2008–09 Ligue 2

Ligue 2
Season	2008–09
Champions	Lens
Promoted	Montpellier; Boulogne
Relegated	Amiens; Reims; Troyes
Europa League	Guingamp (Play-off round; via domestic cup)
Goals scored	864
Average goals/game	2.27
Top goalscorer	Grégory Thil (18)
Biggest home win	Strasbourg 5–0 Nîmes (6 October 2008)
Biggest away win	Angers 1–5 Boulogne (24 April 2009)
Highest scoring	Bastia 6–2 Ajaccio (5 December 2008); (8 goals)
	← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The Ligue 2 season 2008–09 was the sixty-seventh^[1] edition since its establishment, and began on 1 August 2008 and ended on 29 May 2009. The fixtures were announced on 23 May 2008.^[2]

Promotion and relegation

Teams relegated to Ligue 2

FC Metz, relegated after losing to Olympique Marseille on 12 April 2008.
RC Strasbourg, relegated after losing to SM Caen on 10 May 2008.
RC Lens, relegated after drawing with FC Girondins de Bordeaux on 17 May 2008.

Teams promoted to Ligue 1

Le Havre AC, promoted after drawing with CS Sedan on 22 April 2008.
FC Nantes, promoted after drawing with Montpellier HSC on 25 April 2008.
Grenoble Foot 38, promoted after drawing with LB Châteauroux on 12 May 2008.

Teams promoted from Championnat National

Vannes OC, promoted after losing to FC Martigues on 26 April 2008.
Tours FC, promoted after defeating Stade Laval on 3 May 2008.
Nimes Olympique, promoted after defeating Stade Laval on 16 May 2008.

Teams relegated to Championnat National

FC Gueugnon, relegated after losing to AC Ajaccio on 18 April 2008.
FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin, relegated after losing to CS Sedan on 2 May 2008.
Chamois Niortais FC, relegated after losing to US Boulogne on 16 May 2008.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or Relegation
1	Lens (C, P)	38	20	8	10	47	35	+12	68	Promotion to Ligue 1
2	Montpellier (P)	38	19	9	10	61	36	+25	66
3	Boulogne (P)	38	20	6	12	51	36	+15	66
4	Strasbourg	38	18	11	9	57	45	+12	65
5	Metz	38	17	12	9	48	35	+13	63
6	Tours	38	17	10	11	50	41	+9	61
7	Angers	38	13	14	11	46	42	+4	53
8	Dijon	38	14	10	14	43	46	−3	52
9	Sedan	38	13	12	13	46	49	−3	51
10	Vannes	38	14	9	15	34	45	−11	51
11	Bastia	38	13	9	16	38	47	−9	48
12	Clermont	38	12	11	15	46	50	−4	47
13	Guingamp (Q)	38	10	16	12	37	35	+2	46	Qualification to Europa League play-off round^[a]
14	Brest	38	13	6	19	45	50	−5	45
15	Châteauroux	38	11	11	16	40	46	−6	44
16	Ajaccio	38	11	11	16	44	56	−12	44
17	Nîmes	38	11	11	16	32	46	−14	44
18	Amiens (R)	38	9	16	13	35	40	−5	43	Relegation to Championnat National
19	Troyes (R)	38	9	11	18	39	48	−9	38
20	Reims (R)	38	7	15	16	40	51	−11	36

Source: Ligue 2
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Coupe de France winners Guingamp qualify for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League Play-off round of 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.

