Strasbourg

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The club was formed in the year 1906 by a group of kids from the Neudorf area of the city that was at the time Strassburg, Elsass-Lothringen, in the German Empire however it is now Strasbourg, Alsace, in France. With the assistance of their teacher at primary school They formed a team known as "Erster Fussball Club Neudorf" and was referred to as "FC Neudorf". The first 1. FCN had been a small team located in the remote southern region of the Strasbourg region. The local football team was dominated from the 1890s onwards by more central, elite Strassburger Fussball Verein. According to the club's history expert Pierre Perny, the official creation for the FC Neudorf in 1907 may be the result of the plan to move FC Frankonia to the Haemmerle Garten which is a vast park located in the southern part of Strasbourg close to Neudorf. According to its name, FC Frankonia was mainly composed of German immigrants of the Franconia region in southwest Germany and a few of them soldiers living in northern and central Strasbourg and northern Strasbourg, while FC Neudorf had clearly Alsatian as well as famous roots. 4 FC Neudorf joined the southern German league in 1909, and began at the bottom of the league, Division C. They won Division C's Division C championship three years after, and were promoted up to Division B. in 1914, FC Neudorf was able to expel their rivals Frankonia of the Haemmerle Garten for a rent of 300 marks per year. The site would later be the home of Stade de la Meinau, where FC Neudorf still plays to this day. Following World War I, the Alsace-Lorraine region was returned to France and on the 11th of January 1919, this club was given its title "Racing-Club Strasbourg-Neudorf" before changing to "Racing Club of Strasbourg" later in the year. The usage of the term "Racing" doesn't mean any affiliation with racing on cars or horses but rather an expression of anglicism that was prevalent in France in the era of the day which is illustrated by the story of the then-famous Racing Club de France, which served as a symbol of the Strasbourg's Racing when Alsace was brought back into France. The word is generally spoken as French ("Le Racing") or Alsatian ("D'Racing") but without any English accent. Racing soon began to participate in French contests and was crowned three times the Alsace title in 1923 as well as 1924, and 1927. They also competed at the Coupe de France, the only national competition at the time. They won the race in 1925. made it to the final sixteen teams, and they lost to Lille after defeating the then dominant Red Star Paris.

On the 10th of June, 1933 at the "Restaurant of the Bourse" The club made the leap into the professional ranks and was able to join the national team that had been established one year earlier. RCS began competition with Ligue 2 but immediately earned an upgrade to the top flight towards the end of the 1933-34 campaign, playing two 2-legged playoff games, initially against Mulhouse (0-0 or 3-1) followed by a match in the final against AS Saint-Etienne (2-0 and 4-4). In the latter part of the 1930s, Racing managed a second-place finish in 1934-35 as well as third-place finishes the following season. After 1937, the team made it to in the semi-finals of Coupe de France, losing to their rivals Sochaux (1-2). The successful RCS team from the 1930s had two French internationals who were Fritz Keller and Oscar Heisserer along with German forward Oskar Rohr who is still the holder of the club's record for goals scored.

In the wake of World War II, professional sport was halted, and Alsatians were forced to relocate to south-west France particularly in the Dordogne. In the Phoney War, a group of young people remained at the club in Perigueux and were crowned their first Dordogne champion in 1940. Following losing to the French loss, Alsace was de facto part of the Third Reich and it was in August 1940 that the team was formed as Rasensportclub Strassburg, also known as 'lawn sports club Strasbourg which was part of the Gauliga Elsass, which was a elite amateur division of German football. RCS took over their team in 1941 and took part in regional finals, in which they were ejected in the hands of FC Mulhausen. The team was second throughout the following two seasons, and also appeared in the first stage of the DFB-Pokal in 1942. Beginning in 1942 Alsatians became forcibly conscripted within the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS . many club members included Oscar Heisserer - fled or had their teammates deliberately hurt the players to prevent being incorporated. Oskar Rohr had also been in prison since 1940 for serving as a member of the French Foreign Legion at the beginning of the war. When playing against the SS team "SG SS Strassburg", Rasensportclub players donned an uniform made up of a blue shirt with white shorts, white shirts and red socks, an unmistakable symbol of French patriotic pride.

