Going up six promoted sides
The wild celebrations that surrounded Amiens’ 96th-minute promotionwinning goal on a crazy last day of Ligue 2 overshadowed a far more significant elevation: the return of Strasbourg, one of the great names of French football, to the top flight.
The top six teams in the second tier were in contention going into the final round of matches, and Emmanuel Bourgaud’s winner at Reims made the headlines as Amiens edged out Troyes to secure a first-ever season in Ligue 1.
However, Strasbourg sealed the Ligue 2 title with a 2-1 win at home to Bourg-en-Bresse. The victory was, however, all the more remarkable because it meant a fourth promotion in six years for the Alsatian club, who return to the top flight of French football for the first time since 2008, having entered liquidation in 2011 and been relegated to the fifth tier.
It took just two seasons to get up to the third-tier Championnat National, where they spent a further three years.
It was the appointment in 2014 of Jacky Dugueperoux as coach for a third time that saw the club return to the professional ranks. Captain of the 1979 title-winning side, he led them back into Ligue 2 last year before handing over the reins to former international Thierry Laurey that summer.
Home form was key to their success this term as Laurey’s side won 11 of their last 12 fixtures at the Stade de la Meinau, scoring 30 goals in a run stretching back to November as they secured back-to-back promotions.