Racing Club de Lens, commonly known as RC Lens, is a professional French football club from the northern former mining town of the same name, with the club being formed in 1906 by students playing the game on the Place Verte.
The club found a permanent home in 1912 at Parc des Glissoires after using several grounds. In 1924, the club adopted their red and gold colours after previously using green and black to represent the fields and coal in the area.
He stayed for eight years before the team won their first regional Championnat d'Artois title.
The triumph led to a place in Division d'Honneur of the Ligue du Nord, playing against bigger local rivals such as Lille OSC and RC Roubaix. In 1932, Lens moved into Stade Félix Bollaert, named in honour of a mining manager who promoted sport in the town with Scotsman Jack Harris as coach.
Players Stefan Dembicki and Spechtl helped ‘Sang et Or’ to the Division 2 title in 1936-37 to win promotion to the top level of French football under coach Jack Galbraith. A sixth-placed league finish in 1945-46 was followed by relegation twelve months later.
Nicolas Hibst was in charge of the team when, in the second division, Lens reached the final of the Coupe de France in 1948, going down 3-2 to Lille at Colombes. Promotion was secured the following season before striker Maryan Wisniewski was signed in 1953. His goals led the team to third place in 1954-55 with support from Erich Habitzl under the tutelage of Anton Marek.
Egon Jonsson banged in the goals as Lens finished as runners-up the following season, a performance that was repeated in 1956-57. The club hit difficult times as the local mines were shut, with most players working in that industry. They regrouped and finished third in 1963-64 with help from top scorer Ahmed Oudjani, with Élie Fruchart in charge of the team.
The mining companies had rescinded their ownership of the club, but the town rallied through mayor André Delelis, who realised its importance to its local populace, as well as purchasing the stadium to secure its future. Star player Georges Lech was signed but couldn’t save the team from relegation in 1967-68.
Arnold Sowinski took over the coach’s role in 1970 after the club had dropped back down to amateur status in regional football. A return to the second tier as members of Group North came in 1970-71, before they were moved to Group A twelve months later. Promotion as Group A champions was secured in 1972-73.
The 1974-75 campaign saw Lens reach another Coupe final, where they went down 2-0 to Saint-Étienne at Parc des Princes. As their opponents completed the double, Lens went on to play in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup the following season. Joachim Marx became the fans' scoring hero as a runners-up spot was secured in 1977-78.
The following season ended in relegation, before Roger Lemerre came in as coach for a season, taking the team straight back up, before the return of Sowinski. Jean Serafin, Gérard Houllier and Joachim Marx all had later spells as head coach
Star players of the day were Didier Sénac, Gaëtan Huard, Teitur Thordarson, Daniel Xuereb, Venancio Ramos, Chérif Oudjani and François Brisson and Philippe Vercruysse. In 1988, the club was bought by local businessman Gervais Martel. His reign got off to an inauspicious start as the team was relegated in his first year.
Coaches came and went in rapid succession before the appointment of Arnaud Dos Santos in 1990. The team went back up from Division 2 in 1990-91 before Patrice Bergues took over as coach in 1992. Roger Boli topped the league scoring charts in 1993-94 before fellow Ivorian Joël Tiéhi took over the role.
Slavoljub Muslin and a returning Lemerre had spells in charge of the team before the arrival of Daniel Leclercq in 1997. The goals of Anto Drobnjak and Stéphane Ziani helped Lens become champions of France in 1997-98. Former fans' favourite Brisson took over as coach in 1999 after Leclercq’s side had won the Coupe de Ligue.
He lasted just a year, as did his replacement, Rolland Courbis. Stability was restored with the arrival of Joël Muller in 2001. The goals of Daniel Moreira and El Hadji Diouf helped Lens to a runners-up league finish in 2001-02 before Antoine Sibierski weighed in the following season.
John Utaka was the scoring hero in 2004-05, in a season in which Francis Gillot became head coach. Daniel Cousin, Aruna Dindane and Seydou Keita all provided the goals before Lens were relegated in 2007-08. French scoring legend Jean-Pierre Papin had a short spell as coach before former player Jean-Guy Wallemme was recruited from Paris FC.