Allies invaded Alsace in 1944, and the club was soon back in action in the form of "Racing Club of Strasbourg" in France's top division. The team was later built around Oscar Heisserer, who became as of April, 1945 the only Alsatian to be the captain of the national team -- and Spanish player Paco Mateo. In 1947 the Strasbourgeois made it to for the second time to the finale of the trophy in Colombes but this time they lost the final to Lille OSC 0-2. They remained in first division competition until the conclusion of the 1948-49 season it was believed that the team would be eliminated. However, the club next door SR Colmar liquidated their professional team, allowing Strasbourg to remain in the top division. In 1951 the Bleus took home their first important trophy, beating Valenciennes 3-1 to take victory in the Coupe de France home. The significance of this win was far beyond the sports world because Alsace was later affected through The Oradour-sur-Glane murder investigation. The investigation involved 14 Alsatians who were forced to join the Das Reich division, had been indicted for war crimes. It was a decision which sparked a lot of resentment within the region. After their return to Strasbourg the players staged an emotional and symbolic celebration in front of the city's memorial to the dead.

A year after, Strasbourg was relegated following the worst season ever that the team has ever had. However, they were able to return to the top league after just one season in Division 2. In 1954-55, due to the addition of Austrian superstar Ernst Stojaspal, Strasbourg had one of the best championship seasons during the postwar period, which ended with a 4th-place finish. However, the club could not sustain the success and was sent to Division 2 between 1957 and 1960, with each getting immediate promotions back to the top division.

In the 1960s, the team could participate at an event called the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup thanks to the city's Foire europeanenne. Under Paul Frantz's direction, Racing ousted giants Milan and Barcelona but lost in the quarter-finals to Manchester United. The following year they re-won the cup as winners, beating champions Nantes in the final with a score of 1-1. In this instance the their captain Rene Hauss accomplished the remarkable feat of winning two cups for the same team in an interval of 15 years. Other team members who were key to the success of the time period were Raymond Kaelbel and young talents Gilbert Gress and Gerard Hausser. Racing's victory in the cup wasn't without controversy. The reporter Thierry Roland claimed in the live TV in the final moments that "the cup was going to leave France" the comment which was considered offending by many people in Alsace.

It was in 1968 that Racing initiated a program which would ultimately lead to the merger of two other clubs: the "Association Sportive Culturelle of Meinau" and, perhaps most important the CS des Pierrots 1922 Strasbourg. The merger took effect in the year 1970, and the new organization was renamed "Le Racing Pierrots, Strasbourg Meinau" or RPSM. The Pierrots were at the time a highly accomplished amateur team, having were the winners of the national amateur championship in 1969 and in 1970. However, they did not have enough structures to move into professional football, and Racing was richer however, they were still in search of talented players. The merger was therefore an ideal opportunity to establish an elite soccer club located in Strasbourg and was favored by both political and business circles. The wedding however was not without difficulty, with several internal battles that were apparent when some players from the previous Pierrots quit the new club in the year 1971, to form a new club. The same year, the RPSM was dropped from the league in spite of the arrival at the close to the regular season Yugoslavian superstar Ivica Osim. As is the norm, Strasbourg then won immediate promotion, thanks to Osim as well as two French internationals among its ranks including Jean-Noel Huck as well as Marc Molitor. When they were in division 1 at the end of 1972, the team made one of its biggest mistaken transfers in its history. Osim was transferred to Sedan to take the foreign player position to Reinhard Libuda. The Yugoslavian was ejected from Strasbourg with a tear, but assisted Sedan to good results, as Libuda was immediately removed because of a corruption scandal in Germany and then let go in the month of March. In 1976 the club was removed and returned to its former identity as Racing Club de Strasbourg, which was the result of the failure in the RPSM merger.

In 1976, the future appeared rather dim for Racing as the club had been knocked out twice in four years, and was ripped apart by internal disputes after the demise of the merger, and was desperate to obtain municipal subsidies to achieve a budget that was balanced. The financial difficulties led to the fact that Racing could not keep or replace its top player (Huck, Molitor, Gress Hausser and Spiegel) which left to join other clubs or were retired. The inability to purchase players through trade meant in the beginning in its history, Strasbourg had to rely on players from its youth academy as well as the local clubs for amateurs. The good news for the club was that the middle of the 1970s saw the rise of a highly talented group of young players, mainly Leonard Specht, Jean-Jacques Marx, Rene Deutschmann, Yves Ehrlacher, Albert Gemmrich, Roland Wagner and Joel Tanter. Alongside goalie Dominique Dropsy and captain Jacky Dugueperoux. These players formed the core of the team during the fantastic period between 1976 and 1980. In the four years that followed, Racing won two championships (D2 in 1977 and D1 in 1979) and achieved very respectable league positions in the other two seasons (third in 1978, and fifth and fifth in the year 1980) and also had the best performance ever in European competition (UEFA Cup Round of 16 1978, European Cup quarter finals in the year 1980).

