Lille OSC All-Team Greatest Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Winning the Double in the 2010-2011 season

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Olympique de Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain
Olympique Lyonnais, AS Monaco, Nantes
Saint-Étienne, Girondins de Bordeaux.
South France
Players born in the Overeseas Department and former French Colonies
French Black Players 
French Algerian
French Players Capped by Other National Teams
France at USA 1994

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

Lille OSC was founded as a result of a merger between Olympique Lillois and SC Fives during the War. Both clubs were founding members of the French Division 1 and Lillois was the league's inaugural champions. Under the Lille emblem, the club has won three league titles in 1946, 1954, and 2011 and six Coupe de France titles, which is tied for fourth-best among clubs. Lille and Red Star F.C. are the only French clubs in the competition's history to win the Coupe de France in three consecutive seasons. Lille's most successful period was the decade from 1946 to 1956 when the team was led by managers George Berry and André Cheuva.

1946 League Champion

Team
GK: Philippe Bergeroo (France) 
Bergeroo started his career with Bordeaux in 1971.  Between 1978 and 1983, he played with Lille.  He then played for Toulouse FC from 1983 to 1988.  He played 3 times for France. He was a member of the French squad in the 1986 World Cup and the team that won the European Championship in 1984.

GK: Bernard Lama (France)
Lama left Guiana in 1981 to come to France to become a professional footballer.  He started with Lille, but also played in Brest and Metz.  In 1992, he joined PSG, where he found stardom.  He won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1996.  After a brief career with West Ham and Rennes, he retired.  Capped 44 times.  He was mainly a backup throughout his NT career.  He was on the team that won the WC in 1998.

GK: César Ruminski (France)
Ruminski joined Le Havre in 1947 from SC Douai. He helped to gain promotion in  1950. They finished third in the Division 1 championship, the following year, one point behind the winner, the OGC Nice. In 1952, he played for Lille, which was the peak of his career. In 1953, he won the Coupe de France, and in 1954, the Championship.  He played for France 7 times. He was selected for the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.

RB: Jules Vandooren (France)
Vandooren played with Olympique Lillois between 1927 and 1939.  He won the league title in 1932-1933 season, the first ever professional title in France. Later, he played with Red Star FC and Stade de Reims as a player-coach. Then, he played with Arago Orléans (1943-1948) and finally at SM Caen (1949-1952) at the age of 43 years.  He was a part of France in the 1934 and 1938 World Cup Finals. 

Jules Vandooren 

RB: Mathieu Debuchy (France) 
Debuchy started his senior career at Lille, where he won a Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in 2010–11. He played in Ligue 1 for 10 seasons for Lille. He joined Newcastle United in January 2013 and stayed there for 18 months. He played for Arsenal from July 2014 until January 2018.  He earned 27 caps, playing in the Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup Finals.

CB: Adil Rami (France) 
Adil Rami began his career playing for amateur club ES Fréjus in France. In 2006, Rami ascended three divisions after signing with Ligue 1 club Lille OSC. He was a part of the team which won the league and cup double in the 2010-2011 season. He also played for Valencia, AC Milan, Seville, etc. Rami was capped over 30 times for France.  He was a member of the France squad that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Adil Rami 

CB/DM: Jakob Friis-Hansen (Denmark) 
Jakob Friis-Hansen began his B1903 in 1983.   He moved to Lille OSC in France in 1989, in which he stayed for six seasons.  In 1995,  Friis-Hansen joined French club FC Girondins de Bordeaux.  He also played for Hamburger SV. He played 19 times for Denmark.  He went to the Confederation Cup in 1995.

CB: Cor Van der Hart (Netherlands)
Cor Van der Hart became the third Dutch player in history to play board and one of the first professional player in Netherlands when he joined Lille in 1950.  Before that, he played for Ajax.  Widely considered one of the best Dutch defender in history.  He had 44 caps, but the cap total largely was limited because the KNVB suspended all players that left the country to play professional football. 

