Lille OSC

Lille

Full name	Lille Olympique Sporting Club
Nickname(s)	Les Dogues (The Mastiffs) Les Nordistes (The Northmen) Les Lillois (The Lillois) La Machine de Guerre (The War Machine)
Short name	LOSC Lille OSC LOSC Lille
Founded	23 September 1944; 80 years ago (1944-09-23)
Stadium	Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Capacity	50,186
Owner	Merlyn Partners SCSp
President	Olivier Létang
Head coach	Bruno Génésio
League	Ligue 1
2023–24	Ligue 1, 4th of 18
Website	losc.fr
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Lille Olympique Sporting Club (French pronunciation: [lil ɔlɛ̃pik spɔʁtɪŋ klœb]), commonly referred to as LOSC, LOSC Lille or simply Lille, is a French professional football club based in Lille, Northern France competing in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Lille have played their home matches since 2012 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. The 50,186-capacity retractable roof venue is the fourth-largest stadium in France.

Lille were founded as a result of a merger between Olympique Lillois and SC Fives in 1944. Both clubs were founding members of the French Division 1 and Olympique Lillois were the league's inaugural champions. The club's most successful period was the decade from 1946 to 1956, in the post-war period, when the first-team won seven major trophies, including a league/cup double in 1946, and was known as La Machine de Guerre (French for "The War Machine"). Having won another double in 2011, their fourth league title in 2021 as well as their first Trophée des Champions^[I] the same year, Lille are the fourth best French club in the 21st century.

In domestic football, the club has won a total of four league titles, six Coupes de France and one Trophée des Champions since its foundation. In European football, Lille have participated in the UEFA Champions League nine times, reaching the knockout phase twice, competed in the UEFA Europa League on eight occasions and got to the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals once. They also won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2004 after finishing as runners-up in 2002. Lille are also one of the rare clubs, still in the first division, to have at least 15 final top-three appearances^[II] in the history of the French championship.^[1]

Nicknamed Les Dogues (French for "The Mastiffs"), the club is known for its academy which has produced and trained notable graduates, such as Eden Hazard, Benjamin Pavard or Leny Yoro. Throughout their history, Lille have cultivated a reputation for scouting and developing national as well as foreign talent. Players like Mike Maignan, Gabriel or Victor Osimhen made a breakthrough after their arrival at Lille. The club has a long-standing rivalry with nearby side Lens, in which Lille lead in the head-to-head record and in terms of total trophies won. Owned by investment fund Merlyn Partners SCSp and headed by Olivier Létang, they are the fifth-most followed French sports club on social media.^[2]

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