The 1976-77 season was not without difficulty. After an embarrassing loss against Amiens, Racing called Elek Schwartz from retirement to aid and supervise the activities of player-manager Heinz Schilcher. Schwartz was a prominent player in the 1930s team. He also had a an international reputation as a coach to his credit, with particular stints with Benfica and the Netherlands national team as well as Benfica. Under his direction the team quickly increased its performance, winning the promotion into Division 1 and beating Monaco in division 2's championship which was the first in the history of the club. Following his accomplishment, Schwartz definitely retired and was replaced by Gilbert Gress. As a player Gress has achieved a status of legend in the eyes of Racing supporters. Born in Neudorf family, Gress was a sociable player with a charismatic personality. He was being the very first Frenchman to be successful in the aforementioned Bundesliga as a player for VfB Stuttgart. His return to Strasbourg after his first return to the sport as a player was received with enthusiasm, and his charisma sparked a huge public interest in the team's achievements which led to attendance levels to be at an all-time high.

The 1977-78 season witnessed the unique dominance of the two promoted teams, with Monaco winning the title, and Strasbourg finishing in an unexpected third position, the highest place since 1936. Gress established his own impressions on the team straight from the beginning, insisting on recruiting of skilled, hardworking team members (Jacky Novi Raymond Domenech, Francis Piasecki) instead of international stars and applying creative tactical concepts. Self-professed fan of the Ajax's Total Football, Gress wanted all of his players to defend and attack , and required a lot of versatility. This was atypical in French football in the era of that day. In the majority of French clubs defense players were instructed not to cross midfield lines and strikers were given almost no duty to defend. In fact, Gress instructed his forwards to apply immediate pressure on defenders from the opposite side and encouraged offensive actions with his backs. An indication of flexibility was the fact that the team's most prolific scorer at the time, Albert Gemmrich, played on the left wing , despite being right-footed. Gemmrich was able to score using both feet following an injury which forced him to train with his left foot. Gress utilized his unique shape to confuse defences with huge success.

The 1978-79 season saw Racing maintained the same team that been promoted in 1977 and finished was third in 1978. The only notable exceptions included the addition to midfielder Roger Jouve and the exchange between striker Jacques Vergnes and Chadian player Nabatingue Toko. The French player, the international Vergnes had a tussle with Gress due to his refusal to take on defensive duties as well as his vocal displeasure when he was constantly injured. Vergnes was swiftly transferred to Bordeaux for six games following the beginning of the season. The player who replaced him, Tonko, was the only foreign player in the team that year which was unusual considering that French soccer was dependent on the talent of foreign players. Strasbourg was the first to lead in the season, and did not let it go until the final whistle despite widespread doubt from national fans. The absence of famous names on the team was thought by some to be a major disadvantage against established teams such as Saint-Etienne or Nantes with world-class players. On the other hand, Gress used the critical analysis of the media to boost the players' motivation and stressed that "the player who is most successful of the group". Racing ended up top of the league with 56 points and an unbeaten record at home. The return trip from Lyon where the championship game took place, was an absolute success with huge crowds welcoming Racing at each train station in Alsace prior to arriving at the station in Strasbourg.

The club experienced the same change in an interseason in 1979. The chairman Alain Leopold was replaced by the powerful Andre Bord, Dugueperoux ended his professional career and Gemmrich was transferred to Bordeaux. In order to replace his place, Bord imposed the recruitment of Carlos Bianchi to Gress. Bianchi proved to be a prolific goal scorer however, in addition, he was a traditional striker who was not willing to be a part of defence or teamwork, to Gress her dismay. It was a season marked by the reemergence of internal battles, specifically with the ever-tense relationship with Gress and Bord however, the team still managed to secure an impressive fifth place finish and progressed into the quarterfinals of the European Cup, where it was eliminated by Ajax (0-0;0-4).

