Lens
1997–98 season
PresidentGervais Martel
ManagerDaniel Leclercq
StadiumStade Félix-Bollaert
Division 11st
Coupe de FranceFinal
Coupe de la LigueSemi-finals
Top goalscorerLeague:
Anto Drobnjak (14)
All:
Anto Drobnjak (15)
Average home league attendance27,788[1]

The 1997–98 season of the Racing Club de Lens was the 45th season of the club from Pas-de-Calais with first division championship league of France, the seventh consecutive in the elite of French football. This season was remarkable in the history of the club, because it was the first and only title that RC Lens won in French first division. The club also reached, for the third time in its history, the final of Coupe de France.[2]

Daniel Leclercq lead the club in this season, which took place just before the World Cup hosted by France, and for which the Bollaert stadium hosted several games. Leclercq took control of the team early in the season after the previous season's deputy Roger Lemerre. This happened in 1997 to prevent a possible relegation to the second division. Leclercq set up a tactic based on offense and speed. The team relied on players present for several years, such as Jean-Guy Wallemme, a captain of the team, or the goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz. Anto Drobnjak and Stéphane Ziani also played a central role in the team.

Sixth in the mid-season, RC Lens took the championship lead after its victory in their 30th game of the season against league-leader FC Metz. Following that victory, RC Lens remained in first place through to the end of the season. Following this winning streak in the league, RC Lens lost in the final of Coupe de France and in the semifinals of the League Cup against the Paris Saint-Germain.[2]

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[3][2]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK France FRA Guillaume Warmuz
2 DF France FRA Éric Sikora
3 DF France FRA Yoann Lachor
4 DF France FRA Cyrille Magnier
6 MF Madagascar MAD Hervé Arsène
7 MF France FRA Mickaël Debève
8 DF France FRA Jean-Guy Wallemme (captain)
9 FW Federal Republic of Yugoslavia YUG Anto Drobnjak
10 MF France FRA Stéphane Ziani
11 FW France FRA Tony Vairelles
12 FW Haiti HAI Wagneau Eloi
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 MF France FRA Frédéric Déhu
14 MF Nigeria NGA Wilson Oruma
16 GK France FRA Cédric Berthelin
17 MF Cameroon CMR Marc-Vivien Foé
18 FW France FRA Philippe Brunel
19 FW Czech Republic CZE Vladimír Šmicer
22 DF France FRA Xavier Méride
24 DF France FRA José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan
25 MF France FRA Romain Pitau
26 DF France FRA Aboubacar Sankharé
30 GK France FRA Christophe Marichez

Transfers

In

Player Transferred from Fee
Jose-Karl Pierre-Fanfan USL Dunkerque Free
Stephane Ziani Bordeaux ?
Anto Drobnjak SC Bastia ?
Romain Pitau B Team Free
Xavier Meride B Team Free
Wilson Oruma AS Nancy End of loan
Wagneau Eloi AS Nancy End of loan

Competitions

French Division 1

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Lens (C) 34 21 5 8 55 30 +25 68 Qualification to Champions League group stage
2 Metz 34 20 8 6 48 28 +20 68 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
3 Monaco 34 18 5 11 51 33 +18 59 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
4 Marseille 34 16 9 9 47 27 +20 57
5 Bordeaux 34 15 11 8 49 41 +8 56
Source: Ligue 1
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
34 21 5 8 55 30  +25 68 12 4 1 32 9  +23 9 1 7 23 21  +2

Last updated: 9 May 1998.
Source: Ligue 1

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
GroundHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA
ResultWLDWDDLWWWLWLDWWLWWLWLWWWLWWWWWWWD
Position18945710855756766655555554442211111
Source: Ligue 1
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Coupe de France

17 January 1998 Round of 64 Lens 2–1 Le Havre Lens
17:10 CET (UTC+1)
  • Vairelles 60'
  • Déhu 90'
 Report
Stadium: Stade Félix-Bollaert
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Franck Glochon
7 February 1998 Round of 32 Épinal 0–2 (a.e.t.) Lens Épinal
19:30 CET (UTC+1) Report
Stadium: Stade de la Colombière
Attendance: 1,196
Referee: Bruno Derrien
28 February 1998 Round of 16 UFC Argentan 1–3 Lens Caen
20:30 CET (UTC+1)
  • Sauvage 70'
 Report
Stadium: Stade Michel d'Ornano
Attendance: 18,927
Referee: Laurent Duhamel
21 March 1998 Quarter-finals Caen 1–2 Lens Caen
17:00 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Stade Michel d'Ornano
Attendance: 20,648
Referee: Philippe Kalt
11 April 1998 Semi-finals Lens 2–0 Lyon Lens
17:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Report Stadium: Stade Félix-Bollaert
Attendance: 38,269
Referee: Marc Batta
2 May 1998 Final Paris Saint-Germain 2–1 Lens Saint-Denis
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: Stade de France
Attendance: 78,265
Referee: Gilles Veissière

Coupe de la Ligue

5 January 1998 Round of 32 Lens 1–0 Stade Rennais Lens
19:30 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Stade Félix-Bollaert
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Dominique Fraise
31 January 1998 Round of 16 Lens 1–0 (a.e.t.) Chamois Niortais Lens
19:30 CET (UTC+1)
Report Stadium: Stade Félix-Bollaert
Attendance: 21,956
Referee: Gilles Veissière
18 February 1998 Quarter-finals Sochaux 1–4 Lens Montbéliard
16:00 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Stade Auguste Bonal
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Marc Batta
12 March 1998 Semi-finals Paris Saint-Germain 2–1 Lens Paris
20:45 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Attendance: 28,692
Referee: Bernard Saules

References

  1. ↑ "Division 1 1997/1998 » Attendance » Home matches". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lens 1997/1998". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  3. ↑ "RC Lens - Squad 1997/1998". worldfootball.net.
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