Extreme Football Tourism: LUXEMBOURG: CS Grevenmacher

Stade Op Flohr, Grevenmacher (CS Grevenmacher)

Luxembourg, canton: Grevenmacher

27 XI 2022 / CS Grevenmacher - FC Marisca Mersch 1-5 / Promotion d'Honneur (= LUX level 2)

Timeline

1909 / Foundation of Stade Mosellan Grevenmacher. The club, which does not take part in any official competition in the years preceding World War I, settles at a pitch at Lieu-dit 'Op Worbelt'.
1914 / A name change leads to the club henceforth being known as Club Sportif (CS) Grevenmacher.
1921 / CS Grevenmacher first enters a team in Luxembourg's regular leagues, being placed in Division 2, the fourth step of the Grand-Duchy's league pyramid. Around this same time, the club moves into a new ground, Terrain Pech, situated near the Pont de la Moselle.
1923 / The first success in club history, CS Grevenmacher finishes second in Division 2, thus acceding to Division 1. In the years leading up to World War II, the club mainly plays in D2, alternated with short excursions to D1 and D3.
1930 / Having played at Terrain Pech for some ten years, CS Grevenmacher moves into a new ground, Terrain Am Pietert.
1936 / CS Grevenmacher settles at Stade de la Moselle, a newly laid-out ground situated at the exit road leading to Mertert and Wasserbillig, near the old abattoir.
1940 / Forced by German occupation authorities to eliminate the French elements from its appellation, CS Grevenmacher changes its name to become FK Grevenmacher.
1944 / Upon liberation from German oppression, the old club name CS Grevenmacher is reinstated.
1947 / Following two promotions in a row, CS Grevenmacher finds itself in Promotion d'Honneur, the second level of the Grand-Duchy's league pyramid, for the first time.
1949 / Finishing third in Promotion d'Honneur, CS Grevenmacher accedes to National Division, the top flight of Luxembourg's football, for the first time in club history. The adventure does not last longer than one season, though, with relegation following in 1950.
1951 / Reaching the cup final for the first time, CS Grevenmacher holds top flight club SC Tétange to a 1-1 draw, but loses the replay (2-0). In the following years, the club is unlucky enough to lose three more cup finals - against FA Red Boys Differdange (1953), AS La Jeunesse d'Esch (1954), and Union Luxembourg (1959) respectively.
1953 / Clinching the title in Promotion d'Honneur, CS Grevenmacher manages a return to National Division, destined to hold its own at this level for the best part of the following ten years, alternated with one season in Promotion d'Honneur (1955-56).
1960 / In the best season in club history so far, CS Grevenmacher finished third in National Division.
1962 / After a successful spell in National Division, 'CSG' drops back into Promotion d'Honneur. In the following 14 seasons, the club mainly plays at that level, alternated with two isolated seasons in the top flight (1968-69 & 1970-71).
1976 / Winning the title in Promotion d'Honneur, CS Grevenmacher returns to National Division.
1983 / Although the new ground is not ready yet, CS Grevenmacher moves its first team football the newly built Stade Flohr in the course of the 1982-83 season. Stade de la Moselle remains in use for lower team football and training sessions.
1984 / Following eight consecutive seasons in National Division, with fifth places in the final ranking in 1980 and 1983 as best results, CSG drops back into Promotion d'Honneur.
1985 / Clinching first place in Promotion d'Honneur, CS Grevenmacher bounces straight back to the top flight of Luxembourg's football pyramid. On October 6th, 1985, the covered stand having been constructed, raising official capacity to 4,062, Stade Flohr (later renamed Stade Op Flohr) is inaugurated officially in the presence of Grevenmacher's mayor Victor Braun and the Grand-Duchy's minister of sports, Marc Fischbach. On the occasion, the premises are consecrated by deacon Emile Weyer. The ceremonies having been performed, CS Grevenmacher takes on AS La Jeunesse d'Esch, defeating the record champions 3-2.
1994 / Having proven itself as a stable factor in National Division in the previous seasons, CS Grevenmacher comes close to winning the league title - in the end finishing second behind FC Avenir Beggen. In all three following editions of Luxembourg's league championship, CSG finishes second again - on all of these three occasions preceded by AS La Jeunesse d'Esch. As a result, the club qualifies for European football for the first time, being defeated by Norway's Rosenborg BK in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round; after losing the home tie 1-2 at Stade Flohr, CS Grevenmacher receives a severe drubbing in Trondheim (6-0). Underlining its ambitions, the club buys Luxembourg international players Paul Koch and Marc Thomé - the latter of whom would go on to serve CS Grevenmacher as manager after hanging up his boots.
1995 / Picking up its first tangible silverware, CS Grevenmacher wins the cup final - after drawing 1-1 against AS La Jeunesse d'Esch, CSG wins the replay 3-2. In the ensuing Cup Winners Cup qualifier against Iceland's KR, Grevenmacher registers its first international success by winning the home match at Stade Flohr 3-2; unfortunately, the away match in Reykjavík is lost 2-0, resulting in elimination.
