speculation that they were also involved in the plot. With the club now playing in Ligue 2, Valenciennes was unable to cope with the damage instilled on it due to the scandal and finished dead last in the league, thus falling to the third division for the first time in the club's lifetime. Two seasons later, the club was relegated to the fourth division due to financial problems. Ahead of the 1996–97 season, the club dropped to amateur status after filing for bankruptcy. On 1 April 1996, the club was renamed Valenciennes Football Club and finished in fifth place in its inaugural campaign under the name. In the following season, the fourth division was renamed to the Championnat de France amateur and Valenciennes became inaugural champions of the league. Over the next seven seasons, Valenciennes played in the Championnat National, excluding one season back in the CFA. In the 2004–05 season, the club won National and returned to the second division, now called Ligue 2. Surprisingly, after one season, Valenciennes earned promotion back to the first division, now called Ligue 1, under the leadership of Antoine Kombouaré. After eight years in Ligue 1, the club was relegated to the second division in 2014. Because of this relegation, VAFC experienced financial problems and saw the return to the business of the former minister Jean-Louis Borloo. He saved the club from demotion to the fourth division. Players Current squad Out on loan Reserve squad Notable players Below are the notable former players who have represented Valenciennes in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1913. For a complete list of Valenciennes players, see :Category:Valenciennes FC players. Noel King Nourredine Kourichi Jorge Burruchaga Wolfgang Matzky Ivica Osim Eugène Ekéké Roger Milla Joseph Yegba Maya Carlos Sanchez Arthur Masuaku Johan Audel Joseph Bonnel Jean-Claude Bras Bernard Chiarelli Renaud Cohade Dominique Corroyer Gaël Danic Léon Desmenez Jean-Claude Darcheville David Ducourtioux Laurent Dufresne Jacky Duguépéroux Dominique Dropsy Jean-Luc Fugaldi Jérôme Foulon Francis Gillot Jacques Glassmann Wilfried Gohel Jean-Pierre Guinot Bolec Kocik Hocine Lachaab Thierry Laurey Daniel Leclercq Joseph Magiera Serge Masnaghetti Rudy Mater Bruno Metsu Daniel Moreira Jean-Pierre Papin Nicolas Penneteau Jean-Claude Piumi Louis Provelli Grégory Pujol José Saez Steve Savidan Orlando Silvestri Didier Six Bruno Zaremba Pascal Zaremba Siaka Tiéné Éric Chelle Petrus Van Rhijn Włodzimierz Lubański Erwin Wilczek Milan Biševac David Régis Management and staff Club officials Valenciennes Football Club (SASP) President: