Photos: @davv_le_retour
Words: Tom Reed
Spare a thought for Club Sportif Sedan Ardennes, who were flying high in Ligue 1 as recently as 2000 but now ply their trade in France’s Regional 2 Grand Est.
The fall from the top to the sixth tier has been a tremendous blow for the two-time Cup winners from North East France, but Les Sangliers, “The Boars”, continue to raise their tusks to the challenge.
The club suffered a series of demotions due to financial trouble, with the 2023 sanction of relegation to the regional ranks a new low for the club, which bought through such talent as former Liverpool midfielder Salif Diao and French national team manager Roger Lemerre.
Playing in the 23,189 capacity Stade Louis-Dugauguez is eye-catching in the French regional divisions
And the team is cheered on by the Young Boys ultras group, who recently celebrated their 20th anniversary with a huge display.
But CS Sedan’s story doesn’t stop there because they are coached by Elise Bussaglia, a former top women’s player for Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona who has returned to manage the men in the town of her birth.
Sedan currently sit at the top of the Regional 2 Grand Est with a plan to make a twist in the tale for an eventual return to Ligue 1. Maybe the boars can laugh loudest, or should that be squeal?
Great club with some incredible stories of players arriving at training sessions at 5:00 am before heading to work in the 1950s and 1960s…Great clubs never die.
Loved this, best of luck to The Boars. And that club crest is absolutely beautiful!