AS Saint-Étienne No club in French football is more associated with a single missed opportunity than AS Saint-Étienne. In the 1976 European Cup final against Bayern Munich at Hampden Park, Les Verts hit the woodwork twice, with the ball cannoning off posts that, unlike the rounded frames used elsewhere, were square. Saint-Étienne lost 1-0, but the "poteaux carrés" (square posts) passed into French football folklore as the symbol of a great team denied by fine margins, and the squad was greeted as heroes on their return, parading down the Champs-Élysées despite the defeat.
Founded in 1919 as the sporting section of employees of the Casino supermarket chain, the club turned professional in 1933 and took two decades to reach the top division, winning its first French championship only in 1957. From there, though, Saint-Étienne became the dominant force in French football, claiming ten league titles between 1957 and 1981, a French record only recently equalled, built around back-to-back doubles of the league and Coupe de France in 1968 and 1970, four consecutive titles from 1967 to 1970, and a further three in a row from 1974 to 1976 under player-turned-coach Robert Herbin, nicknamed "The Sphinx."
European success proved harder to secure. In 1969-70, Saint-Étienne memorably overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit to beat Bayern Munich 3-0 at home in the European Cup, and in 1974-75 they came from 5-1 down on aggregate to eliminate Hajduk Split after extra time, before the Hampden Park final of 1976 became the club's defining continental moment. That golden generation included forward Dominique Rocheteau, known as "the Green Angel," and, in its final title-winning campaign of 1981, a young Michel Platini.
Financial scandal and a lengthy decline followed in the 1980s, and Saint-Étienne has since moved between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, returning to the top flight via the promotion play-offs in 2024 before being relegated again a year later. Known as Les Verts for their green shirts, Saint-Étienne play at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, nicknamed Le Chaudron ("The Cauldron") for the intensity of its crowd, still regarded as one of the most intimidating grounds in French football regardless of the division the club is playing in.