The Bleus didn't enjoy their long-term success. In September of 1980, Gress was controversially sacked and, after a few seasons of poor performance, Racing was returned to second-tier football in 1986. The first time around, Strasbourg was unable to secure immediate advancement back to the first level, and eventually finished in at 9th in the group, which was the worst position ever achieved by the club. The club's fortunes improved during the 1987-88 season, when the new coach Henryk Kasperczak guided Racing into its third Division 2 title with players such as Juan Simon, Peter Reichert and Leonard Specht. Strasbourg however, was in no position to stay in the top division and was again in Division 2 in the year 1989. With Specht now in charge, Racing failed to secure promotion in the following two seasons, both times losing in the playoffs, firstly against Nice and then Lens. In 1991-92 Gress returned to his home town as manager and, following a 4-0 win over Rennes (0-0 4-1)) during the last playoff game for promotion, Strasbourg made a lasting return to the top division. In 1992 and 1993, the team achieve eighth place and hasn't been matched since, allowing players like as Jose Cobos, Frank Leboeuf and Marc Keller to shine in the top league. The end of the 1993-94 season Gress quit Racing because of personal discontents with the direction the club was taking. Gress was replaced with Daniel Jeandupeux who was himself dismissed after just eight months. Jacky Dugueperoux then took over Racing and took the club to its most successful period since the 1979 championship. In the 1990s there was an increasing desire for football in France thanks to the rise of the national squad and as with other club, Racing benefited from this setting. The club was capable of attracting French big players like Franck Sauzee as well as foreign players like Aleksandr Mostovoi. With this mixture of experienced players and rising potential, the team made it to an end of their cup campaign in 1995but lost against Paris Saint-Germain (0-1). In April of the same year, Strasbourg became the only team to beat champions Nantes with a 2-0 win at La Meinau. After having a great time in the 1995 Intertoto Cup during the summer, Racing was able to take part in the UEFA Cup where they reached the second round before losing in the second round to Italian greats AC Milan.

In 1996 in 1996, the Bosman ruling was enacted and made it more difficult to French clubs to keep their top players. Strasbourg was not an exception. In the summer, the team was sacked by Mostovoi and two French internationals, Marc Keller and Frank Leboeuf. Despite these departures Racing was a success throughout the season, spending for the majority of this season within the top five and then settling for an 8th-place finish. The was the same season that IMG McCormack Group was picked by the municipal authorities to manage the team. The players, who were still coached by Jacky Dugueperoux and Jacky Dugueperoux, won the Coupe de la Ligue - the first trophy of national significance in 18 years by beating Bordeaux in the penalty shootout. An impressive UEFA Cup run followed that win, which allowed young players from the club such as Olivier Dacourt or Valerien Ismael to shine on the continent. After a good qualifying match with Rangers as well as Liverpool, Strasbourg defeated Inter Milan with a 2-0 win at La Meinau and lost 3-3 at the home leg.

In the between, IMG had taken over the club in summer 1997. Patrick Proisy, former tennis player and director of the French branch, was appointed president. He was later joined a year later by his former friend Claude Le Roy as manager. The Proisy-Le Roy era at Racing was not without its problems with poor performances, several scandals, and a general discontentment of fans with the management of the club. A series of suspicious transfers in that time period led Strasbourg's chief prosecutor to charge Proisy as well as Le Roy of stealing corporate assets and fraud in the year 2006. The club sold its most promising players and substituted them with disappointed expensive foreign players like Diego Hector Garay, Gonzalo Belloso, and Mario Haas. The club pulled off the bizarre task of being knocked out of the league after spending the entire campaign in the lowest three and being crowned the French cup by winning with penalties over Amiens. At that time, Paraguayan star Jose Luis Chilavert scored the winning penalty for Strasbourg at the Stade de France.

In 2001-02, the team under the direction of the manager Ivan Hasek, immediately re-took its place in the nation's soccer elite after being runners up in Ligue 2. In 2003, the club experienced the disappearance from IMG along with Proisy. The club was purchased by a group of local investors , with the former teammate Marc Keller staying as director-general. The new owners were concentrated on securing its finances. As of 2005 Racing took home their first domestic title in the span of four years when they defeated Caen by a score of 2-1 during the semi-final of the League Cup, a feat that earned them an entry into the 2005-2006 UEFA Cup, in which they made it to the final 16.

As of 2006, Strasbourg had to be relegated. The club was bought by real estate developer Philippe Ginestet and celebrated its centennial in autumn 2006 by hosting a variety of events, including an exhibition, as well as an informal match against Marseille. Ginestet appointed French legend Jean-Pierre Pappin as the new manager, and the club was again promoted to the highest level in 2007, placing third. Despite this, Papin resigned as manager due to internal issues and was replaced by Jean-Marc Farran. Under Furlan the RCS did not manage to keep its place at the top of Ligue 1, mainly due to 11 consecutive losses at the close of the 2007-08 campaign, which was a record for post-World War II soccer in France. Furlan was however appointed manager for the next Ligue 2 season but failed in his attempt to get the club back into the top league in the league. Racing finished fourth after the loss of a record-breaking amount at Montpellier. Furlan's contract was then cancelled as well. Phillipe Ginestet stepped down from his chairmanship as the main shareholder. He was replaced by Leonard Specht, who picked Gilbert Gress as manager. The problem was that Gress soon found himself in dispute with several members of the club, among them Ginestet who the manager violently attacked following the defeat of his team to Chateauroux in the first league game. [citation requiredIt was Ginestet was then able to convene an extraordinary board meeting to remove Gress which led to Leonard Specht's departure. Gress got replaced with Assistant manager Pascal Janin, first as an interim manager, and later as permanent manager, after Ginestet returned to the presidency of the club in August 2009. The 2009-10 season was a disaster. an early-season defeat at home resulted in the relegation of Strasbourg into the Championnat National as they suffered their third relegation in the space of three seasons. Their 2010-11 seasons saw them just not be promoted into Ligue 2 as they finished in fourth place, just one point behind Guingamp.

