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; 79 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	Club website
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, Hauts-de-France that competes in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Lille has played its home matches since 2012 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. The 50,186-capacity retractable roof venue is the fourth-largest football stadium in France.

Lille was 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 was 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 team led by managers George Berry and André Cheuva 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, its fourth league title in 2021 as well as its first French super cup, Lille is 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 has participated in the UEFA Champions League eight times, reaching the knockout phase twice, competed in the UEFA Europa League on eight occasions and won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2004 after finishing as runners-up in 2002.

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, Mathieu Debuchy, Yohan Cabaye, Lucas Digne, Benjamin Pavard, Divock Origi and Martin Terrier. Throughout its history, Lille has cultivated a reputation for scouting, spotting and developing talent. Players like Mike Maignan, Gabriel, Sven Botman, Idrissa Gueye, Rafael Leão, Victor Osimhen and Jonathan David made a breakthrough after their arrival at the club and became famous playing for the Northmen. Lille has a long-standing rivalry with nearby side RC Lens, with whom they contest the Derby du Nord. Lille leads in the head-to-head record between the two rivals and in terms of total trophies won. Currently owned by Luxembourg-based investment fund Merlyn Partners SCSp, it's the fifth-most followed French sports club on social media.^[1]