Group B. 18 teams here, under normal circumstances 3 will be relegated, one going up directly, the second-placed – to promotion/relegation play-offs. One thing must be said in advance: the third mystery of this season. It was almost a repetition of 1970, when the idea of creating a big Parisian club was cooked. Back then conflict with regulations led to two clubs instead of one: Paris FC and Paris St. Germain. Paris FC somehow got the short stick and gradually faded away. So far Paris SG was unable to fulfill the original ambitions. France, along with West Germany, was unique for lacking leading club located in the capital – with time, the old clubs diminished: Stade Francais concentrated on rugby, Red Star lost its power, Racing faded away as well. Paris SG filled the gap to a point and there was the feel that another big club could fill the gap and tap on public craving success. So thought Jean-Luc Lagardere, a wealthy businessman, in 1982 – put money, buy stars, jump-start a big team, make a big club. But which club? And now ill-fated Paris FC came in the picture again: Lagardere thought of merging old Racing with Paris FC, who played in the Second Division. Just by-pass the painful climbing up from lowest divisions and get right to the top at once. But the financial situation of Paris FC was absent and suspicious chairmen of Racing Club de France refused to risk a merger. Lagardere bought Paris FC – and got a debt of more than 4 million francs from the deal. No matter, next step – he renamed Paris FC ‘Paris Racing 1’ , keeping the sky-blue and white colours of Paris FC (oh, at first Paris FC played in red and black, but never mind that – the good news here is sky-blue and white are also the traditional clolours of Racing, how convenient). Then negotiated with the chairmen of Racing Club de France – it was tempting offer: to play in the Second Division. Done! Paris Racing 1 was ‘attached’ to Racing Club de France. That was the professional team of short-lived Paris Racing 1 – the reserves and the youth teams, formerly belonging to Paris FC anyway, were named Paris FC 83 – and included in 4th Division. After all that maneuvering emerged something called Racing Paris, which played in Group B of Second Division in 1983-84. Clear? May be not, but that is all. Kind of all, for soon the name will be different. Presently, Racing Paris was just newcomer, freshly promoted from 3rd Division.
FC Roubaix finished last with 15 points.
Montceau-les-Mines – 17th with 17 points. Along with Roubaix, absolute outsider and relegated, of course.
Red Star (Paris) – 16th with 26 points. Big decline – once upon a time, solid first division club, but now the future looked like 3rd division. However, lucky turn at the end – normally, should have been relegated, but promotion/relegation circumstances between 1st and 2nd division suddenly benefited Red Star and they remained in the second level.
Stade Quimper – 15th with 26 points. Famous player here – the Polish great striker Lubanski. Too old for anything else by now, he was playing his last days in lowly Quimper.
SC Angers – 14th with 26 points.
US Dunkerque – 13th with 27 points.
SC Abbeville – 12th with 28 points.
CS Sedan-Ardennes – 11th with 30 points.
Berrichonne Chateauroux – 10th with 31 points.
Stade Francais (Paris) – another rapidly fading club. Back row : Lamoureux (président), Avisse (directeur sportif), Zaher (entraîneur), Joffre, Hersant, Lacroix, Mauffroy, N’Gouette, Dantheny (entraîneur gardiens), Dussaud (entraîneur).
Middle row: Camus, Govignon, Muscat, Mazzon, Prenveille, Lasséougue, Ferrière, Amelot (masseur).
Crouching: Motz, Harzam, Bouzaglou, Tomasewzki, Martin, Charton, M’Bama.
9th with 33 points.
En Avant Guingamp – 8th with 38 points.
FC Mulhouse – 7th with 38 points. Didier Six here – still national team member!
US Orleans – 6th with 39 points.
US Valenciennes – 5th with 41 points.
Stade Reims – 4th with 45 points. Hard to believe this club played European finals – so far in time and so unlike the present.
AC Le Havre – 3rd with 47 points. Not bad, but not in the race for promotion – just better than the rest of the league.
Racing Paris – 2nd with 52 points. Top row from left:Troch, Muzarelli, Mahmoud, Zagar, Lafargue, Gauthier, Chambo.
Third row: Bonnat (entraîneur adjoint), Carpentier (kinésithérapeute), Zvunka, Ekéké, Bas, Laachi, Renaut, Alain de Martigny (entraîneur), M. Serge Guyot (directeur délégué).
Second row: Oekland, Ben Mabrouck, Sither, Bianchi, Chebel.
Front row: Tihy, Remond, Peltier, Madjer.
They pushed hard, scored most goals, by far – 91; received the least – 26, but at the end it was not quite the envisioned result: second place did not give automatic promotion. And the team was not the mighty squad Lagardere wanted – this vintage was based aging Zvunka, Swedish player Oekland, and the Morocon striker Rabah Madjer – the key player of the team. He was to become European champion, but not with Racing. Early stage of the plan so far and nearly misfiring – but the team got itself together and won the promotion/relegation play-off. Relief. Note the add on the shirts – soon Matra will become part of the name of the club.
FC Tours won the league with 53 points. One point more than Racing did it, but it was also laughing in the face of the newly rich Parisians and their grand ambitions: modest Tours was above them and promoted. Racing was in danger of remaining in Second Division… It was wonderful victory of the underdog – 24 wins, 5 ties, 5 losses, 80-30 goal-difference. And compared to Racing, modest selection – true, there were some former first division players.
That was almost all. Play-offs followed and since statistics are lacking now, it was suffice to say that Racing Paris got what they wanted after prevailing against St. Etienne. Did they played with OGC Nice before that is not even important.