On the 17th of July, 2011 Racing Club de Strasbourg entered complete liquidation and was taken out of the National to be replaced by AS Cherbourg. On the 25th of August, 2011, after a long negotiation between FFF, after lengthy negotiations with FFF, Strasbourg were eventually returned to the fifth tier of French footballing system, which is the CFA 2 the Group C. Strasbourg finished with 100 points and was promoted to the CFA the fourth level of French Football in their debut in the 2011-12 season.

As of 2012, the team changed its name to RC Strasbourg Alsace with a similar badge.

Strasbourg ended up as champions in Strasbourg's CFA at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season , and was relegated in the National. The following year, Jacky Dugueperoux was given the job of manager three times. He took over from Francois Keller. Keller having served for three years was the longest-serving manager ever since Gilbert Gress in the early-to-mid-1990s.

On May 27, 2016, Strasbourg drew 0-0 at Belfort to win the title of champions in the National and secure the promotion into Ligue 2, marking their return to the professional league at the top of the French football pyramid following the absence of six years.

On May 19, 2017 Strasbourg secured its return into Ligue 1 after a nine-year absence from the French top league after a 2-1 victory at home against Bourg-Peronnas, which earned them their 2016-17 Ligue 2 championship. The 2nd December of 2017 Strasbourg won a thrilling win in the match against Paris Saint-Germain winning 2-1. It was the first loss for PSG during the season since they were unbeaten throughout Ligue 1 and in the Champions League. In the final stages season 2017/2018 Ligue 1 season, Strasbourg placed 15th on the list, ensuring their continued existence in the top league for the upcoming season.

On the 30th of March, 2019 Strasbourg claimed the 4th Coupe de la Ligue title with a win over Guingamp 4-1 with penalties after the draw 0 -0 in extra time. Strasbourg had made it to their fourth final in their history by defeating Lille at the end of the first round. The team was then followed by winning Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux in the round of 16 quarter-final and semi-final respectively. The final took place on the Lille's Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Goalkeeper from Strasbourg Bingourou Kamara was named the Man Of The Match.

For the 2021-21 Ligue 1 season, Strasbourg suffered for the majority of the campaign , but they managed to finish 15th in the list. In the summer following, Strasbourg hired Julien Stephan who was the one who had guided Stade Rennais to their first significant trophy in a long time. The first season Stephan was as the club's manager, Strasbourg contested for European places and was ranked last at the end of the season.

The colors of the city are white and red Racing has always been an amalgamation of white and blue. The reason for the choice of colors is not known. Through the years the most popular uniform consisted consisting of medium-blue jersey along with white shorts and socks of medium blue. Since the last 10 years the team has often changed between medium blue sky blue, dark blue, and white as the primary colour of their home jersey. From 2007, the flag of Alsace is displayed in the reverse of the shirt. Hummel is the designer of the kit at present. In the past (1973-2000 between 2003 and 2007), Racing was equipped by Adidas who have its French headquarters in Landersheim located near Strasbourg as well as Saverne. ASICS also provided the team (2000-03).

The current team logo has been used and has been in use since 1976, and is widely thought to be the most authentic one. It has stylised storks (symbol from Alsace) as well as an red diagonal stripe derived from the coat of arms of the city as well as a representation of the Cathedral as well as the initials of the club: RCS. In 1997-2006, the team adopted an alternative logo, which was introduced in the year 1997 by Patrick Proisy. The logo was later thought as better and more "modern" in its design and believed to be a representation of simultaneously the cathedral and an eagle. The resemblance was not obvious to all and the design quickly being referred to as "Pac-Man" because of similarities to the famed video game. Then, in 2006 the current direction of the club in response to a fan request, reinstated the crest of 1976.

Racing have played on the Stade de la Meinau in the southern part of Strasbourg since the year 1914. The stadium was the venue for both the 1938 World Cup and Euro 1984. The stadium's capacity was reduced between 45,000 and 29,000 in the 1990s in order to meet modern safety standards.