Results

Home \ Away	ACA	AMI	ANG	BAS	BOU	BRS	CHA	CLR	DIJ	GUI	RCL	MET	MHS	NMS	REI	SED	STR	TOU	TRO	VAN
Ajaccio		0–2	0–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–1	5–1	1–1	2–1	1–2	1–0	0–3	2–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0
Amiens	2–0		1–1	0–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	0–0	1–1	3–3	0–0	1–1	2–0	0–1	2–0	0–0	1–1	0–0	1–1	0–2
Angers	0–1	1–0		2–0	1–5	1–2	1–1	4–2	2–0	0–1	2–2	1–1	3–3	2–2	3–1	3–0	3–0	2–0	0–0	0–1
Bastia	6–2	2–2	0–0		1–3	0–2	2–1	2–1	0–0	2–1	0–1	1–2	1–0	0–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–1	3–1
Boulogne	0–1	4–0	2–3	1–0		0–1	2–1	2–1	3–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	0–3	2–0	0–3	0–1	1–0	3–3	1–0	2–0
Brest	1–2	1–2	2–1	4–0	0–1		2–0	2–2	1–2	1–1	3–1	2–1	0–3	1–2	0–0	2–2	0–1	0–1	4–1	0–1
Châteauroux	2–1	1–0	0–1	2–0	1–0	5–1		1–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	0–1	1–0
Clermont	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–3	2–0	1–3		1–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	3–0	2–2	0–0	2–1	0–1
Dijon	2–1	2–1	0–2	2–0	1–0	1–2	2–0	2–0		2–3	1–0	0–1	1–0	2–1	1–1	1–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	3–0
Guingamp	0–0	0–0	0–0	4–1	3–0	2–0	2–1	2–1	1–1		0–0	0–1	0–1	1–0	0–2	1–1	1–2	3–1	0–0	1–1
Lens	0–1	2–0	3–0	1–0	0–1	2–0	1–0	2–1	3–1	1–0		0–1	0–2	1–0	1–0	1–3	4–1	0–0	1–1	2–1
Metz	3–2	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–2	1–0	1–0	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–2		3–1	0–0	0–0	2–0	3–2	1–0	1–1	2–0
Montpellier	2–1	2–1	1–0	2–1	0–0	3–2	3–0	2–1	4–1	0–0	0–1	1–2		1–1	2–2	3–1	2–1	1–1	3–0	3–1
Nîmes	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–0	1–1	2–1	1–0	1–2	1–1	2–1		2–2	2–1	0–2	0–1	1–0	1–0
Reims	1–3	1–3	0–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	4–3	1–1	1–4	0–0	1–2	1–1	0–4	2–1		0–1	4–1	0–0	0–0	3–1
Sedan	1–1	0–1	0–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	3–4	0–1	2–1	1–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–1	1–1		2–2	2–0	2–1	2–3
Strasbourg	3–1	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–0	2–2	2–1	2–0	0–0	0–2	1–1	0–0	1–0	5–0	3–2	1–3		4–0	0–0	2–1
Tours	4–1	0–0	3–1	0–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	0–0	1–0	3–1	1–4	0–0	4–1	2–1	2–1	2–0		4–3	1–0
Troyes	2–0	0–1	1–2	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–2	0–1	2–1	2–2	0–1	3–1	1–2	0–1	1–0	2–3	1–2	3–2		3–0
Vannes	1–1	2–1	2–0	0–1	0–0	0–3	3–0	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	0–0	2–2	1–0	1–0

Source: Ligue 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Grégory Thil wins the Ligue 2 Trophée du Meilleur Buteur.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Grégory Thil	Boulogne	18
2	Víctor Montaño	Montpellier	15
2	Papiss Cissé	Metz	15
4	Cheick Diabaté	Ajaccio	14
5	James Fanchone	Strasbourg	13
5	Toifilou Maoulida	Lens	13
7	Paul Alo'o	Angers	12
7	Richard Socrier	Brest	12
9	Tenema N'Diaye	Tours	11
	Titi Buengo	Troyes
	Kandia Traoré	Strasbourg

Last updated: 30 May 2009
Source: Ligue 2

Assists table

Paul Alo'o wins the Ligue 2 Trophée du Meilleur Passeur.

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Paul Alo'o	Angers	12
2	Alberto Costa	Montpellier	11
3	Johann Ramaré	Boulogne	10
3	Yann Kermorgant	Reims	10
5	Fatih Atik	Tours	8

Last updated: 30 May 2009
Source: Ligue 2

UNFP Player of the Month

Month	Player	Club
August	James Fanchone	RC Strasbourg
September	Chakhir Belghazouani	RC Strasbourg
October	Víctor Montaño	Montpellier HSC
November	Lilian Compan	Montpellier HSC
December	Víctor Montaño	Montpellier HSC
January	Paul Alo'o	Angers SCO
February	Toifilou Maoulida	RC Lens
March	Claudiu Keserü	Tours FC
April	Issam Jemâa	RC Lens

Awards

Player of the Year

The nominees for Ligue 2 Player of the Year. The winner will be determine at the annual UNFP Awards on 24 May. The winner will be displayed in bold.^[3]

Player	Nationality	Club
Paul Alo'o	Cameroon	Angers SCO
Alberto Costa	Argentina	Montpellier HSC
Victor Montaño	Colombia	Montpellier HSC
Grégory Thil	France	US Boulogne

Keeper of the Year

The nominees for the Ligue 2 Goalkeeper of the Year. The winner will be displayed in bold.

