The end-of-year break is traditionally an opportunity to take a look back. For the occasion, we decided to take out the – very – telescope to go back in time. Ninety-two years ago, exactly. In 1932, the year from which OPTA compiled the stats of the 1re French division.
Over all these years, a “perpetual” ranking of the French first division has been established, dominated by a “club of five” unsurprisingly, within which OM (4,262 pts) is ahead of Monaco (3,925), Bordeaux (3,918), Saint-Etienne (3,865) and Lyon (3,731). The ASNL, for its part, is in 24th place, with 1,426 pts. Nancy could even have knocked on the doors of the top 15 if the 666 points collected before 1967, by the late FC Nancy, had not been counted separately. In detail, out of the 1,132 matches (or 30 seasons) that it played in D1 after 1967, the ASNL won 374, for 304 draws and 454 defeats.
FC Metz 14th
FC Metz, for its part, is in 14th place in this ranking, with 2,859 pts, but having played twice as many matches as ASNL (2,294 exactly, or 64 seasons).
Among the 76 teams having played in the elite during their history, it is FC Hyères which brings up the rear of this historic ranking, with 16 small points. The Varois, who now play in national 2, had collected them during the 1932-33 season.
