When Ligue 2 ended it’s 2020/21 season early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RC Lens sat in second place and received an automatic promotion up to Ligue 1, ending a decade spent languishing in the second division. Since then, they’ve finished no lower than eighth, and even qualified for the 2023/24 Champions League. The architect of this renaissance was Franck Haise.
Last season, manager Pierre Sage repeated Haise’s triumph, and added some more silverware to the Lens cabinet as well. The Sang et Or won their first Coupe de France in four tries, and also defeated PSG in the Trophée des Champions. They finished second behind the Parisian powerhouse, securing Champions League football yet again.
Change AfootÂ
Early this summer, Sage left the club to manage Crystal Palace in the Premier League. He was not the only departure. Eight players have been loaned out, and 16 others released, transferred or sold. This included midfielder Mamadou Sangaré (to Brentford), center-back Facundo Melina (Marseille), and Allan Saint-Maximin (Charlotte FC). Clearly, the club from the northern mining city has had an eventful summer.
Following Sage’s accomplishments will be a difficult task for Dino Toppmöller. The appointment of the German seems a shrewd one from the outside. In his two full seasons as Eintracht Frankfurt manager, Toppmöller finished in the Bundelsiga sixth and improved to third with a young side. Lens have been wedded to a three-man defence for years, fitting perfectly with what we saw of Toppmöller’s Frankfurt.
Of course, Toppmöller got off to a strong start when Lens won the invitational pre-season Como Cup by defeating Villarreal
Transfers
Since falling into financial difficulties in 2014, Lens have become very conscious about how they spend. Their current transfer strategy is to pay modest fees for two distinct profiles. This method has and continues to pay dividends for the Sang et Or. The first profile is the talented player, usually 25 or older, who has lost their way. This season Thorgan Hazard, Michaël Cuisance and Michał Skóraś are three examples to watch. The second is for the high-potential youngster from second-tier clubs or lower-ranked top divisions across the world. Filling this bill are Yacine Titraoui (23) from Charleroi and Franjo Ivanović (22) from Benfica.
As of publication, the club has earned over $51M from their shrewd transfer approach.
Club & City
Lens play at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, the fifth largest ground (38,223) in Ligue 1 this season. The stadium is regularly and consistently sold out. It also comes with the rarity of having the ‘Red Tigers’ ultra group on the side stand rather than behind the goals, making their blood red and gold flags stand out even more. Lens are known for how much of a racket they make, giving them a very strong reputation across Europe, let alone France.
The Hauts-de-France region, where the club is based, consistently ranks amongst the most financially deprived in France. Located in the heart of France’s coal-mining country meant Lens suffered from the events of deindustrialisation. It’s not even classified among the top 10 urban areas within its region, only having a population of 32,000. Despite its size, the Lensois remain fiercely devoted to their club, and their annual contest with northern neighbor Lille (known as the Derby du Nord) is among one of France’s most heated.
