Lens were in Ligue 2 three years ago. Now they’re in the Champions League
As he buried his first penalty of the season – for his 20th goal overall – there was only one way for Lens striker Loïs Openda to celebrate. The Belgian striker had just equalled Roger Boli’s record goal tally over a single campaign for the club and proceeded to mimic the Franco-Ivorian striker’s iconic aeroplane celebration.
The goal – the third in a 3-0 victory over already relegated Ajaccio – secured the team’s spot in next season’s Champions League. The anthem for that competition provided the background music to the celebrations at the final whistle as the Ligue 1 runners-up revelled in their most successful campaign in 25 years. Lens have become one of the very few underdogs to upset French football’s established hierarchy of European qualifiers over the past few decades.
Openda’s celebration is no novelty for Lens. Callbacks to the team’s past are a hallmark of every home match, and every new signing is instantly immersed in the local fervour and encouraged to take part. From the pre-match anthems to the kit designs, reminders of the area’s mining past are ubiquitous. One of many post-industrial towns in an area with an overall population of one million, Lens welcomes a concentrate of regional pride that bursts out of the stands on matchdays.
The fact that the club wears that heritage so prominently on its sleeve lends itself to the obvious metaphor – Lens have climbed out of the bottom of the pit after two decades of obscurity. Now, their ambition will be to start scaling the proverbial terrils – the distinctive spoil tips that define the northern town’s surrounding landscape – of European football that stand before them next season.
On several occasions, that mine threatened to collapse into itself – notably during the opaque ownership of Azerbaijani businessman Hafiz Mammadov. On taking up the club presidency in 2019, back when the club was still in Ligue 2, Franco-Armenian businessman Joseph Oughourlian had spoken of his “dream” of bringing European football back to the Stade Bollaert – four years later, that ambition is a reality.
Lens’ return to Europe is well deserved. They have won 10 of their last 11 games, boast the best defence in Ligue 1 and have only lost once at home all season. After two seasons of agonisingly near misses – consecutive seventh-placed finishes – the 1998 title winners, who were in the second tier just three years ago, have come a long way. The club’s success has been anything but an accident.
Lens players enjoy their 3-0 win over Ajaccio. Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters
Their astute squad-building has stood in stark contrast to the scattergun transfer market approach of title rivals PSG. When captain Séko Fofana’s midfield partner Cheick Doucouré left for Crystal Palace last summer, the club signed Salis Abdul Samed from Clermont.
The midfielder, who is now a Ghana international, has since emerged as one of the league’s finest operators, and is crucial to the team’s all-action approach and quick transitions. Joining Lens has seen Abdul Samed continue his development into a midfielder who can blend defensive resolve and attacking drive with ease. “I’m more confident now,” he says. “I really feel free in the way I play here.”
On the touchline, Franck Haise enjoys a remit that is unmatched in French football – under the title of general manager, his role resembles that of a Premier League manager, more so than the head coach position his Ligue 1 colleagues occupy. This all-encompassing position was only made official when he signed a contract renewal earlier this season, but it’s been clear for a while now that his influence permeates across the club.
The entire team, and all 38,000 of the fans in the Stade Bollaert, have bought into his incisive and dynamic style of play. Although he has remained slightly evasive with regard to his future, it would be hard to imagine Lens taking to the pitch for their first Champions League game after 20 years away without Haise in the dugout.
Youssouf Fofana: pizza delivery boy to the World Cup … and Premier League?
Read more
Given their taste for the big games this season – they have convincingly beaten PSG, Marseille and Monaco on their way to second place – they will not be an easy opponent on the continental stage, either. Their upcoming Champions League campaign – likely the first of many over the next few seasons – will be the chance to take the leading institution of one of France’s forgotten regions to new heights.
The football team’s return to prominence also coincides with efforts to revitalise the town as a whole. An annex of the Louvre museum was opened near the stadium 10 years ago (a perfect pre-match activity for any midweek European visitors next season), in an attempt to combat an economic downturn and unemployment rates that are well above the national average. These long-term issues persist, but the town’s situation is taking a turn for the better – both on and off the pitch.
The area’s mines are long closed and Lens supporters do not have shovels to follow in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers anymore. Instead, the town now makes its mark on the pitch – the ball resting at their team’s feet, ready to nick and slice through rivals at will. They’ll dig with it.
Quick Guide
Ligue 1 results
Show









Talking points
Strasbourg and PSG fans were happy with their draw on Saturday. Photograph: Teresa Suárez/EPA
There were celebrations all round at the Stade de la Meinau, as a 1-1 draw sealed both PSG’s record-breaking 11th league title and Strasbourg’s top-flight status for next season. Amid a tumultuous spring on and off the pitch, the visitors managed to defend their Ligue 1 crown – a success that seemed like a formality when they went through the first half of the season unbeaten. With Christophe Galtier’s future uncertain and Lionel Messi’s contract expiring, another summer rebuild beckons. Can they finally get it right and convince Kylian Mbappé to stay for the long haul?
Marseille, who not too long ago looked on track for a record points haul and a title challenge, have seen their season completely derailed. A home loss to Brest spoiled the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the team’s Champions League title and cast further doubt on the future of manager Igor Tudor. The Croatian’s cut-throat management style has alienated several senior players and reports of a return to Juventus to replace Massimiliano Allegri appear to be gaining in credibility.
Somewhat surprisingly, given there are four relegation spots this season, only two teams will be playing for their safety on the final day. Auxerre lead Nantes by two points in the table but they welcome Lens, whereas Nantes are up against bottom-of-the-table Angers. Having replaced Antoine Kombouaré last month, Nantes’ interim manager Pierre Aristouy has had trouble breathing life into a demotivated squad that has fallen from the highs of Europa League football in the space of a couple of months. “I feel like some players are in denial”, he says. There will be no looking away next Saturday, though.
Pos Team P GD Pts
1 PSG 37 50 85
2 Lens 37 37 81
3 Marseille 37 28 73
4 Lille 37 21 66
5 Rennes 37 29 65
6 Monaco 37 13 65
7 Lyon 37 20 62
8 Clermont Foot 37 -5 56
9 Nice 37 9 55
10 Lorient 37 -2 52
11 Reims 37 2 51
12 Montpellier 37 1 47
13 Toulouse 37 -7 45
14 Brest 37 -9 44
15 Strasbourg 37 -7 40
16 Auxerre 37 -26 35
17 Nantes 37 -19 33
18 Troyes 37 -36 23
19 AC Ajaccio 37 -52 23
20 Angers 37 -47 18
This is an article from Get French Football News
Follow Raphaël Jucobin and GFFN on Twitter