FC Differdange 03

Football club infobox
clubname = FC Differdange


fullname = FC Differdange 03
nickname = -
founded = 2003
ground = Stade du Thillenberg,
Differdange
capacity = 7,150
chairman = Erny Muller
manager =
league = Luxembourg National Division
season = 2007-08
position = National Division, 7th
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF

Football Club Differdange 03 is a football club, based in Differdange, in south-western Luxembourg.

History

Differdange 03 was formed in 2003 as an amalgam of two clubs from the city of Differdange: FA Red Boys Differdange and AS Differdange. When the clubs merged, in time for the 2003-04 season, Red Boys was languishing in the bottom half of the Division of Honour, while AS was in mid-table position in the third tier of Luxembourgian football. The new club took Red Boys league position, and was promoted back into the National Division in the 2005-06 season, when the top division was expanded from twelve clubs to fourteen.

Red Boys Differdange had previously been one of the largest and most successful teams in Luxembourgian football, having won the Luxembourg Cup more times than any other team (14). During the 1920s and 1930s, Red Boys competed with Spora Luxembourg for dominance of Luxembourgian football. Red Boys was the more successful of the two, and won thirteen trophies in as many years between 1923 and 1936. Despite the staunch competition (Spora won 8 trophies in the same period), this record has never been matched.

Current squad

Honours

As Red Boys Differdange

*National Division:Winners (6): 1922-23, 1925-26, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1932-33, 1978-79:Runners-up (11): 1910-11, 1926-27, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1957-58, 1973-74, 1975-76, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1983-84, 1984-85

*Luxembourg Cup:Winners (14): 1924-25, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1928-29, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1933-34, 1935-36, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1971-72, 1978-79, 1981-82, 1984-85:Runners-up (11): 1923-24, 1931-32, 1934-35, 1947-48, 1949-50, 1954-55, 1957-58, 1969-70, 1976-77, 1985-86, 1989-90

European Competition

As Red Boys Differdange

Red Boys Differdange qualified for UEFA European competition three times.

*UEFA Champions League:First round (1): 1979-80

*UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:First round (3): 1972-73, 1982-83, 1985-86

*UEFA Cup:First round (6): 1974-75, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1984-85

Red Boys never progressed past the first tie in any European competition. They won one match in Europe, winning their 1979 Champions League first leg 2-1 against Omonia Nicosia before losing 6-1 in Cyprus. In the 1984 UEFA Cup, Red Boys managed a surprise goalless draw with the giants of Ajax Amsterdam, but were crushed 14-0 in the return (which remains a UEFA Cup record).

Overall, Differdange's record in European competition reads:

External links

* [http://www.fcd03.lu/ FC Differdange 03 official website]