AS Saint-Étienne

No club weighs heavier in French football history: ten championship titles, an absolute record, and a legend founded on green. Born in 1919 through employees of the Casino group, ASSE turned the Geoffroy-Guichard, the Chaudron, into France's most boiling stadium, and the 1970s into an era of their own: the epic run to the 1976 European Cup final, lost to Bayern on the cursed poteaux carrés, Hampden's square posts that denied the Verts two goals and still feed national mythology today. Salif Keita, Rocheteau and a young Michel Platini all wore the green. The derby with neighbours Lyon is among the fiercest in the country. Through recent glories and falls, with relegations and promotions marking the 2020s, one thing never changed: in Saint-Étienne, green is religion and the Chaudron faithful are the most loyal in France.