SC Bastia

Did You Know?

• The club's 2011–12 logo change replaced 'SCB' with 'Bastia' and added a moor's head from the Testa Mora Flag.
• The club's colours have been blue with white edging and black since 1992.
• Famous players who have signed for Bastia include Dragan Džajić, Roger Milla, Michael Essien, and Florian Thauvin.

History

Sporting Club de Bastia was founded in 1905 by Hans Ruesch, a Swiss who taught German in a Bastia high school. Emile Brandizi served as the first president. The club made its debut on the Place d'Armes of Bastia, illuminated by a single gas burner. Professional play began in 1965 in Division 2, and after three seasons the club won the second division title in 1968, entering the top flight.

The 1970s are regarded as the club's finest era. In 1972 Bastia reached its first Coupe de France final, losing 2–1 to Olympique de Marseille, which earned a European Cup Winners' Cup appearance ending in elimination by Atlético Madrid. In 1977 the team finished third in Division 1 with the league's best offence, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. The squad, built around playmaker Claude Papi, included Johnny Rep, Jean-François Larios, and Charles Orlanducci.

Bastia eliminated Sporting Lisbon, Newcastle United, Torino, Carl Zeiss Jena, and Grasshoppers Zurich before losing the final to PSV Eindhoven. The 3–2 win in Turin was especially notable, as Torino had been undefeated at home for two seasons; Larios scored a volley from 22 meters considered the best goal of that period. The first leg at Furiani ended 0–0 on a rain-soaked pitch, with the Yugoslav referee declining to postpone despite the conditions.

The return leg lasted only 24 minutes before PSV scored, adding two more goals for a 3–0 victory. Locals attributed the defeat to fatigue from three league matches in six days before the final and the poor pitch in the first leg.

Stadium

Stade Armand Cesari, also called Stade Furiani, is Corsica's main football stadium and is used by SC Bastia. In 1992 a temporary grandstand collapsed during a Coupe de France semi-final, killing 18 people and injuring nearly 3,000. The stadium hosted the 1978 UEFA Cup final first leg when its capacity was under 12,000 seats and conditions were precarious, with heavy rain turning the pitch into a quagmire. The announced crowd of 15,000 spectators may be exaggerated, but fans stood tightly packed. The record attendance of 15,505 was set on 1 September 2012 for a league match against St. Etienne.

Supporters

Bastia's supporters, known as the Turchini (meaning 'Blues' in Corsican), frequently display Corsican nationalist symbols and language, and support island independence. Their most fierce rivalry is with Nice in the Derby de la Mediterranée, though the term also covers rivalries with Marseille and Monaco. Political tensions with Paris create a rivalry with PSG. The Corsican derby with AC Ajaccio, and to a lesser extent Gazélec Ajaccio, is another major rivalry.