Promotion to Ligue 1 was achieved as Lens won the second-tier title in 2008-09 before László Bölöni took on team management in January 2011. However, the Romanian couldn’t keep the side away from relegation as he was replaced within six months by Jean-Louis Garcia. Éric Sikora arrived as coach at the renamed Stade Bollaert-Delelis in 2012.
Antoine Kombouaré took over in June 2013. The goals of Yoann Touzghar led the side to promotion the following season, though the club were under investigation. Stade de la Licorne in Amiens and Stade de France were used for home games in 2014-15 as Stade Bollaert-Delelis was closed for renovation ahead of Euro 2016.
It was ruled in January 2015 that Lens' promotion in 2013-14 was gained through a breach of the financial rules. The team finished bottom of the table but would have been relegated regardless of where they’d finished. Alain Casanova arrived as coach in June 2016, with his side just missing out on promotion as Cristian López led the scoring charts.
Lens Ligue 1 title winner and one-club man Éric Sikora became head coach in August 2017, lasting a season before being replaced by Philippe Montanier. Yannick Gomis scored the goals in 2018-19 as Lens reached the promotion play-offs. Paris FC and Troyes were overcome, but the final was lost to Dijon as Lens were to another season in Ligue 2.
Gaëtan Robail scored the goals in 2019-20 that proved enough to secure the runners-up place and a return to Ligue 1, after Franck Haise had been appointed as head coach, where the side consolidated their top-tier position with Arnaud Kalimuendo top scoring. Lens finished runners-up in 2022-23 as Loïs Openda scored the goals.
Will Still was given the job of head coach in June 2024, lasting just less than a year when he headed to Southampton, to be replaced by Pierre Sage.
Racing Club de Lens will play in Ligue 1 in the 2025-26 season.
My visit
RC Lens 0 Grenoble Foot 38 0 (Monday 10th February 2020) Ligue 2 (att: 23,022)
My visit
RC Lens 0 Grenoble Foot 38 0 (Monday 10th February 2020) Ligue 2 (att: 23,022)
My long weekend, which had seen me visit Marseilles, Milan, Genoa and Turin now headed back towards the UK as I boarded a flight from Turin to Charleroi so I could then continue to Lens for the live 9pm TV match. We set off later than scheduled from northern Italy, at which point I nodded off on the flight, which had only cost me €8.
I was slightly shocked on landing and checking my phone to find that we’d lost even more time, and I would struggle for the 3pm coach to Lille. I ran as fast as I could down the corridors, into a lift, and fortunately found myself near the coach park. I was familiar with its set-up thanks to a previous visit a couple of months previously.
I managed to cut across the tarmac to find my vehicle. As it transpired, common sense was used as the departure was delayed, to allow any remaining passengers a chance to make it. That explained why the online booking asked for details of where you were coming from.
I’d been made aware of a storm that had decimated the sporting fixtures across the UK over the weekend, so I was relieved to see the Lens Twitter account confirmed that the match was definitely on. The landscape showed signs of taking a similar battering as we travelled south, as the windows also took a sporadic soaking.
I was dropped off at Lille Europe station, from where it was a ten-minute walk to Lille-Flandres.
I grabbed some food at McDonald's only to come out and see no mention of my train on the departure boards. I went right to the far end only for an assistant to shrug his shoulders and say “non”.
It transpired that it was running ten minutes late. It was a relief to get settled with a seat and relax for the forty-minute journey. My first impression of Lens was that it reminded me of a small northern town in the UK. I wasn’t to be far away. My room for the night was booked at Le Paris Brest, a North African restaurant with accommodation above.
I was plonked on the top floor without a lift. It’s fair to say that it wasn’t the most salubrious of places. I had to laugh at entering the basic room to find that all the bedding covers were of the sights of London and the underground. If it had been an arranged wind-up from friends, it couldn’t have been any better. At least it was warm, as I enjoyed a brief siesta.
The wind was howling as I walked along Rue Jean Letienne by the side of the railway with the floodlights of Stade Bollaert-Delelis lighting up the sky in the distance. Fans were crammed into a couple of bars, but I headed on after reading an online tip.
