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Montpellier HSC

This article is about the men's football club. For the women's football club, see Montpellier HSC (women).

Montpellier
Full nameMontpellier Hérault Sport Club
Nickname(s)La Paillade[1]
Short nameMHSC
Founded1974; 51 years ago (1974)
GroundStade de la Mosson
Capacity32,900
OwnerGroupe Nicollin [fr]
PresidentLaurent Nicollin
Head coachZoumana Camara
LeagueLigue 2
2024–25Ligue 1, 18th of 18 (relegated)
Websitemhscfoot.com
Current season

Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (French: [mɔ̃pəlje eʁo spɔʁ klœb]; Occitan: Montpelhièr Erau Sport Club), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC, is a French professional football club based in Montpellier, Occitanie, France. The club's origins date back to 1919, but it was officially founded in 1974 through a merger of both Stade Olympique Montpelliérain and AS Paillade.[2]

The club currently competes in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. They play their home matches at the Stade de la Mosson, located within the city. The first team is managed by Zoumana Camara.

Montpellier is owned by Laurent Nicollin, the son of Louis Nicollin, a French entrepreneur, who had been owner since 1974. The club have produced several famous players in its history, most notably Laurent Blanc, who has served as manager of the France national team. Blanc is also the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Eric Cantona, Roger Milla, Carlos Valderrama and Olivier Giroud are other players who have played in Montpellier's colours. In 2001, Montpellier introduced a women's team.

Montpellier has a long-standing rivalry with nearby team Nîmes Olympique against whom they contest the Derby du Languedoc.[3]

History

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Origins (1919–1974)

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Montpellier was founded in 1919 as Stade Olympique Montpelliérain and soon went on to win the Coupe de France in 1929 in a 2–0 victory over FC Sète.[4] SO Montpelliérain was one of twenty clubs to have played in the inaugural 1932–33 Division 1 season, the first season of professional top flight football in France.[5] In 1974, SO Montpelliérain merged with AS Paillade to form the current interation of the club, Montpellier Hérault Sport Club.[6]

Continued success & promotions and relegations (1974–2011)

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Many decades later, Montpellier went on to win their second Coupe de France in 1990 in a 2–1 victory over RC Paris. The club went on to win the Coupe de la Ligue in 1992 in a 3–1 victory over Angers. The club ended the decade winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999.[7] Montpellier was relegated to Division 2, as it was known as at the time, at the end of the 1999–2000 season finishing in last place on 31 points. They were promoted the following season, returning to Division 1 for the 2001–02 season. The club was again relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of the 2003–04 season and went on to spend five consecutive seasons in Ligue 2 before being promoted back to Ligue 1 for the 2009–10 season where they finished in 5th place.

Title winners & eventual relegation (2011–present)

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At the end of the 2011–12 season, Montpellier won its first Ligue 1 title, finishing the season with 82 points, three points ahead of runners-up Paris Saint-Germain. On 20 May 2012, in a game marred by stoppages for crowd violence, John Utaka scored a brace to secure a 2–1 victory over Auxerre, winning the Ligue 1 title for Montpellier. Olivier Giroud, who finished the season with 21 goals and 9 assists, was the league's top goal scorer. Despite being tied on goals with Paris Saint-Germain attacker Nenê, he was named the league's top scorer by the Ligue de Football Professionnel due to finishing with more goals in open play.[8][9]

On 26 April 2025, after 16 consecutive seasons in Ligue 1, Montpellier was relegated to Ligue 2.[10]

Players

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Current squad

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As of 23 August 2025[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK France FRA Mathieu Michel
3 DF Morocco MAR Naoufel El Hannach (on loan from Paris Saint-Germain)
5 MF France FRA Everson Junior
6 DF Guadeloupe GLP Christopher Jullien
7 FW Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Nathanaël Mbuku (on loan from Augsburg)
8 FW France FRA Yanis Issoufou
10 MF Morocco MAR Khalil Fayad
11 MF France FRA Téji Savanier
14 FW Nigeria NGA Victor Orakpo (on loan from Nice)
15 DF France FRA Julien Laporte
17 DF France FRA Théo Sainte-Luce
18 FW France FRA Nicolas Pays
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW Guinea-Bissau GNB Alexandre Mendy
21 DF France FRA Lucas Mincarelli
22 MF France FRA Axel Gueguin
23 DF France FRA Yaël Mouanga
24 FW United Arab Emirates UAE Junior Ndiaye
27 DF Switzerland SUI Bećir Omeragić
29 DF Cameroon CMR Enzo Tchato
31 GK Cameroon CMR Simon Ngapandouetnbu
44 MF France FRA Théo Chennahi
50 GK Serbia SRB Viktor Džodić
70 FW France FRA Tanguy Coulibaly

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Mali MLI Modibo Sagnan (to Çaykur Rizespor until 30 June 2026)

Records

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Most appearances

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Rank Player Matches
1 Senegal Souleymane Camara 433
2 France Pascal Baills 429
3 France Bruno Carotti 377
4 Brazil Vitorino Hilton 354
5 Algeria Kader Ferhaoui 349

Top scorers

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Rank Player Goals
1 France Laurent Blanc 84
2 Senegal Souleymane Camara 76
3 France Jean-Marc Valadier 70
4 France Christophe Sanchez 50
5 Algeria Andy Delort 49

Management and staff

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Club officials

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Montpellier HSC headquarters

Senior club staff[12]

Coaching and medical staff[13]

  • Head coach: Zoumana Camara
  • Assistant head coach: Ghislain Printant
  • First-Team coach: Hilton
  • Goalkeeper coach: Robin Gasset
  • Fitness coach: Claude Duvergne
  • Scout: Adrien Bordeau

Coaching history

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Honours

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Domestic

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Europe

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Other

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  • Division d'Honneur (Sud-Est)
    • Champions (3): 1928, 1932, 1976

U19

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "#273 – Montpellier HSC : la Paillade" (in French). Footnickname. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. ^ "50 years of Montpellier HSC!". Ligue 1. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Ligue 1 suffers more crowd trouble as rival fans battle over stolen banner". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Montpellier HSC Club Profile: News, Data & Analysis". Football Team News. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Montpellier HSC Tryouts & Club Guide: History, Stadium, Players, and More!". FCScout.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Everything you need to know about Montpellier HSC". Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  7. ^ "From Nîmes to Montpellier: Crossing the derby divide". www.ligue1.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Olivier Giroud couronné" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 20 May 2012. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  9. ^ "When Montpellier Ruled France: A Look Back at the 2011/12 Ligue 1 Champions". breakingthelines.com. 21 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Montpellier relegated to Ligue 2 after 16-year top-flight stint". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Effectif et staff" [Squad and staff] (in French). Montpellier HSC. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Organigramme" (in French). Montpellier HSC. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  13. ^ "Le Staff" (in French). Montpellier HSC. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  14. ^ "France – Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs on RSSSF". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
  15. ^ The two DH titles won were achieved by the club's reserve team.
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