1996 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Georgia's FC Dinamo Tblisi (6-2 on aggregate).
1997 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Croatia's HNK Hajduk Split (6-1 on aggregate).
1998 / Reaching its sixth cup final, CS Grevenmacher wins the trophy by defeating FC Avenir Beggen (2-0). In the Cup Winners Cup first qualification round, the club is eliminated by Rumania's Rapid București (8-2 on aggregate).
1999 / Putting an end to his footballing career which saw him defending the colours of FC Aris Bonnevoie, AS La Jeunesse d'Esch, and FC Avenir Beggen before spending the last three years as an active player at Stade Op Flohr, Théo Scholten finishes on a total of 419 matches in National Division - only 5 less than record holder Denis Scuto. Scholten also played 21 matches in Luxembourg's national team (1984-90). Also in 1999, goalkeeper (and future Luxembourg international player) Jonathan Joubert, who spent his young years in FC Metz's youth academy, signs for CS Grevenmacher, destined to stay at the club for five seasons.
2000 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Finland's HJK Helsinki (6-3 on aggregate). The home tie, which Grevenmacher won 2-0 - the club's second-ever European win -, was not played at Stade Op Flohr, which was not in conformity with UEFA's tightened safety regulations, but at Stade Josy Barthel in Luxembourg-Ville.
2001 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Greece's AEK (8-0 on aggregate).
2002 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Cyprus' Anorthosis Famagusta; after a 3-0 away defeat, a 2-0 victory for CSG at Stade Josy Barthel was not sufficient to manage a first-ever European aggregate win.
2003 / Having finished second in Luxembourg's National Division behind F91 Dudelange in all three previous seasons, CS Grevenmacher manages its first - and only-ever - national title win. The club also wins its third national cup, defeating FC Etzella Ettelbruck in the final (1-0). In the new season, CSG is drawn against FK Leotar Trebinje in the Champions League's first qualifying round, holding the Bosnian champions to a stalemate (0-0) at Stade Josy Barthel before suffering elimination after a 2-0 away loss. Unable to repeat the succes of the 2002-03 season, the club does not win any silverware in the following four years, neither managing to qualify for a European competition.
2008 / Defeating FC Victoria Rosport 4-1 in the final, CS Grevenmacher wins its fourth Luxembourg cup. In the UEFA Cup's qualifying round, the club is drawn against Iceland's title holders FH - suffering a suprisingly comprehensive 8-3 aggregate defeat, with the away tie being played at Kaplakriki in Hafnarfjörður.
2009 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by Lithuania's FK Vėtra (6-0 on aggregate).
2010 / For the second season running, CS Grevenmacher finishes third in National Division. Just like in 2002-03, the club's striker Daniel Huss is crowned top goalscorer of the league with 22 goals. In his career, Huss socred 228 goals in 364 matches in National Division, all of those played for CSG - giving him second place in the league's all-time top scorer list, headed by Armin Krings. Huss cannot score in the cup final, in which Grevenmacher suffers a 1-0 defeat at the hands of FC Differdange 03. In the 2009-10 UEFA Cup campaign, CSG again stumbles over the first hurdle, as Ireland's Dundalk FC, after being held to a 3-3 draw at Stade Josy Barthel, wins the tie at Oriel Park 2-1. Also in 2010, CS Grevenmacher's new clubhouse, built as an extension of the main stand of Stade Op Flohr, is inaugurated.
2012 / CS Grevenmacher is eliminated in the UEFA Cup's first qualifying round by KF Tirana. After losing the away tie at Stadiumi Kombëtar Qemal Stafa (2-0), the club holds the Albanians to a 0-0 draw, played at Dudelange's Stade Jos Nosbaum. To date, it is CS Grevenmacher's last European involvement. In 13 participations in the various international cup competitions, the club always stumbled over the first hurdle.
2016 / After an uninterrupted spell of 31 years in National Division, CS Grevenmacher, finishing in 14th place, is relegated to Promotion d'Honneur.
2018 / The lowpoint in club history, CSG suffers a second relegation in three seasons, dropping back into Division 1, the third tier of the Grand-Duchy's league pyramid - a level at which the club had not played since the mid-1940s.
2019 / CS Grevenmacher reaches the final of Coupe FLF, Luxembourg's cup competition for clubs playing in the three lower divisions of the league pyramid, but suffers a 3-1 defeat at the hands of FC Yellow Boys Weiler-la-Tour.
2022 / Clinching the D1 title, CS Grevenmacher manages a return to Promotion d'Honneur.
2024 / Finishing in second-last place in Promotion d'Honneur, CSG drops back into Division 1 along with FC Lorentzweiler, Yellow Boys Weiler-la-Tour, and bottom club Blo-Weiss Medernach.

Note 1: Thanks to CS Grevenmacher's chairman Guy Fusenig and secretary Norry Stoltz for providing important parts of the information given above at my match visit in November 2022.

Note 2: Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-3 = non-matchday visit, July 1995 / pictures 4-24 = match visit, November 2022.