First decade of glory : The War Machine (1944–1955) in 1946 Before the
Second World War, the city of Lille had two clubs at the top level;
Olympique Lillois and
SC Fives. Olympique Lillois were crowned domestic champions in
1932–33, the first in the history of the championship that was created in 1932, and were runners-up in
1935–36. They also earned a
USFSA Football Championship title in
1914, the French football top division before the creation of the French Division 1, and went to the
Coupe de France final in
1939. Their neighbours, SC Fives, ranked second in
1933–34. They also went to the Coupe de France final, being defeated by
Girondins AS Port in
1941. Weakened by the war, the two clubs decided to merge in the autumn of 1944, on 23 September, giving birth to Stade Lillois, renamed Lille Olympique Sporting Club a few weeks later. On 25 November 1944, the club is officially registered under its new name. For its first season, the newborn club reached the
1945 Coupe de France final, with a squad composed of the best players of both merging teams, who are mostly natives of the
Nord department. On 31 May 1953, they got back to winning and earned their fourth Coupe de France trophy in a 2–1
final win against
FC Nancy, before 60,000 spectators. The club then won its second domestic title in
1953–54, having only conceded 22 goals within 34 games. After this season, Lille is praised for its defensive proficiency and acquired a reputation as a rock-solid defense. Within its first decade of existence, the club gathered the vast majority of its major trophies, winning two league titles and reaching the second place for four consecutive seasons. Lille, known as the best French club in the post-war period, accumulated five Coupe de France wins in seven finals, including five successive finals and winning the trophy three times in a row, one of the best performances in the history of the tournament.
Decline and several spells in lower levels (1955–1978) , one of the best Lille players in the late 1950s The
1955–56 season happened to be highly complicated. The club suffered from internal conflicts, was contested and certain players refused to play some matches. In the field, the Northmen were way too irregular and crumbly in defense, and finished in 16th place. At the lower level, Lille missed out on promotion in 1973 by one point but were crowned Division 2 champions the following year. After finishing twice in 13th place, during the
1974–75 and
1975–76 seasons, the club was once again relegated in 1977. The new financial sustainability allows the club's sporting stabilization in the elite division. LOSC then achieved some success stories in the decade, reaching the Coupe de France semi-finals in 1983 and 1985. In the
2011–12 and
2012–13 Ligue 1 seasons, Lille confirmed its place belong top French football teams, finishing successively at the second and sixth places and qualifying for the
2012–13 Champions League. In 2013, Garcia left to join
Roma, while former
Montpellier coach
René Girard was appointed as new manager. Under Girard, Lille finished at the third place in
2013–14, behind
Zlatan Ibrahimović's Paris Saint-Germain and
James Rodríguez's
Monaco. After two years in charge of the club and a deceiving eight seed at the end of the
2014–15 Ligue 1 season, Girard left the club by mutual consent. In May 2015, the
Ivory Coast national team head coach
Hervé Renard was appointed as the new manager. On 11 November 2015, Renard was terminated as manager and was replaced by
Frederic Antonetti. On 23 November 2016, a year after being appointed, Lille terminated Antonetti's contract with the club lying second last in the table.
