Legends
Poteaux Carrés and more: A history of Sainté
From humble beginnings...
Founded in 1919 by employees of a local grocery chain, Sainté's rise to the top flight was a slow one, taking twenty years to reach Division 1, as it was then called. While World War II interrupted football in France, by the following decade, Sainté were a force with which to be reckoned, as they won their first league title in 1955/6 with a team featuring Robert Herbin in defence. Known as "The Sphinx," he would be involved in nine of the team's titles, first as a player, and then as a manager.
... to the glory of the 1970s
After impressing in the league, winning it again in 1964, Herbin and teammates like Georges Bereta and Hervé Revelli would reel off four straight titles from 1967-70 and then another three (with Herbin as manager) from 1974-6. The team's greatest achievement, though, would come in the European Cup in 1976. Beating teams like Rangers and PSV Eindhoven, they reached the final against a vaunted Bayern Munich side featuring Gerd Muller and Franz Beckenbauer, losing in heartbreaking fashion, having hit the woodwork twice, inspiring the axiom that had the goalposts been round rather than square or "carré" -- Sainté would have become the first French side to have been crowned European champions.
Resurgence under Galtier...
A further title would come in 1981, but would be followed by a long spell in the doldrums, including several years bouncing between the top two tiers, Sainté began a slow but steady rise, powered by the likes of defender Loïc Perrin and goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier. After winning promotion in 2004/5, they became European regulars under first Laurent Roussey and then Christophe Galtier, as well as winning the Coupe de la Ligue, their first major trophy in more than thirty years, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang banging in the goals in 2013. While a subsequent relegation followed in 2022, the team consolidated and beat FC Metz to win a return to the top flight via the playoffs last season.
And plenty of famous faces!
In addition to Aubameyang and other long-serving players like Perrin and Ruffier, Saint-Étienne have had a strong academy of late. Three French international defenders -- William Saliba, Wesley Fofana and Kurt Zouma, are all current stars who are products of Les Verts' academy. Other players who have spent time on Sainté's books in recent decades include Blaise Matuidi, Dimitri Payet and Didier Zokora -- all are part of the team's decorated history.
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