Youssouf Hadji, counting more than 300 matches under the colors of the club, Olivier Rouyer and Tony Vairelles. Other players have emerged or illustrated at the club, such as Tony Cascarino, Jean-Michel Moutier, Roger Lemerre, Aleksandr Zavarov, Bernard Zénier, Clément Lenglet and Michaël Cuisance. History Prior to the creation of AS Nancy, the city of Nancy was host to football by FC Nancy and US Frontière. FC Nancy was formed in 1901, while US Frontière was founded in 1910. Both clubs were a part of the Ligue de Lorraine. FC Nancy continued to play football through the professional transition. The club achieved very little during its 64 years of existence only winning the second division twice in 1946 and 1958. FC Nancy did reach the final of the Coupe de France in 1953 and 1962, however, on both appearances, the club lost to Lille and Saint-Étienne, respectively. In 1965, with the club enduring financial difficulties during the 1963–64 season, mainly due to the club's being abandoned by the city's municipality and its supporters according to its president, Nancy folded shortly before the new season. The idea of a new professional club in the city was thought of by Claude Cuny in spring 1964 based on amateur Association sportive Lorraine, formerly known as Union sportive Frontière. Cuny had previously worked with FC Nancy, but left the club prior to its destruction. Cuny is considered one of the leaders of French football mainly because of his innovative ideas and strategies. After forming Nancy, he created the first youth academy of French football. Prior to the club beginning its life as a football club, Cuny devised a strategy to immerse the club into the city's public. First, he sent out over 18,000 letters and petitions to draw interest to the team. Once the public gained notice, Cuny organised friendly matches to raise funds for the club. After accruing enough money, Cuny sought to turn the club professional, and, despite several setbacks, on 16 June 1967, Nancy were granted professional status and inserted into Division 2, the second level of French football. The club's first manager was René Pleimelding, a former French international who played for FC Nancy. Nancy, subsequently, recruited several former FC Nancy players such as Antoine Redin, as well as players from the region such as Michel Lanini, Gérard Braun and Roger Formica. In Nancy's inaugural season of football, the club