Five things you may not know about AS Nancy

News

SAT 06.08.2016

One of the most illustrious players in Nancy's history is Michel Platini. The legendary attacking midfielder spent seven seasons at the club, from 1972 to 1979, inspiring them to promotion to Ligue 1 in 1975 and to French Cup glory in 1978, when he notched the winner in the final.
In addition to the aforementioned 1978 Coupe de France, the other major piece of silverware on display in Nancy's trophy cabinets is the League Cup (Coupe de la Ligue), which they won in 2006 with a 2-1 victory over Nice in the final. The club has also been crowned Ligue 2 champions on five occasions, most recently just last season, when they led the standings with 74 points to seal a return to the top flight.

.@RealSporting head to France for pre-season friendly v AS Nancy.

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— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) August 1, 2016

Long-serving Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was in charge of Nancy for three seasons right at the beginning of his managerial career. He took the job in 1984 after being persuaded by Aldo Platini, Michel's father, who was the club's president at the time. Wenger kept the outfit from north-east France in Ligue 1 in his first two campaigns at the helm, but they were relegated in the third, in 1987, and he left for Monaco.
One of the stand-out figures in the current Nancy squad, which is made up chiefly of French players, is Benoit Pedretti. The 35-year-old former France international is one of the most seasoned players in Ligue 1 history, having made almost 400 appearances in the division and enjoyed stints at Sochaux, Marseille, Lyon, Auxerre, Lille and Ajaccio. The veteran playmaker joined Nancy, the seventh club of his career, last summer and was instrumental in their promotion-winning campaign.
Nancy are based at the Stade Marcel Picot. Built in 1926, the stadium has been renovated on several occasions, with its biggest redevelopment to date coming between 1999 and 2003, and it presently houses just over 20,000 fans. However, despite a few setbacks, plans remain afoot for a further expansion and modernisation which would take the capacity to 35,000. Furthermore, the ground is set to be one of the 12 venues for the 2019 Women's World Cup, which France will be hosting.