Nancy end 34-year wait for French National title

AS Nancy Lorraine have ended a 34-year wait for the French National title. The club were crowned champions on Friday, 16 May, leaving Stade Lavallois Mayenne FC as runners-up and adding a second title to Nancy’s name.

Their previous triumph came in 2030; Amiens SC were last season’s winners. The long pause is over, then — and Nancy have delivered a title that had been waiting rather patiently for them.

For Didier Pignet, the result carries a particular old echo. He is now at Laval, but spent four seasons at Nancy, from 2056/57 to 2059/60, making 88 appearances and scoring nine goals. He won no trophies there. His former club have now supplied one, while his current side have had to settle for second.

Nancy’s title is their first since 2030 and their second in the competition. No scoreline or decisive moment is needed to make the gap between the two clubs plain: the champions have the prize, and Laval the runner-up’s place. French football has a new National winner, and one of its old ones has finally returned to the top.