Lorient

Founded in 1926 as Football Club Lorientais in the Breton port of Lorient, the club was an amateur side for most of its history and only reached the top flight for the first time in 1998. Its greatest day came in 2002, when it beat Bastia 1-0 to win the Coupe de France in a season that ended in relegation, and it won the Championnat National in 1995. Nicknamed Les Merlus after the hake landed at the local docks, it plays at the Stade du Moustoir and was shaped over three spells by manager Christian Gourcuff.