Extreme Football Tourism: LUXEMBOURG: FC Progrès Niederkorn

Stade Jos Haupert, Niedercorn (FC Progrès Niederkorn)

Luxembourg, canton: Esch-sur-Alzette

13 VIII 2011 / FC Progrès Niederkorn - CS Grevenmacher 0-1 / National Division (= LUX level 1)

11 IX 2022 / FC Progrès Niederkorn - AS La Jeunesse d'Esch 2-1 / National Division (= LUX level 1)

Timeline

1919 / Foundation of Cercle Sportif (CS) Progrès Niederkorn. The club plays its football at Stade Im Brill, little more than a meadow situated at Lieu-dit Am Duel, on the western outskirts of Niedercorn.
1921 / Foundation of a rival club in Niedercorn, called Black Boys Niederkorn. Black Boys folds one year later without leaving any traces - in fact, this club did not field a first team in the only season of their existence.
1923 / CS Progrès wins the title in Division 1, the third tier of Luxembourg's football pyramid, gaining promotion to Promotion d'Honneur.
1926 / For the first time, Progrès accedes to the National Division, the top flight of Luxembourg's football, but the stay at that level does not last longer than one season. By 1928, however, the club is back in the National Division.
1931 / Abandoning its first ground, Stade Im Brill, CS Progrès Niederkorn settles at the newly built Stade Vélodrome - alternatively referred to as Stade de l'Entente de Niedercorn. Doubling as a cycling stadium, Niedercorn's velodrome - along with the Vélodrome de Belair in Luxembourg-Ville - was one of two main sites of cycling races in the Grand-Duchy.
1932 / Gradually establishing itself as one of the strongest sides in Luxembourgian football, CS Progrès finishes second in the National Division.
1933 / CS Progrès Niederkorn obtains its first silverware, beating Union Luxembourg in Luxembourg's cup final (4-1).
1936 / Having suffered relegation to Promotion d'Honneur the previous season, Progrès finds its way back to the National Division - destined to stay at that level uninterruptedly for the following 24 years - with a second place in the final ranking in 1937 being one of the highlights.
1940 / Following Germany's occupation of Luxembourg, all football clubs are forced to germanicise their names - with CS Progrès Niederkorn becoming Fussball Klub (FK) Niederkorn - and subsequently integrated in Germany's league pyramid.
1943 / Playing in Gauliga Moselland, the highest level of the German football pyramid in the wider Coblenz and Trèves region, FK Niederkorn finishes second behind German side TuS Neuendorf.
1944 / Upon liberation from the German yoke, the club takes on its old name, yet with an anglicised prefix: Football Club (FC, instead of CS) Progrès Niederkorn.
1945 / FC Progrès wins Luxembourg's Cup for the second time by defeating CA Spora Luxembourg (2-0). The year after, Progrès reaches the final again, but suffers a 3-1 defeat (A.E.T.) against AS La Jeunesse d'Esch.
1947 / FC Progrès Niederkorn wins Luxembourg's minor cup competition, the Coupe FLF, defeating US Dudelange 2-1 in the final.
1953 / For the first time in club history, Progrès wins Luxembourg's national football title.
1956 / Progrès loses Luxembourg's Cup final against Stade Dudelange (3-1 A.E.T.).
1960 / Marking the end of the club's first Golden Age, Progrès suffers relegation to Promotion d'Honneur, the second tier of Luxembourg's football pyramid. Until the mid-1970s, the club alternates short spells in the National Division and Promotion d'Honneur.
1974 / Winning promotion to the National Division for the third time in 11 years, Progrès begins its second Golden Age. As Niedercorn's Stade Vélodrome is knocked down, the club temporarily moves its first team football to Differdange - although it is as yet unclear if the club groundshared with AS Differdange at Stade Henri Jungers or with FA Red Boys Differdange at Stade du Thillenberg. Meanwhile, works on a new stadium in Niedercorn proper are underway.
1976 / Inauguration of FC Progrès Niederkorn's new (and current) ground. The stadium, disposing of a covered stand with 800 seats as well as a small terrace on the opposite side, is named after former CS Progrès player - and later deputy-mayor of Differdange - Jos Haupert (1910-80). Haupert was part of Progrès' team which won the cup final in 1933.
