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In France’s Côtes-d’ Armor lies a shimmering gem of a club: En Avant Guingamp. Situated in a town that has a population comparable to small British settlements such as Garstang of Lancashire, Cleator Moor of Cumbria or Girvan of South Ayrshire.
Amazingly, Guingamp have not only produced a very high calibre of players but have competed in France’s top league and in Europe.
Founded in 1912, the team play in ferocious red and black at the Stade de Roudourou with a capacity of 19,033, almost triple the population of the town. Les Costarmoricains attract fans from all around the North of Brittany and regularly average 14,000, impressive for a club of their stature.
For a team that only became professional in 1984, Les Rouge et Noir have an esteemed history in the French game. The epitome of a ‘yo-yo club’, Guingamp have bounced between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 with three seasons in the Championnat National.
Guingamp are very much a club in the heart of the local community, owned by 145 local entrepreneurs and over 15,000 fans have shares in the club in a scheme called “Kalon” which means heart in Breton.
Guingamp gained their first promotion to France’s most elite league in 1995 and a year later were Champions of Europe… or sort of. In 1996 L’EAG won the now-defunct, UEFA Intertoto Cup, a summer competition equivalent to what’s now the Europa League qualifying stages.
This saw the club progress to the first round of the UEFA Cup only to be dismissed by the eventual finalists, Inter Milan, four goals to one on aggregate.
The success continued under manager Francis Smerecki, reaching the final of the Coupe de France in 1997 only to succumb to a penalty shootout loss to OGC Nice. Defender, Nicolas Laspalles had equalised in the 78th minute after Youssef Salimi had put Nice ahead in the first half. However, misses from Stéphane Carnot and Claude Michel meant that the trophy slipped from the Breton side’s grasp.
1997-1998 was a poor season for Les Rouge et Noir culminating in relegation from Ligue 1. Influential manager, Francis Smerecki would then leave the club in the February of 1999 to manage Le Havre.
It took Guingamp two years to bounce back to Ligue 1, eventually achieving the feat in 2000. Despite some good finishes including tenth in their first season back and seventh in the 2003/2004 season, the team slipped to another relegation in 2005.
The relegation signalled a period where very poor domestic form was matched by an exhilarating cup run for Les Costarmoricains. In 2009 Guingamp won the Coupe de France for the first time in their history, defying the odds to become the first Ligue 2 side to do so.
Powered by the prolific Brazilian striker, Eduardo, who topped the scoring charts with seven goals, Guingamp triumphed over Brittany Rivals Rennes. It was the Brazilian who scored two late goals to win it for the underdogs, a sweet victory in arguably, the most important Derby Breton.
Unfortunately, in the 2009/10 season, the club slipped to an embarrassing relegation to the Championnat National. Due to the club winning the Coupe de France, they entered the play-off round of the Europa League qualifying stages, but that was also an anti-climax being thrashed 8-2 on aggregate to Hamburg.
Amazingly, the drop to the third tier of French football was the kickstart of a promotion drive which ended up with the club being back in the Ligue 1 after nine seasons away. Guingamp bounced back at the first attempt to Ligue 2 and then it took only two seasons to gain another promotion.
Jocelyn Gourvennec was key in the rise through the leagues, introducing players such as Gianneli Imbula and Anthony Knockaert into the first team. The club was promoted to Ligue 1 thanks to 23 goals from Mustapha Yatabaré and seven assists from playmaker, Thibault Giresse.
Another cup run occurred in the following season with Les Rouge et Noir meeting Rennes yet again in the finale. There would be a similar result in the Derby Breton, with Guingamp prevailing two goals to nil over their Brittany rivals, thanks to goals from Martins Pereria and Yatabaré.
Guingamp bravely cast aside Monaco in the semi-final who would go on to push Paris Saint-Germain all the way in the league. The Stade de Roudourou was rocking on a vintage knockout cup night.
With the domestic cup success, Guingamp entered the group stages of the Europa League and progressed, coming second in group K. Signs of progress were very clear with the navigation of a strong group containing Fiorentina, PAOK and Dinamo Minsk.
Sadly, Guingamp’s European adventure went no further being outplayed by Everton both home and away, but it was encouraging and gave the team something to build on.
Guingamp has long been a springboard for young players to thrive off. Two of Guingamp’s most successful alumni have been Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba. They were both signed from lower league teams in 2000 and shone, gaining great exposure and helping Guingamp gain their highest ever finish in Ligue 1 when they finished seventh.
Drogba and Malouda both ended up at Chelsea and were key in their success, helping the Blues win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League during their spell at the club. Drogba’s son, Isaac, had a short spell at Guingamp before becoming a free agent in 2020.
Player development continued its rich vein in the 2010s with the emergence of Anthony Knockaert and Giannelli Imbula. Both players had stellar careers across Europe; Knockaert especially has become one of the best players to ever grace the Championship.
Guingamp’s fabled reputation continues today with talents such as Louis Carnot (Son of Stéphane), Sikou Niakaté and Matthais Phaeton attracting interests from some top teams in Europe. These players will continue to provide vital finances for the club in the future.
After six years and coming runners up in the Coupe de la Ligue final, they were relegated from Ligue 1. The club are now in their second season and do not look like they will be striving for promotion after a disappointing season so far.
En Avant Guingamp are a club that has miraculously defied the odds to be solid competitors in not only France’s elite league but also in the cup competition and Europe. There should be no chance that a tiny French town can compete as they have but they have proved that football success is not all about glamour crowds and money, a simply inspiring football team.
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