Paris Weekend Break

Paris Saint Germain Football Club

Paris Saint Germain FC are based in the Parc des Princes stadium close to Bois de Boulongne. They are the local team and they enjoy massive support from the Parisians.

The spectacular Paris Saint Germain FC stadium holds about 45,000 spectators. It is the third largest football stadium in France and it and was used during the 1998 World Cup which France hosted.

History

There have been echoes of a Paris Saint Germain FC since 1904 when the team was called Stade Saint Germain. But the club, as it exists today, was formed in 1970 after a merger between FC Paris and Stade Saint Germain.

That merger saw the two clubs pool their resources and Paris Saint Germain FC was foundered. The merger also saw immediate results on the field as the team went on to win the French second division title in their first full season and gain promotion to the top level.

Since that date, Paris Saint Germain FC have remained in the top flight and have come to be one of, if not the, dominant force in French football.

Trophies

Paris Saint Germain FC's have enjoyed huge success, both domestically in the national League and Cup tournaments, and on the international European stage.

Their first major run of success spanned the period between 1982 to 1986 and it saw them become the National Cup champions in the 1982 and 1983 football seasons. More success came as they captured the League Championship for the 1985 to 1986 season.

During this first major run of success the club had many great players including Dominique Baratelli, Carlos Bianchi, Dominique Bathenay and Luis Fernandez. The team seemed to have a conveyor belt of stars and they worked together to produce a winning squad.

During this time the club's chairman was Francis Borelli. He controlled Paris Saint Germain FC from 1978 until 1991 and gained iconic status for the clubs achievements.

Their most successful period

It was during the mid to late 1990's that Paris Saint Germain FC enjoyed their greatest successes to date. During this time their trophy cabinet was rarely empty and it housed domestic and international silverware.

The decade saw a good start with the club winning the French Cup in 1993. This was followed by a second Cup in 1995 which was doubled up as they also captured the League Cup in the same stunning season.

The club's fortunes were not about to change and in 1998 they repeated the 1995 successes by again winning both the French Cup and League Cup titles in a single season.

Paris Saint Germain FC were now established as France's top soccer team and with a squad that included local heros and international stars like, David Ginola, Alain Roche, Ricardo Gomes and Bernard Lama they appeared almost unbeatable.

To make matters even better, the clubs domestic success was now been echoed on the international stage and in 1996 Paris Saint Germain FC won the European Cup Winners Cup with a stunning victory over Rapid Vienna (the score was 1-0).

This achievement was almost repeated the following year when Paris Saint Germain again reached the European Cup Winners Cup final, only to lose by the narrowest of margins (0-1) to FC Barcelona.

The new millennium saw a slow start to Paris Saint Germain FC's title aspirations. This was probably due in part to a changing of the guard as many of the club's 1990's stars moved on. Even so, the team was soon back to winning ways and by 2006 the French Cup was once more in the hands of the Paris team.

The new millennium continues to bode well for Paris Saint Germain FC with a League Cup title in 2008 and high expectations for the following season.