AC Ajaccio

For the Ligue 1 side, see Gazélec Ajaccio.

AC Ajaccio

Full name	Athletic Club Ajaccien
Nickname(s)	L'ours (The Bear)
Founded	1910 (1910)
Ground	Stade François Coty, Ajaccio
Ground Capacity	10,000
Chairman	Léon Luciani
Manager	Olivier Pantaloni
League	Ligue 2
2014–15	Ligue 2, 17th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Athletic Club Ajaccio (French pronunciation: ​[aʒaksjo]; commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio or simply Ajaccio) is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and currently plays in Ligue 2. The club president is Léon Luciani and the first-team is currently coached by manager Olivier Pantaloni following the sacking of Christian Bracconi in October 2014. Ajaccio play their home matches at the Stade François Coty and are rivals with fellow Corsican club SC Bastia, with whom they contest the Corsica derby (Derby Corse).

Historical information

Depending on sources, it is agreed that Ajaccio began playing in 1909–10. Their adopted colours are red and white stripes. Though they used to play in what was previously utilised as a sand dump, they decided to move to another, cleaner, safer stadium upon the insistence of Jean Lluis, father-in-law of club president Louis Baretti. The new stadium that was chosen held 5,000 spectators and was in use until 1969.

AC Ajaccio were elected Corsican champions on eight occasions, in 1920, 1921, 1934, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1955 and 1964, and are one of three big "island" teams, along with Gazélec Ajaccio and SC Bastia, the competition between the three being kept no secret. Spectators during the 1946 Corsican Cup final, held between A.C.A. and Sporting Bastia were handed umbrellas to shield themselves from the violence. Upon refusal of a penalty which would have been awarded to ACA, violence erupted between the fans, who used umbrellas both to cause and shield themselves from violence. This final was abandoned and replayed much later.

A.C.A. became a professional team in 1965 thanks to the ambitious efforts of the club's leaders. They initially adopted the symbol of the polar bear, but this has since been dropped in favour of a more stylised logo that uses a part of the Corsican flag.

In 1967, the team became the first Corsican clubto play in the France's top division. They were most recently in Ligue 1 in the 2013–14 season, when they were relegated after finishing in last place, following a spell of three seasons in the top flight.

Players

Current squad

As of 1 September 2015

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Riffi Mandanda 3 DF Paul Babiloni 4 DF Joris Sainati 5 DF Zakaria Diallo 6 DF Pape Abou Cissé 7 MF Claude Gonçalves 9 FW Andrei Panyukov (on loan from Atlantas) 10 MF Hugo Vidémont 11 FW Mouaad Madri 12 DF Zié Diabaté 14 FW Julien Toudic

No. Position Player 15 MF Rayan Frikeche 16 GK Anthony Scribe 17 MF Riad Nouri 18 MF Johan Cavalli (captain) 19 DF Laurent Abergel 20 DF Anthony Lippini 22 MF Christophe Vincent 23 FW Marvin Diop 25 MF Zana Allée 26 MF Hugo Aine 30 GK François-Joseph Sollacaro

Notable past players

For a complete list of AC Ajaccio players, see Category:AC Ajaccio players.

Managers

3

Honours

• Division 2 (Second Division)
  • Champions (2): 1966–67, 2001–02
• Championnat National (Third Division)
  • Champions (1): 1997–98
• Ligue de Corse (Corsican League)
  • Champions (9): 1920, 1921, 1934, 1939, 1948, 1950, 1955, 1964, 1994

External links

• Official website (Corsican)
• Soccerway Profile