1977 / Reaching Luxembourg's Cup final, Progrès defeats CA Red Boys Differdange - after a 4-4 draw, the Niedercorn squad wins the replay 3-1. Qualifying for European football for the first time in club history, Progrès loses in the first round of the Cup Winners' Cup against Danish side Vejle BK (10-0 on aggregate). The home match is not played in Stade Jos Haupert, deemed unfit for international football, but in Obercorn's Stade Municipal.
1978 / The 1977-78 season goes down as the most successful in Progrès' history, as the club wins the national title as well as the cup final (2-1 against Union Luxembourg, with both of Progrès' goals scored by Jean-Paul Bossi). Thus qualifying for the European Cup (I) for the first time, Progrès draws Real Madrid CF in the first round. Against the Spanish powerhouse, Progrès suffers a 12-0 aggregate humiliation - with the 7-0 home defeat being played once more in Obercorn's Stade Municipal in front of a crowd of 6,000.
1979 / Taking part in the UEFA Cup (or European Cup III) for the first time, FC Progrès bows out against Switzerland's Grasshopper Club (6-0 on aggregate).
1981 / FC Progrès Niederkorn crowns itself champions of Luxembourg for a third time. In the European Cup (I), the club manages to keep Northern Ireland's Glentoran FC in check in the home leg in Obercorn (1-1 - marking the first European non-defeat for Progrès), but bowing out by losing the away match in Belfast's Oval (4-0).
1982 / Marking the last European matches for Progrès for the next thirty+ years, Progrès once again draws a Swiss opponent, losing (4-0 on aggregate) against Servette FC in the UEFA Cup.
1989 / After fifteen uninterrupted seasons in the top flight, Progrès drops out of the National Division. In the following decade-and-a-half, the club alternates short spells in Promotion d'Honneur and the National Division.
2006 / Finishing second in Promotion d'Honneur, Progrès establishes itself durably in the National Division once more.
2015 / Enjoying its first European campaign in 32 years, FC Progrès is defeated by Shamrock Rovers FC in the first qualifying round of the Europa League, with a goalless draw in Stade Municipal de la Ville de Differdange and a 3-0 loss in Dublin's Tallaght Stadium.
2017 / FC Progrès makes international headlines for the first time in club history, as it manages a sensational defeat of Rangers FC; after a 1-0 defeat at Ibrox Stadium, the Niedercorn side beats Scotland's record champions 2-0 in the home leg played at Stade Josy Barthel in front of 5,534 spectators. Moreover, it is the first time Progrès manages a European win. In the second qualifying round, the story ends with a double defeat against Cyprus' side AEL Limassol.
2018 / Not having come close to winning Luxembourg's national title in the previous four decades, Progrès finishes second in the National Division. In the following Europa League campaign - for which the home matches are played in Differdange's Stade Municipal once again, Progrès defeats Gabala FK (Azerbaijan) and Budapest Honvéd FC (Hungary) before finally bowing out in the third qualifying round against FK Ufa (Russia).
2019 / FC Progrès has another Europa League success to celebrate, defeating Welsh side Cardiff Metropolitan University FC and Ireland's Cork City FC successively before drawing Rangers FC in the following round - and unable to repeat the 2017 shock result, Progrès loses 2-0 at Ibrox, followed by a goalless draw at Stade Josy Barthel (3,867 spectators).
2020 / Defeating Montenegrin side FK Zeta in the first qualifying round of the Europa League, Progrès bows out in the following round against Dutch side Willem II.
2023 / Runners-up in the National Division, 7 points behind champions FC Swift Hesperange, Progrès qualifies for the Conference League, defeating Kosovo's KF Gjilani in the first qualifying round (4-2 aggr.) before bowing out against FC Midtjylland in the second qualifying round (2-3 aggr.).
2024 / Progrès obtains Luxembourg's cup, with the final being decided on penalties against FC Swift Hesperange (1-1 A.E.T.) - incidentally Progrès' first silverware in 43 seasons. The club is seeded in the second qualifying round of the Conference League, being eliminated straightaway by Djurgårdens IF (1-3 aggr.).

Note 1: Highlights of the second match I attended at Stade Jos Haupert (in 2022) can be watched by clicking this YouTube link.

Note 2: Below, a compilation of photos of four different visits: pictures 1-2 & 4-6 = non-matchday visit, March 2011 / picture 3 = non-matchday visit, July 1995 / pictures 7-15 & 17-24 = match visit, September 2022 / picture 16 = match visit, August 2011.