About

Football Club de Rouen 1899 (French pronunciation: ​; commonly referred to as simply Rouen) is a French association football club based in Rouen. The club was formed in 1899 and currently plays in Championnat National 2, the fourth level of French football. Rouen played its home matches at the Stade Robert Diochon; named after Robert Diochon, a historic player who was influential during the club's infancy. The team is managed by former football player Éric Garcin and captained by defender Pierre Vignaud. Rouen is known as Les Diables Rouges (The Red Devils) and have been since 1903. Rouen's football division was founded in 1899, but the club itself was founded in 1896 as a rugby club. The club achieved professional status in 1933 and have spent 19 seasons in the first division of French football and 36 in the second division. Rouen's highest honour to date was winning the second division in 1936. In 1940 and 1945, the club won the league championship of France, however, due to the league being run during World War II and not under French Football Federation authority, the titles are unofficial. Rouen have also reached European level, competing in the 1969–70 edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, where the team was defeated by the eventual champions Arsenal 1–0 on aggregate in the third round. In addition to Robert Diochon, Rouen have produced a host of players who contributed to the France national team during the team's early years. One of the more notable players were Edmond Delfour and Jean Nicolas. Delfour made 41 appearances with the national team from 1929–1938 and participated in three FIFA World Cups 1930, 1934 and 1938. He is one of five players to have appeared in all three of the pre-war World Cups. Delfour later went on to manage Rouen from 1940–1945 during the unofficial wartime championships. Nicolas spent his entire career with Rouen and appeared in 25 matches scoring 21 goals with the national team from 1933–1938. In the present day, Nicolas' goal output with the team ranks for tenth all-time and his average places him in a tie for third.