SM Caen

Stade Malherbe Caen was founded on 17 November 1913 by the merger of Club Malherbe Caennais and Club Sportif Caennais, taking its name from the Lycee Malherbe and the Caen-born poet Francois de Malherbe. After a brief professional spell in the 1930s the club was for decades one of France's leading amateur sides, turning professional again in 1985 and reaching Division 1 in 1988. It finished fifth in 1992, months after nearly going bankrupt, and won the second division in 1996 and 2010; it has played at the Stade Michel d'Ornano since 1993.