Campos and Galtier era: sustained success (2017–2021) In early 2017, Lille appointed
Luís Campos as
sporting director and head of recruitment. A short time afterwards, the club announced the arrival of Argentine famous manager
Marcelo Bielsa. In November 2017, Bielsa was suspended by Lille following an unauthorized trip to
Chile with the club lying second from bottom on the table again and only managing 3 wins from the first 14 games of the season. On 23 December 2017, Bielsa was terminated by Lille and replaced with former Saint-Etienne manager
Christophe Galtier. In a difficult
2017–18 season, Lille managed to avoid relegation to Ligue 2 by defeating
Toulouse 3–2 in the second last game of the campaign. before Lille's 5–1 win over
Paris Saint-Germain on 14 April 2019 Lille's following season is completely different. After the arrivals of veterans
José Fonte and
Loïc Rémy, Turkish right-back
Zeki Çelik and forwards
Jonathan Bamba,
Jonathan Ikoné and
Rafael Leão, the team proceeded to reel off a string of victories, losing only five games in the first part of the
2018–19 Ligue 1 season. On 14 April 2019, before a record attendance of 49,712 spectators, they defeated Paris Saint-Germain in a historic and storming 5–1 home win with goals from
Nicolas Pépé, Jonathan Bamba,
Gabriel and team captain José Fonte. At the end of the season, Lille secured the second place to qualify for the
2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage; they returned to the competition after a seven-year absence. On 1 August 2019, club's season-top scorer Nicolas Pépé is sold to Premier League side
Arsenal in a club-record fee of €80 million (£72 million). Lille announced the recruitment of
Victor Osimhen and
Tiago Djaló on the same day, after the signings of
Timothy Weah,
Reinildo Mandava and
Benjamin André a few weeks earlier. The club then announced the arrivals of
Yusuf Yazıcı and
Renato Sanches to strengthen the midfield. In early March 2020, the Northmen were in 4th place with 49 points after 28 rounds. However, the
Ligue 1 season ended abruptly as the
LFP first suspended domestic leagues indefinitely following the outbreak of
COVID-19 in France on 13 March, and then definitely cancelled French football competitions a month and a half later. In the 2020 summer transfer window, Lille chose to sign young talents
Sven Botman and
Jonathan David as well as veteran
Burak Yılmaz. At the end of the
2020–21 season first half, Lille had only lost two games and was well installed in the top league rankings, having defeated
Derby du Nord rivals
Lens in a 4–0 home win on 18 October 2020. The Mastiffs started the second part of the season with a six-game winning streak and lost only once until the end. On 3 April 2021, Lille won at Paris with a Jonathan David goal and took over sole possession of first place in the league. Three weeks later, Lille came back from two goals down to beat
Lyon at
Groupama Stadium as Burak Yılmaz scored twice including a 27-yard free kick in a breathtaking 3–2 away win. Lille then defeated local rivals once again, scoring three goals at Lens and prevailing in the season with an aggregate score of 7–0. On 23 May, Lille sealed the Ligue 1 title with a 2–1 victory at
Angers after a dramatic Ligue 1 final round and won its fourth Ligue 1 title under the guidance of manager Christophe Galtier. At the end of the season, goalkeeper
Mike Maignan finished the season with 21 clean sheets, one short of the league season all-time record. Competing also in the
2020–21 UEFA Europa League, they defeated AC Milan at San Siro, on 5 November 2020, in a big 3–0 away win with a hat-trick from Yusuf Yazıcı, but lost to
Ajax in
round of 32.
Further stages and European maturity (2021–present) In the
2021–22 season, Lille won its first
Trophée des Champions, defeating Paris Saint-Germain with a
Xeka goal at
Bloomfield Stadium in
Tel Aviv, Israel on 1 August 2021. The Northmen then reached
UEFA Champions League round of 16 and are defeated by
Chelsea, after qualifying from the group stage against
Salzburg,
Sevilla and
Wolfsburg. According to an analysis report published at the end of the
Ligue 1 season, Lille is the fourth best French club in Ligue 1, in the 21st century, behind Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon and Marseille. On 29 June 2022, the club appointed
Paulo Fonseca as new head coach of the first-team. The
2022–23 season started very well for the Northmen as they defeated
Auxerre, on 7 August, in a 4–1 home win. On 9 October, they defeated close rivals Lens in a 1–0 home win. Being one of the best offensive teams in the league, Fonseca's Lille is praised for its stylish, slick passing game and its attacking system. Since the beginning of the season, Lille have played in an open, offensive
4–2–3–1 formation with Benjamin André,
André Gomes or
Angel Gomes playing as
central midfielders behind playmaker
Rémy Cabella and lone striker Jonathan David. Following 4–3 home win over Monaco on 23 October, only Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain have had more possession in France in the
2022–23 Ligue 1 season. ==Identity and colours==