Montpellier was originally founded in 1919 by the wealthy residents of the city of Montpellier. During the 1920s the club competed in the Division d’Honneur Sud-Es. The team claimed its first trophy in 1929 winning in the final of the French Cup.
Montpellier was one of the clubs that established the Ligue 1 in France. The club went to the coupe de France final again in 1931 but suffered a defeat by Club Français 3-0. In 1930s the team endured financial difficulties and was dissolved. Yet the same year the club was rebuilt and returned to Division 2. For more than four decades it was rotating between division one and division two, from time to time facing debt problems and finally losing its professional status in 1969.
The team’s fortunes promised to take a turn for the better in 1988 as it returned to the top flight of the French football. A group of skilled players like Laurent Blanc, Eric Cantona, Daniel Xuereb and Carlos Valderrama helped Montpellier add the Coupe de France to the club’s trophy cabinet, though this exceptional squad did not achieve much in the League, and a few years later most of the gifted players left the club for greater opportunities.
The year 2012 went down in history as the moment of glory and greatness of the team. Montpellier gained 82 points and was crowned as the winner of the Ligue 1, being led by an extraordinary striker Olivier Giroud, who scored 21 goal in the season and made nine assists.
Montpellier is owned by a famous French tycoon Louis Nicollin.
The home ground of the team is Stade de la Mosson with a capacity of 32,000 visitors.
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