CB/RB: Guillaume Bieganski (France)
Guillaume Bieganski was a French player of Polish descent.  He joined Lille OSC in 1951, where he played until 1959.  He was a part of their league champion team in 1954. He played for RC Lens from 1959 and 1963.  He then played for US Forbach from 1963 and 1965, and US Marignane between 1965 and 1968.  For France, he played 9 times between 1953 and 1961. He went to the 1954 World Cup Finals in Switzerland.

Guillaume Bieganski 

LB: Marceau Somerlinck (France)

Marceau Somerlinck's career is inseparable from the history of Lille. In 1935 , he  joined Sporting Club fivois.  In the 1943-1944 season, he was forced to join Lille-Flanders created by the Vichy government.  Instead, he joined the Lille OSC, a club formed by the merger of SC Fivois and Olympique Lille.  From 1945 to 1957 , Somerlinck won the French Championship twice.  He also won 5 Coupe de France, a record that still stands.

DM: Roger Carre (France)
In his career, Roger Carre played with Roubaix (1943-44), Lille OSC (1944-50)and Racing Club de Lens (1950-54).   With Lille, He won the French Ligue One in 1946, and three straight Coupe de France in the 1940's.  It was Lille's greatest period in history.  He was capped twice for France between 1947 and 1949.

DM: Albert Dubreucq (France)
Born in Lille, Albert Dubreucq  played for his hometown team, Lille OSC, winning the Ligue One in 1946 and two Cups of France.   He was transferred to Racing Club in 1953.   In 1957, he  became a player-coach at CA Paris.  In 1952, he was capped twice.  His debut was against Sweden on March 26, 1952 for a friendly match.  He also played for RC Strasbourg, Red Stars and Stade français.

DM: Gérard Bourbotte (France)
Gérard Bourbotte played mainly at Lille OSC.  He had two stints with the club.  In his first stint (1952 to 1957), he was champion of France in 1954 and won the Coupe de France in 1955 (where he scored two goals in the final).  In his second stint (1963 to 1968), he helped the club to win the Ligue Two in 1964.  

CM: Rio Mavuba (France)
Rio Mavuba's father was Mafuila Mavuba, a footballer who played for Zaire at the 1974 World Cup.  He was born in a refugee boat without any nationality.  He became a French citizen in 2004. He spent most of his professional career with Bordeaux and Lille, winning the 2011 national championship with the latter.  With France, he was capped 13 times between 2004 and 2014.  He went to the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil.

Rio Mavuba

RW: Yvon Douis (France)
During his career he played for Lille OSC (1953–59), Le Havre AC (1959–61), AS Monaco (1961–67) and AS Cannes (1967–69). He earned 20 caps and scored 4 goals for the France national football team between 1957 and 1965, and played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, in which France finished third. Douis scored in the third place play off against West Germany at Sweden 1958.

RM/CM: André Strappe (France)
During his career, Andre Strappe played for Lille OSC (1948–58), Le Havre AC (1958–61), FC Nantes (1961–63), and SC Bastia (1963). He scored 116 goals in Ligue 1 and won the league tournament in 1954 with Lille. He is Lille's second all-time leading scorer and also the second all-time leading appearance leader. He also won the Coupe de France in 1953 and 1955 with Lille, and again with Le Havre in 1959. He was 23 times for France. He went to World Cup in 1954.

André Strappe 

AM/CM: Yohan Cabaye (France)
From 2004 to 2011, Yohan Cabaye played for Lille OSC.  He was a key player as they won the Double in 2011. He later played for Newcastle United, PSG, Crystal Palace, Al-Nasr Dubai SC and Saint-Étienne. At under-19 level, he won the 2005 UEFA European Under-19. From 2010 onward, he played 48 times for France.  He started in four of France's five matches at the 2014 World Cup Finals. He also went to Euro 2012 and then, Euro 2016 hosted by France.

