play its home matches at the 12,000-seat Stade Dominique Duvauchelle, named after Dominique Duvauchelle, a local sports journalist from the city of Créteil.

As of 17 July 2022.^[9]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  COD Riffi Mandanda 3 DF  GLP Kelly Irep 4 DF  FRA Mady Soaré 5 DF  FRA Zakaria Belkouche 7 FW  POR Alexis Araujo 8 MF  ALG Abdelmalek Mokdad 10 MF  FRA Christopher Baptista 12 DF  FRA Julien Serrano 13 MF  FRA Abdessalem Boujenfa 16 GK  FRA Romain Cagnon 17 FW  FRA Kamel Chergui 18 DF  FRA Richard Richecard (on loan from Marseille)

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  FRA Younes Aouladzian 20 DF  SEN Elhadj Dabo 21 MF  CTA Axel Urie 22 DF  FRA Yamadou Fofana 26 DF  MLI Mahamadou N'Diaye 27 MF  POR Fábio Pereira 30 GK  FRA Léonard Aggoune 33 MF  GUF Thomas Némouthé — MF  ANG Plamedi Buni Jorge — MF  MLI Ismaël Keïta — FW  ALG Nadjib Baouia

For a complete list of former US Créteil-Lusitanos players with a Wikipedia article, see here.

• Cédric N'Koum

As of 27 June 2014.^[10]

Position	Name	Nationality
Manager	Stéphane Masala	French
Assistant manager	Francis de Percin	French
Assistant manager	Jean-Michel Bridier	French
Goalkeeping coach	Jean-Pascal Beaufreton	French
Physiotherapist	Olivier Roussey	French
Medical Doctor	Nicolas Bompard	French
Intendant	Amandio Adubeiro	Portuguese

US Créteil-Lusitanos has had numerous managers and caretaker managers since the club's foundation in 1936. The list below begins with the club's managers since 1986.

Manager	Créteil career	Major Honours
Jean-Marc Komano	1986–88	Won Division 4 and Division 3.
Philippe Redon	1988–89, 1989–90
Philippe Troussier	1989
Ruben Umpierrez	1989
Fathi Chebel	1989
Jacky Lemée	1990–92
Marc Collat	1992–95
Robert Buiges	1995–96
Pierre Garcia	1996–97
Bernard Simondi	1997–99	Achieved promotion to Ligue 2.
Gernot Rohr	1999–00
Laurent Roussey	2000–01
Slaviša Vukićević	2001
Ladislas Lozano	2001–02
Noël Tosi	2002–03
Jean-Michel Bridier	2003, 2004
Jean-Michel Cavalli	2003–04
Guy David	2004–05
Albert Rust	2006
Olivier Frapolli	2006, 2008–09
Artur Jorge	2006–07
Thierry Goudet	2007–08
Laurent Fournier	2009–10
Hubert Velud	2010–2011
Jean-Luc Vasseur	2011–2014	Won the 2012–13 Championnat National
Philippe Hinschberger	2014
Thierry Froger	2014–2015
Laurent Roussey	2015–Unknown
Stéphane Le Mignan	2017–2018
Carlos Secretário	2018–2020
Richard Déziré	2020–2021[11]
Emmanuel Da Costa	2021–2022[12]
Stéphane Masala	2022–[13]

Managers in italics were hired as caretakers

• Championnat National
  • Champions (1): 2013
• Division 4 (CFA 2)
  • Champions (1): 1987, 2019
• Division d'Honneur (Île-de-France)
  • Champions (2): 1962, 1986
• Coupe de Paris – Ile de France
  • Champions (1) 1998

Note: ^[14]

• (in French) Official website
• (in French) Unofficial website ran by supporters