In the past, Racing has its roots in the south of Strasbourg and the working class Neudorf, Meinau and Polygone neighborhoods. In the 1930s it was the only team within the region that made the jump to professional soccer and, thanks to the assistance of a number of successful performances throughout the decade, it gained community support throughout the town. In Strasbourg like the rest of France there is just one professional football club in every city . This means there's not a rivalry in the town which contrasts with what is happening of Great Britain, Italy or Spain. Today, as the sole professional football team within Alsace, Racing attracts a huge fan base that spans equally regions of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin regions and the eastern portion and the eastern part of Moselle. The fan base outside of this region is restricted to those who, for one reason or other are connected in some way to Alsace. There are also connections to the opposite side of the Rhine in particular through a fan-supporter relationship with Karlsruher SC and regular friendly games during summer.

The average crowd of Ligue 1 has been around 20000 for a stadium that has a capacity of 29,000. Supporter groups comprise groups like the "Ultra Boys 90", the "Kop Ciel and Blanc" and the "Club central of supporters". The majority of the supporter clubs and the most vocal supporters generally have chosen to be located in the Kop in the "Quart de Virage Nord-Ouest" (North-West quarter corner). Strasbourg supporters are known as loyal, but also skeptical. A former team captain Corentin Martins once stated that Strasbourg population is "demanding but fair". Racing is always an emotive subject in Alsace. It is stated that people either be in love with it or dislike it, or both simultaneously however, it is a sport that leaves no one unsatisfied.

Racing Strasbourg's primary opponent is Metz. The two clubs play in what is commonly referred to as the "Derby de the East" ("the Eastern derby") in France an ill-fitting phrase considering that both cities are located 150 kilometers from each other. However, there is a substantial amount of regional rivalry between Alsace and Lorraine which has led to some tension between fans of both sides. The two clubs faced one another in the quarter-finals at the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup in what was the first-ever game of two French teams in an European tournament. Strasbourg defeated Mulhouse by 2-0. While Mulhouse was in the professional game both sides maintained a rivalry in the youth team arena. are involved.

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The history of racing has been closely connected to local politics and business. It was in the 1930s that RCS's rise to professionalism was aided by the automobile manufacturer Emile Mathis who had his factory right in front of the stadium of La Meinau. RCS soon began to engage in a battle with Sochaux which was supported by Mathis the rival of Peugeot. Following the Second World War, Mathis ceased activity and the club needed to find new sponsors. One of them was Credit Mutuel - a large bank that has it's roots in Alsace and was featured on the shirt of the club throughout the 1970s and 1960s and also the town's municipal government. In the year 1980, Andre Bord, a well-known local Gaullist politician, and former secretary during Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou presidency, was elected the chairman. Bord was able to boast of his connections to the political, business as well as artistic elites, and promised to create Racing an iconic name within French football. But he quickly got into an argument with the the charismatic coach Gilbert Gress that culminated in September of 1980, with the release of Gress his departure sparked an uproar of the crowd and riots during a match against Nantes. The inability of the powerful President and the highly skilled manager to work well with each as well as the incident of 1980 could be the reason Racing failed to compete long-term at the top of the league following the 1979 championship.

When 1986 came around, Bord retired from the club's professional division and appointed the fashion design guru Daniel Hechter as his successor. Hechter was previously barred from playing professional football because of being involved in the Paris Saint-Germain secret funds scandal however, he was allowed to take over the presidency position at Strasbourg due to the sentence reduction. This was the first effort to get an outsider in the local environment at the club's top however the plan was a failure in the year 1990 when the club was close to bankruptcy. The racing was saved by the Strasbourg municipal government, which bought 49% of the club, but was forced to give it up a couple of years later when the Pasqua law restricted public funding to professional sports. The year 1997 saw two groups were fighting to purchase the municipal share and become the club's owner. The first one was led by the then-president Roland Weller, a local businessman. The second attempt was launched by the American IMG-McCormack Group, through its French branch , headed by Patrick Proisy. In the year 2000, IMG was trying to grow its involvement in European football, and had not succeeded in its bid to acquire Olympique de Marseille. The American group proposed an ambitious plan that included an completely new academy for youth and plans to revamp the stadium. They eventually won the race to become Racing's owner at a cost in the region of 1.5 million euro. The club changed its name to "Societe Anonyme an Objet Sportif" and later it was renamed a "Societe Anonyme Professionnelle" which is like that of the common corporate status, subject to limitations, such as the inability to be a part of the stock market and also the obligation to remain a part of the association that was originally founded. Proisy was appointed chairperson of the board, with complete authority over the pro division, but not the omni-sport structure which was still in possession of the name of the club as well as its connection to the French Football Federation (FFF). This was demonstrated in 2002, when Proisy and Bord who is still chairperson of the all-sports omni-sport had a disagreement that resulted in the inability of professional athletes to sport the name "Racing team De Strasbourg" on their jerseys for a period of time.