Yohan Cabaye 

LW: Jean Vincent (France)
With Lille OSC (1950–1956), Vincnet won Ligue 1 champion in 1954 and the Coupe de France in 1953 and 1955.  From 1956 to 1964, he played for Stade Reims, winning Ligue 1 champion in 1958, 1960 and 1962, and Coupe de France in 1958. He earned 46 caps and scored 22 goals for the France national football team, and played and scored in the 1954 World Cup, the 1958 World Cup, and the 1960 European Football Championship.

FW/LW/RW: Gervinho (Ivory Coast)
Gervinho began his career at ASEC Abidjan and Toumodi F.C., before moving to Belgium in 2004 to play for the now-defunct Beveren. Between 2007 and 2011, he played in the French Ligue 1, initially at Le Mans and then at Lille. He was sold to Arsenal in 2011, and moved to Roma in 2013. In January 2016, Gervinho moved to Hebei China Fortune F.C. He has made 80 appearances for the Ivorian national team, scoring 22 goals. He played in 2010 and 2014 World Cup Finals.

FW: Jean Lechantre (France)
Lechantre was born in Belium.  His nicknamed  was "the little Belgian".  He started with at the Lille Olympique, and then, he played for the Lille OSC, in which he won the French championship in 1946 and the Coupe de France three times. He finished his career at the CO Roubaix-Tourcoing which he coached during the 1959-1960 season. He was capped 3 times for France.

AM/FW: Eden Hazard (Belgium)
At the time of writing, Eden Hazard has already earned 100 caps and led Belgium to the semi-final of the World Cup in 2018.  At the club level, He played for Lille in France for 8 years. He signed with Chelsea in June 2012, where he won two Europa League in 2012 and 2019. He won both FWA and PFA Player of the Year for the 2014-2015 season in England.  In 2019, he joined Real Madrid.

Eden Hazard 

FW: Bolek Tempowski (France)
Born in Poland, Bolek Tempowski began his carweer with Valenciennes in 1938. With Lille, he was the Champion of France in 1946, wining Coupe de France three times.  He also played for Strasbourg, Montpellier  and Stade Guyotville in Algeria.  he was capped once for France in 1947.

ST: Moussa Sow (Senegal)
Sow played for Stade Rennais between 2004 and 2010.  In 2011, he joined Lille, where he won the Double in 2011. He was the league's top scorer with 25 goals and made the Team of the Year. He joined Fenerbahçe in 2012. Born in France, he chose to play for Senegal. From 2009 to 2018, he had 50 caps.  He played in the 2018 World Cup Finals.

ST: Jules Bigot (France)
Jules Bigot joined Olympique Lillois at the age of 18 in 1933.  He made his first team debut first as a winger and then as a center forward. He holds the record for most goals (10) on a match, during his game against AS Saint-Etienne.  He also played Olympique de Marseille and AS Saint-Étienne. From 1936 to 1945, he played 6 times for France.

ST: Jean Baratte (France)
Jean Baratte started his career at the Olympique Iris Club Lille. He spent most of his career at Lille OSC with which he was French Champion in 1946 and 1954 , and winner of the Coupe de France in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1953.  He was their all-time leading scorer. He also played for AS Aix-en-Provence and CO Roubaix-Tourcoing.  From 1944 to 1952, he played 32 times for France, scoring 19 goals.

Jean Baratte

Honorable Mention 
Mickaël Landreau (France), Noureddine Kourichi (Algeria), Ignacio Prieto (Chile), Pascal Cygan (France), Marcel Adamczyk (France), Jocelyn Angloma (France), Franck Béria (France), Bernard Gardon (France), Joseph Jadrejak (France), Dimitri Payet (France), Nicolas Pépé (Ivory Coast), Dagui Bakari (Ivory Coast), Kader Keita (Ivory Coast), Michel Bastos (Brazil), Christophe Landrin (France), René Bihel (France), Jean-Marie Prévost (France), Per Frandsen (Denmark), Jean Makoun (Cameroon), Marko Baša (Montenegro), Djézon Boutoille (France), Erwin Vandenbergh (Belgium), Florent Balmont (France), Jean Lechantre (France), Mike Maignan (France), Zeki Çelik (Turkey), Jose Fonte (Portugal), Jonathan Bamba (France), Benjamin André (France), Reinildo (Mozambique) and Burak Yılmaz (Turkey).

