AC Ajaccio

AC Ajaccio

Full name	Athletic Club Ajaccien
Nickname(s)	L'ours (The Bear)
Founded	1910 (1910)
Ground	Stade François Coty, Ajaccio
Ground Capacity	10,000[1]
Chairman	Léon Luciani
Manager	Olivier Pantaloni
League	Ligue 2
2015–16	Ligue 2, 17th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Athletic Club Ajaccio (French pronunciation: ​[aʒaksjo]; commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio or simply Ajaccio, Corsican: Athletic Club Aiacciu) is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and currently plays in Ligue 2. The club president is Léon Luciani and the first-team is currently coached by manager Olivier Pantaloni^[2] following the sacking of Christian Bracconi in October 2014.^[3] Ajaccio play their home matches at the Stade François Coty and are rivals with fellow Corsican club Bastia, with whom they contest the Corsica derby (Derby Corse).

Historical information

Depending on sources, it is agreed that Ajaccio began playing in 1909–10. Their adopted colours are red and white stripes. Though they used to play in what was previously utilised as a sand dump, they decided to move to another, cleaner, safer stadium upon the insistence of Jean Lluis, father-in-law of club president Louis Baretti. The new stadium that was chosen held 5,000 spectators and was in use until 1969.

AC Ajaccio were elected Corsican champions on eight occasions, in 1920, 1921, 1934, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1955 and 1964, and are one of three big "island" teams, along with Gazélec Ajaccio and Bastia, the competition between the three being kept no secret. Spectators during the 1946 Corsican Cup final, held between A.C.A. and Sporting Bastia were handed umbrellas to shield themselves from the violence. Upon refusal of a penalty which would have been awarded to ACA, violence erupted between the fans, who used umbrellas both to cause and shield themselves from violence. This final was abandoned and replayed much later.

A.C.A. became a professional team in 1965 thanks to the ambitious efforts of the club's leaders. They initially adopted the symbol of the polar bear, but this has since been dropped in favour of a more stylised logo that uses a part of the Corsican flag.

In 1967, the team became the first Corsican club to play in the France's top division. They were most recently in Ligue 1 in the 2013–14 season, when they were relegated after finishing in last place, following a spell of three seasons in the top flight.

Players

Current squad

As of 7 September 2016 ^[4]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Riffi Mandanda 3 DF Paul Babiloni 4 DF Joris Sainati 6 DF Pape Abou Cissé 7 MF Riad Nouri 8 MF Laurent Abergel 9 FW Ilyes Chaïbi (on loan from Monaco) 10 MF Hugo Vidémont 11 FW Mouaad Madri 13 MF Yann Boé-Kane 15 MF Rayan Frikeche 16 GK Jules Goda

No. Position Player 17 DF Manuel Cabit 18 MF Johan Cavalli (captain) 19 DF Alioun Fall 20 DF Anthony Lippini 21 FW Marvin Gakpa (on loan from Lorient) 22 MF Christophe Vincent 25 MF Zana Allée 26 DF Jordan Pierre-Charles 27 DF Kassim Abdallah 28 FW Moussa Maâzou 29 MF Michel Aarai 30 GK François-Joseph Sollacaro

Notable past players

For a complete list of AC Ajaccio players, see Category:AC Ajaccio players.

Managers

Honours

• Division 2 (Second Division)
  • Champions (2): 1966–67, 2001–02
• Championnat National (Third Division)
  • Champions (1): 1997–98
• Ligue de Corse (Corsican League)
  • Champions (9): 1920, 1921, 1934, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1955, 1964, 1994

References

External links

• Official website (Corsican)
• Soccerway Profile