Player	Nationality	Club
Johann Carrasso	France	Montpellier HSC
Stéphane Cassard	France	RC Strasbourg
Macedo Novaes	Brazil	SC Bastia
Vedran Runje	Croatia	RC Lens

Manager of the Year

The nominees for Manager of the Year. The winner will be displayed in bold.

Player	Nationality	Club
Stéphane Le Mignan	France	Vannes OC
Philippe Montanier	France	US Boulogne
Daniel Sanchez	France	Tours FC
Jean-Guy Wallemme	France	RC Lens

Team of the Year

Position	Player	Club
GK	Vedran Runje	Lens
RB	Yohan Demont	Lens
CB	Laurent Koscielny	Tours
CB	Éric Chelle	Lens
LB	Marco Ramos	Lens
DM	Bocundji Cá	Tours
DM	Renaud Cohade	Strasbourg
AM	Alberto Costa	Montpellier
FW	Grégory Thil	Boulogne-sur-Mer
FW	Paul Alo'o	Angers
FW	Victor Montaño	Montpellier

Managers

Club	Head coach
Ajaccio	Gernot Rohr, replaced in August by José Pasqualetti
Amiens	Ludovic Batelli, replaced in July by Thierry Laurey
Angers	Jean-Louis Garcia
Bastia	Bernard Casoni
Boulogne	Philippe Montanier
Brest	Pascal Janin, replaced in December by Gérald Baticle, replaced in May by Alex Dupont
Châteauroux	Christian Sarramagna, replaced in January by Dominique Bijotat
Clermont	Didier Ollé-Nicolle
Dijon	Faruk Hadžibegić
Guingamp	Victor Zvunka
Lens	Jean-Guy Wallemme
Metz	Yvon Pouliquen
Montpellier	Rolland Courbis
Nîmes	Jean-Luc Vannuchi, replaced in December by Jean-Michel Cavalli
Reims	Didier Tholot, replaced in December by Luis Fernandez
Sedan	José Pasqualetti, replaced in July by Landry Chauvin
Strasbourg	Jean-Marc Furlan
Tours	Daniel Sanchez
Troyes	Denis Troch, replaced in July by Ludovic Batelli, replaced in May by Claude Robin
Vannes	Stéphane Le Mignan

Stadia

The locations of the 20 teams participating in Ligue 2 season 2008–09

Last updated 22 May 2009^[4]

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Avg. attendance
Ajaccio	Stade François Coty	12,000	2,281
Amiens	Stade de la Licorne	12,097	9,368
Angers	Stade Jean Bouin	17,000	7,398
Bastia	Stade Armand Cesari	12,000	2,876
Boulogne	Stade de la Libération	7,300	5,604
Brest	Stade Francis-Le Blé	10,189	6,264
Châteauroux	Stade Gaston Petit	17,173	6,130
Clermont	Stade Gabriel Montpied	10,363	5,289
Dijon	Stade Gaston Gérard	7,900	3,764
Guingamp	Stade du Roudourou	18,126	9,437
Lens	Stade Félix-Bollaert	41,233	29,842
Metz	Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien	26,700	9,628
Montpellier	Stade de la Mosson	32,900	8,397
Nîmes	Stade des Costières	18,482	9,193
Sedan	Stade Louis Dugauguez	23,189	8,736
Stade Reims	Stade Auguste Delaune	25,000	11,579
Strasbourg	Stade de la Meinau	29,230	14,193
Tours	Stade de la Vallée du Cher	13,500	6,898
Troyes	Stade de l'Aube	21,877	9,810
Vannes	Stade de la Rabine	8,000	3,571

Teams by region

	Region	Number of teams	Teams
1	Bretagne	3	Brest, Guingamp and Vannes
1	Champagne-Ardenne	3	Reims and Sedan, Troyes
3	Centre	2	Châteauroux and Tours
	Corsica	2	Ajaccio and Bastia
	Languedoc-Roussillon	2	Montpellier and Nîmes
	Nord-Pas de Calais	2	Lens and Boulogne
7
	Alsace	1	Strasbourg
	Auvergne	1	Clermont
	Bourgogne	1	Dijon
	Lorraine	1	Metz
	Pays de la Loire	1	Angers
	Picardie	1	Amiens