Squad Explanation
-- During the 1940's, Lille OSC won the league title in 1946 and winning 3 Coupe de France.  From the 1940's, I have the following players selected: Jean Baratte, Jules Bigot, Bolek Tempowski, Jean Lechantre, Albert Dubreucq, Marceau Somerlinck and Roger Carre. 
-- Lille OSC continued its successes.  They won the league again in 1954.  I selected the following players from that team: César Ruminski, Gérard Bourbotte, Albert Dubreucq, Jean Vincent and Yvon Doris.  Jean Baratte left the season before. He is their all-time leading scorer as well as a member of their 1946 league champion team.
-- Lille OSC won the Double in the 2010-2011 season. I selected the following players: Rio Mavuba, Yahan Cabaye, Adil Rami, Gervinho, Ed Hazard, Mathieu Debuchy and Moussa Sow. Mickaël Landreau also made honourable mention.  Sow was the league's top scorer with 25 goals that season.
-- Most players on this team came from the two Golden periods of the team.  Philippe Bergeroo, Bernard Lama, Jakob Friis-Hansen and Jules Vandooren are the exceptions.  Vandooren actually played with Olympique Lillois before it merged with SC Fives to become Lille OSC.
-- Philippe Bergeroo and Bernard Lama are the two obviously choices for goalkeepers. I toyed with the idea of rewarding Mickaël Landreau for winning La Ligue title, but César Ruminski also won the 1954 version. Julien Darui who was considered to be one of France's greatest keeper only spent a season here. Mike Maignan is also an interesting prospect at this moment, but he is too young now.  He helped the club to win Ligue 1 in the 2020-2021 season.
-- The rightback position has two good candidates Jules Vandooren and Mathieu Debuchy.  Joseph Jadrejak, Jocelyn Angloma and Franck Béria also made honourable mention.  Jocelyn Angloma is the biggest name on the list, but he only played 3 seasons here.
-- Jules Vandooren played for Olympique Lillois before it merged with Sporting Club Fivois to form Lille OSC.  With him, Olympique Lillois won the first ever French professional league title in 1933.  Jean Baratte also started his career at the Olympique Iris Club Lille.
-- Cor Van der Hart became the third Dutch player to move abroad to become a professional football player when he joined Lille OSC.  Denmark's Jakob Friis-Hansen spent 6 seasons with the club.
-- Marceau Somerlinck played for Sporting Club Fivois when it merged with Olympique Lillois to form Lille OSC.  He won 5 French Cups with them.  He is also their all-time appearance leader for Lille OSC.
-- Eden Hazard won two straight Player of the Year for "Trophées UNFP du football".  No other Lillie player could match that.
-- Lille has a number of good footballers from Ivory Coast: Gervinho, Nicolas Pépé, Dagui Bakari and Kader Keita.  Gervinho made the squad because he was one of their star players at the 2011 title.
-- Kennet Andersson (Sweden) only spent half a season on loan here, but he made a name at the 1994 World Cup Finals while registered as a player with Lille. However, he did not make my honourable mention, but he is worth a mention here. Joe Cole also spent a short time here on loan. 
-- Dimitri Payet (France) was seriously considered. He was named in the UNFP's Ligue 1 team of the season in 2013 while playing for them.

-- After Lille clinching the 2020-2021 La Ligue title, I edited the team.  I added Mike Maignan (France), Zeki Çelik (Turkey), Jose Fonte (Portugal), Jonathan Bamba (France), Benjamin André (France), Reinildo (Mozambique) and Burak Yılmaz (Turkey) to honorable mentions.  Except Maignan, none of whom has played long enough for the club.  I do not follow Ligue 1.  So the task of editing this team will be tough.

Formation