Proisy's tenure at Strasbourg was a tumultuous period of miscommunications frustrated, a lack of results and frustration on the field. The Alsatian populace was particularly upset by being astonished that Proisy did not want to settle in Strasbourg rather, he was in charge of the club's fate through IMG's headquarters in Paris. Racing's problems and the town's inability to fund an expansion to the stadium de Meinau to accommodate in 1998 the FIFA World Cup provoked heated discussions during the 2001 municipal elections and ultimately became one of the factors that led to the demise of Catherine Trautmann. In 2003 the club was purchased back by a group of investors from the local community, including Egon Gindorf, who was elected the chairman. Patrick Adler, Pierre Schmidt and Philippe Ginestet who all had been sponsors of the club during the IMG time. The new owners bought the club at a price of symbolic euros to an IMG group looking to cut its losses following the passing of Mark McCormack but had to fund a 3 million euros deficit to finish the budget for 2002-03. It's estimated to have Racing was able to lose 15million euros in the IMG time period, due mainly to a questionable recruitment policy.

With a shrewd transfer policy implemented by Director Marc Keller and good attendance rates the new management has been able to improve the financial situation of the club, but its economy has remained in a state of uncertainty until this point. In 2004 Gindorf was facing financial and personal problems and was able to reduce his involvement with Racing. It was widely believed the fact that Philippe Ginestet would become the new chairman at the conclusion this season. However, the move was resisted by Keller who in June 2005 explicitly stated that he was not going to work with Ginestet. Keller was actually in charge of the club's leadership since 2002, but was an unimportant shareholder. Keller was nevertheless successful in leveraging his legendary image with fans to initially oppose Ginestet's appointment to chair, which led to a stalemate which lasted for the rest of 2005, as the club looked for an investor. In the fall of 2005 it was confirmed the name of Alain Afflelou, owner of the biggest optician shop in France and also a ex-president of Bordeaux The club was set to become the new owner. However, the bid was ultimately rejected by Ginestet who took over the club at the midpoint of the 2005-06 season. This forced Keller's resignation a couple of months after. Ginestet owned a majority stake for four years, which was sold at the end of 2009 at a cost that was EUR1.6 million. Following some speculation, it was determined that the buyer of this new share is Alain Fontenla, a French investment broker with a base in London. In the year 2010, Fontenla was the owner of 85% and also Carousel Finance (15%) and a stake called "Racing investissements", which owns a majority stake (70 percent) of EuroRacing which is the largest shareholder (78 percent) in the company. The second largest investor in the team was Lohr SA, an industrial company that focuses on transportation.

Below is a listing of RC Strasbourg's 15 presidents from the beginning in the professional age, which began in 1933. The president hasn't always been the proprietor of the organization. For instance, between 1990 and 1997, the municipality was the main shareholder however, it decided to delegate the chairmanships to local independent entrepreneurs.

The 2009-10 season was an unprecedented five consecutive presidents. The season began with Leonard Specht stepped down from his post following the demotion of Glibert Gress who was named manager by him. Philippe Ginestet then re-took the role of president, but resigned from the club following the transfer by the newly appointed owners took place in the month of December. The new owners decided to nominate Julien Fournier as the new Chief Executive, but after some controversy, Fournier quickly entered a dispute with the new main shareholder Alain Fontenla. Fournier's contract was ended in February, and his replacement was Luc Dayan on an interim basis. A month later the former Sochaux chairman Jean-Claude Prissis arrived to take over Dayan.

As of 23 July 2022.

RCS has no official hall of fame , nor the all-time team. Many selections have been chosen by supporters and press but none has earned the utmost recognition. A total of 21 have selected for France when playing for Strasbourg. One of the most famous has to be Oscar Heisserer who played a record-breaking 18 times with the national team during his time playing at Strasbourg He was also the very first Alsatian and the first and only RCS athlete to sport an armband for France. Dominique Dropsy, Leonard Specht and Gerard Hausser also earned more than 10 caps. Marc Molitor is one of the few instances of a player who was selected for the national team when playing in Division 2. It is not surprising that it was in the title season of 1978-1979 that Racing was the team with the highest number of players who were part of the national team. On October 7, 1978, was a record number of RCS athletes (Dominique Dropsy Roger Jouve, Francis Piasecki, Albert Gemmrich) in the field for the Euro 1980 qualifying game against Luxembourg. This was repeated a month later in an international friendly in Spain (Dropsy, Piasecki, Gemmrich and Leonard Specht). Frank Leboeuf and Marc Keller were the final RCS players to be awarded an award during this season of 1995-96. Leboeuf was one of two former RCS members of the French team that won the World Cup, the other one being Youri Djorkaeff.

