1997–98 RC Lens season

The 1997-1998 season of the Racing Club de Lens was the 45th season of the club from Pas-de-Calais with first division championship league of France, the seventh consecutive in the elite of French football. This season was remarkable in the history of the club, because it was the first and only title that RC Lens won in French first division. The club also reached, for the third time in its history, the final of Coupe de France.

RC Lens
1997–98 season
ChairmanGervais Martel
ManagerDaniel Leclercq
StadiumStade Bollaert-Delelis
Ligue 11st
Coupe de FranceFinal
Coupe de la LigueSemi-finals
Top goalscorerLeague:
Anto Drobnjak (14)
All:
Anto Drobnjak (15)
Average home league attendance27,788[1]

Daniel Leclercq lead the club in this season, which took place just before the World Cup hosted by France, and for which the Bollaert stadium hosted several games. Leclercq took control of the team early in the season after the previous season's deputy Roger Lemerre. This happened in 1997 to prevent a possible relegation to the second division. Leclercq set up a tactic based on offense and speed. The team relied on players present for several years, such as Jean-Guy Wallemme, a captain of the team, or the goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz. Anto Drobnjak and Stéphane Ziani also played a central role in the team.

Sixth in the mid-season, RC Lens took the championship lead after its victory in their 30th game of the season against league-leader FC Metz. Following that victory, RC Lens remained in first place through to the end of the season. Following this winning streak in the league, RC Lens lost in the final of Coupe de France and in the semifinals of the League Cup against the Paris Saint-Germain.

Transfers

In
Player Transferred from Fee
Jose-Karl Pierre-Fanfan USL Dunkerque Free
Stephane Ziani Bordeaux ?
Anto Drobnjak SC Bastia ?
Romain Pitau B Team Free
Xavier Meride B Team Free
Wilson Oruma AS Nancy End of loan
Wagneau Eloi AS Nancy End of loan

Competitions

French Division 1
Main article: 1997–98 French Division 1

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Lens (C) 34 21 5 8 55 30 +25 68 Qualification to Champions League group stage
2 Metz 34 20 8 6 48 28 +20 68 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
3 Monaco 34 18 5 11 51 33 +18 59 Qualification to UEFA Cup first round
4 Marseille 34 16 9 9 47 27 +20 57
5 Bordeaux 34 15 11 8 49 41 +8 56
Source: Ligue 1
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
34 21 5 8 55 30  +25 68 12 4 1 32 9  +23 9 1 7 23 21  +2

Last updated: 9 May 1998.
Source: Ligue 1

Results by round
Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334
GroundHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA
ResultWLDWDDLWWWLWLDWWLWWLWLWWWLWWWWWWWD
Position18945710855756766655555554442211111
Source: Ligue 1
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Coupe de France
Main article: 1997–98 Coupe de France

References
  1. "Ligue 1 1997/1998 » Attendance » Home matches". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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