Strasbourg in Europe: A history
As they prepare for their first European quarterfinal in 46 years, the first leg of which is tomorrow against Mainz in the Conference League, we look back at the Alsatians' rich history in continental competition.
14 European campaigns
Despite only having won one Ligue 1 McDonald's title, the Alsatians have played in more than a dozen European campaigns over the course of their history, having won the Coupe de France three times and the Coupe de la Ligue four (a total exceeded only by Paris Saint-Germain). Indeed, it was thanks to a nascent version of this latter competition in which they made their debut, in 1961-2.
While that first campaign proved poor, they would win the Coupe de la Ligue again in 1964, and proceed to knock out both AC Milan and Barcelona on the way to the quarterfinals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, where they were subsequently eliminated by Manchester United. After regular participation in Europe via the Intertoto Cup, they would then have to wait a decade until their next European campaign, in 1978-79.
Having impressed in reaching the third round of the UEFA Cup that season, they would impress even more in the following season. Coming off winning Ligue 1, they played for the first time in the European Cup, and battled past Start and Dukla Prague before falling to the mighty Ajax in the quarterfinals.
Fifteen years on, having suffered a relegation and a promotion, Racing were back in Europe in 1995-6, winning the Intertoto Cup with a run that included a particularly sweet win over archrivals Metz in the quarterfinals. While their progress that season would be hosted in the UEFA Cup by AC Milan, it marked a run of five European campaigns in ten seasons, the last of which saw them reach the Round of 16 of the UEFA Cup, having topped a group including Roma to reach the knockout stages.
After another series of relegations, Strasbourg finally came back to Europe in 2019/20, having won the Coupe de la Ligue in its penultimate edition. Having navigated a pair of qualifying rounds, they then loss to German side Eintracht Frankfurt in the playoffs. The current campaign has been of their best yet as they've yet to lose a single match, either in elimination or the league phase, and tomorrow's match against German side Mainz could see them take a big step towards reaching what would be a historic European semifinal!