Some players who have played for Strasbourg and who recently had the privilege of playing for France are Olivier Dacourt and Richard Dutruel, (both in 2004). Additionally the the current France world-class midfielder Morgan Schellin is a member of the RC Strasbourg youth set-up. He played 13 years at the club prior to moving to Southampton after only five games in the first-team for Strasbourg. Schneiderlin later moved into Manchester United on 14 July 2015 prior to a transfer towards Everton in January of 2017.

As regional pride remains strong in Alsace and the Alsace region, the performances of local players will naturally draw the attention of the world's media. Seven of the players who have the most appearances in Racing come of Alsace: Rene Hauss (who holds the record), Leonard Specht, Rene Deutschmann, Edmond Haan, Gerard Hausser, Jean Schuth and Raymond Kaelbel. Since 1979, there's also a unique tradition that each Racing team that has won the trophy or make it to the final has the name of a Breton as manager, captain or both. Jacky Dugueperoux captained the 1979 team and was awarded the Coupe de la Ligue in 1997 and 2005, both as manager. It was 2001's Coupe de France winning team was comprised of Yvon Pouliquen, manager as well as Corentin Martins who was captain. Pouliquen was also the captain of the final in 1995.

In addition to French Internationals, as well as Alsatians In addition, there is a long tradition of attract international players hailing from Central as well as Eastern Europe at Strasbourg. The highly successful Racing team from the 1930s often comprised Austrians both as coaches and players. which was a practice that continued in the 1950s when Ernst Stojaspal played at la Meinau in the 1950s. Other Mitteleuropa players that are often cited as heroes are Elek Schwartz Ivica Osim Ivan Hasek, Alexander Vencel or Danijel Lujuboja. Russian Aleksandr Mostovoi was the final world-class player who has played for Racing to date. Additionally one of the most renowned goalkeepers of all time The Paraguayan Jose Luis Chilavert who was known as three times voted IFFHS World's Top Goalkeeper as well as his abilities with free kicks and winning in 2001 the Coupe de France with the club.

Strasbourg has been ruled by 47 managers during the professional period, with the manager in the post changing the office 57 times. This is a record for French football, only broken by Marseille. Gilbert Gress holds the record for the manager with the longest tenure for the team, for both one time (39 months in between. 1977-80, 152 games) and also for all time (75 months over three seasons and 275 games). Paul Frantz holds the record for the longest period of time spent in Racing in four (73 months total 227 games). Jacky Dugueperoux is the only manager to be awarded two awards at the club.

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• Ligue 1
  • Winners: 1978–79
• Ligue 2
  • Winners: 1976–77, 1987–88, 2016–17
• Championnat National
  • Winners: 2015–16
• Championnat National 2
  • Winners: 2012–13
• Alsace Champions
  • Winners: 1923, 1924, 1926
• Dordogne Champions
  • Winners: 1940

• Coupe de France
  • Winners: 1950–51, 1965–66, 2000–01
• Coupe de la Ligue
  • Winners: 1963–64, 1996–97, 2004–05, 2018–19

• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Winners: 1995

• Biggest victory: 10–0 (vs. Valenciennes, 1937–38)
• Biggest defeat: 0–8 (vs. Limoges, 1959–60)
• Biggest victory in European game: 5–0 (v. Grazer AK, 2005–06)
• Biggest defeat in European game: 2–10 (v. MTK Budapest, 1961–62)
• Record appearances: René Hauss (580; 421 in Ligue 1; between 1949 and 1969)
• Most consecutive appearances for the club: Dominique Dropsy (336; between 1973 and 1982)
• Most goals for the club: Oskar Rohr (118; between 1934 and 1939)
• Most goals for a single championship season at the club: Oskar Rohr (30; 1936–37)
• Oldest player: René Hauss (39 years, 351 days; vs. Nantes; 11 December 1966)
• Youngest player: Jacques Glassmann (16 years, 95 days vs. Nantes, 25 November 1978)
• Record attendance: 39,033, 20 November 1992, vs. Marseille
• Highest transfer fee paid: €5.3 million (to Sturm Graz for Mario Haas in 1999)
• Highest transfer fee received: €8.8 million (from Lyon for Peguy Luyindula in 2001)