La Mi-Temps was a clean and tidy brasserie bar with excellently priced drinks. The gent behind the bar was friendly and could see I was struggling with the native tongue. After a couple of Stella’s, which tasted far nicer than those I'd previously tried in the UK, I headed across to the stadium.
My ticket was for the far end in the Tribune Trannin, named after former goalkeeper Henri Trannin. A few of the concessions were open, but I got a huge portion of a hot dog and chips easily enough. They seemed to serve chips with everything! I’d already had a wander around the separate sections of the stand, taking photos. Apparently, I wasn’t allowed in the very top section.
I apologised as best as I could to the alarmed steward who was sent up to fish me out. My block was next to the thirty or so away fans. I had a huge choice of seats to pick from. The official attendance seemed to indicate that they added in all season tickets regardless of whether they were in attendance.
The panelling on the side of the stand was rattling in the wind. I wasn’t the only one keeping an anxious eye on it as the teams came out. My ticket had been bought and printed online in advance and cost €18. The view was excellent in a top-class stadium.
Both ends had a lower and then a large upper tier. Down the left side, Tribune Xercès Louis, named after a former player, had a large terrace backed by a seated tier. Tribune Lepagnot, opposite named after a former secretary and had three tiers of seating. The far end was named in honour of former fans group president, Élie Delacourt.
Another nice touch in the way of naming was that the access road behind Tribune Xercès Louis was named Allée Marc-Vivien Foe in honour of the deceased Cameroon midfielder who played for the club for five years in the 1990s.
Lens came into the game in second spot, while the visitors from the south east were in mid-table. It would be very difficult to describe anything but a dull game with few chances ruined by the windy conditions which swirled around the arena. Arsène Elogo of Grenoble went on a fine run to set up Jessy Benet, who fired narrowly wide with keeper Jean-Louis Leca well beaten in the opening exchanges.
Lens came close at the other end when a corner ended at the feet of Guillaume Gillet, who shot just past the post. Elogo brought the best out of Leca with a fine low shot and save before Corentin Jean tried to put his Lens strike partner Gaëtan Robail through.
The pass would normally have been pinpoint, but the wind got hold of it and allowed keeper Brice Maubleu to snuff out the chance. Clément Michelin saw his cross parried away by Maubleau just after the restart as the home support continued with their excellent vocal support.
I was messaged throughout by an old cricket pal, Danny Cooper, in Scarborough. The match was the final leg of his betting accumulator, and he couldn’t get updated scores, so I was keeping him up to date. I thought I was about to send him bad news when a superb ball sent visiting striking substitute Willy Semedo through on goal.
Leca did well to deny him as he slightly overran the ball. That was about as good as it got. The crowd drifted away, disappointed, while I managed to sneak in down the side for photos. I hadn’t realised just how cold it was out of the shelter as I began the walk into town, getting slightly lost.
My detour did have its compensations as I came across the beautiful Église Catholique Saint-Léger à Lens church along Place Jean Jaurès, which appeared to be Lens' main thoroughfare.
I probably should have stayed put. However, I was keen to try out Pub Mac Ewans, a couple of doors up. Again, it offered a fantastic range of beers but looked to be closing soon. I could have returned to the first place, but I was tired. It had been a long day by train, bus and plane. Even my hotel room seemed appealing, so I must have been tired.
The following morning, I headed to Lille, where I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful sights on offer, including the old town. I had a good walk, taking photos before settling into the 3 Brasseurs microbrewery that was just opening for business.
It was a perfect end to the weekend as I sampled four of the different options while served by a most pleasant young mademoiselle. Lille had certainly been elevated in my mind as a possible revisit. Especially, as I’d only recently found out that I was able to get discount Eurostar fares through my job.
This was my route of return back to St Pancras. The fare cost me £35 but cut out the hassle of airports and transfers at either end. The journey only took ninety minutes. Another forty minutes later, I was back at the flat with some shopping, ready to rest before the night shift. The poor match had been forgotten. It was just a part of a magnificent adventure.
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