1998–99 FC Metz season

Metz
1998–99 season
President	Carlo Molinari
Head coach	Joël Müller
Stadium	Stade Saint-Symphorien
Division 1	10th
Coupe de France	Round of 16
Coupe de la Ligue	Runners-up
Champions League	Second qualifying round
UEFA Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Bruno Rodriguez (6); All: ; Nenad Jestrović (9)
Highest home attendance	23,470 vs Le Havre (29 May 1999)
Lowest home attendance	2,500 vs HJK (26 August 1998)
Average home league attendance	17,395
	← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

The 1998–99 season was the 67th season in the existence of FC Metz and the club's 32nd consecutive season in the top-flight of French football. In addition to the domestic league, Metz participated in this season's editions of the Coupe de France, the Coupe de la Ligue, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup.^[2]

Season summary

Last season, Metz had only been denied their first ever French title by goal difference. This season, however, the club endured humiliating exits from the Champions League and the UEFA Cup and dropped down to 10th in the final table. The closest the club came to glory was reaching the Coupe de la Ligue final, but they were defeated 1-0 by Lens.^[2]

Players

Squad at end of season^[3]^[4]^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	FRA	Lionel Letizi
2	DF	FRA	Pascal Pierre
3	DF	FRA	Philippe Gaillot
4	DF	FRA	Sébastien Schemmel
5	DF	FRA	Sylvain Kastendeuch
6	FW	FRA	Christophe Horlaville
7	MF	FRA	Ludovic Asuar
8	MF	FRA	Franck Rizzetto
9	FW	YUG	Vladan Lukić
10	MF	FRA	Frédéric Meyrieu
11	FW	HUN	Mihály Tóth
12	MF	FRA	Grégory Proment
13	MF	FRA	Stéphane Rondelaere
14	DF	FRA	Geoffray Toyes


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
15	FW	YUG	Nenad Jestrović
16	GK	FRA	André Biancarelli
17	MF	FRA	Franck Histilloles
18	DF	LUX	Jeff Strasser
19	MF	FRA	Stéphane Boulila
20	MF	FRA	Didier Neumann
22	FW	FRA	Younès Diani
25	MF	BEL	Danny Boffin
26	DF	USA	David Regis^{[notes 1]}
27	FW	FRA	Jonathan Jäger
28	MF	BEL	Gunter van Handenhoven
29	MF	ALG	Nasreddine Kraouche^{[notes 2]}
30	GK	FRA	Jonathan Joubert^{[notes 3]}
32	DF	FRA	Sylvain Marchal

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
6	MF	FRA	Christophe Le Grix (on loan to Lorient)
21	FW	FRA	Bruno Rodriguez (to PSG)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
24	FW	FRA	Louis Saha (on loan to Newcastle United)
31	FW	TOG	Djima Oyawolé (on loan to ESTAC)

Competitions

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
French Division 1	7 August 1998	29 May 1999	Matchday 1	10th	34	9	12	13	28	37	−9	026.47
Coupe de France	23 January 1999	14 March 1999	Round of 64	Round of 16	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	066.67
Coupe de la Ligue	9 January 1999	8 May 1999	Round of 32	Runners-up	5	3	1	1	10	7	+3	060.00
UEFA Champions League	12 August 1998	26 August 1998	Second qualifying round	Second qualifying round	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	000.00
UEFA Cup	15 September 1998	29 September 1998	First round	First round	2	1	0	1	3	3	+0	050.00
Total					46	15	14	17	46	52	−6	032.61

Source: Competitions

Division 1

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
8	Montpellier	34	11	10	13	53	50	+3	43	Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round
9	Paris Saint-Germain	34	10	9	15	34	35	−1	39
10	Metz	34	9	12	13	28	37	−9	39	Qualification to Intertoto Cup second round
11	Nancy	34	10	9	15	35	45	−10	39
12	Strasbourg	34	8	14	12	30	36	−6	38

Source: Ligue 1
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
34	9	12	13	28	37	−9	39	9	4	4	23	12	+11	0	8	9	5	25	−20

Last updated: 29 May 1999.
Source: Competitive matches

Results by match

Match	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	L	L	L	D	D	D	L	D	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	D	L	W	L	W	L	W	L	D	D	L	L	D	D	W	D	L	W
Position	10	15	17	17	17	16	16	17	17	16	17	15	15	13	14	14	14	14	13	13	12	12	12	13	11	11	13	14	14	14	12	12	13	10

Source: footballdatabase.eu
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Notes: Match 24 versus Nancy was postponed until 9 April 1999 and therefore should appear between matches 28 & 29.

Matches

7 August 1998 1	Le Havre	0–0	Metz	Le Havre
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Jules Deschaseaux Attendance: 13,071 Referee: Rémy Harrel

15 August 1998 2	Metz	0–1	Marseille	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Gourvennec 45'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 23,000 Referee: Pascal Garibian

22 August 1998 3	Bastia	3–0	Metz	Furiani
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	André 31' Née 53' Paulo Alves 87'	Report		Stadium: Stade Armand Cesari Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Bruno Derrien

29 August 1998 4	Metz	0–2	Bordeaux	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Kastendeuch 26' (o.g.) Wiltord 86'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 14,459 Referee: Patrick Anton

11 September 1998 5	Strasbourg	0–0	Metz	Strasbourg
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade de la Meinau Attendance: 16,745 Referee: Laurent Duhamel

19 September 1998 6	Metz	0–0	Toulouse	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 14,051 Referee: Philippe Kalt

25 September 1998 7	Lorient	1–1	Metz	Lorient
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Bouafia 77' (pen.)	Report	Jestrović 82'	Stadium: Stade du Moustoir Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Claude Colombo

4 October 1998 8	Metz	2–3	Nancy	Metz
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Boffin 45' Meyrieu 90' (pen.)	Report	Kone 16', 63' Cascarino 60'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 16,065 Referee: Bernard Saules

17 October 1998 9	Sochaux	1–1	Metz	Montbéliard
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Baudry 90'	Report	Lukić 51'	Stadium: Stade Auguste Bonal Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Franck Glochon

24 October 1998 10	Metz	1–0	Monaco	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Rodriguez 31' (pen.)	Report	Dumas 90'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 16,252 Referee: Stéphane Bré

30 October 1998 11	Lens	2–0	Metz	Lens
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Nouma 42' Debève 54'	Report		Stadium: Stade Félix-Bollaert Attendance: 37,430 Referee: Rémy Harrel

7 November 1998 12	Metz	3–2	Lyon	Metz
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Rodriguez 21', 29' Toyes 45'	Report	Uras 19' Cocard 44' Kanouté 88'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 13,564 Referee: Bruno Coué

11 November 1998 13	Paris Saint-Germain	2–2	Metz	Paris
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Kastendeuch 67' (o.g.) Simone 69' (pen.)	Report	Meyrieu 31' Rodriguez 80'	Stadium: Parc des Princes Attendance: 42,989 Referee: Eric Poulat

14 November 1998 14	Metz	1–0	Nantes	Metz
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Rodriguez 83'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 15,945 Referee: Bertrand Layec

20 November 1998 15	Auxerre	1–0	Metz	Auxerre
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Klos 83'	Report		Stadium: Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Gilles Veissière

28 November 1998 16	Metz	3–1	Montpellier	Metz
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Rodriguez 45' Lukić 55', 77'	Report	Pierre 48' (o.g.)	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 14,420 Referee: Serge Léon

4 December 1998 17	Metz	0–0	Rennes	Metz
20:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 13,561 Referee: Pascal Garibian

12 December 1998 18	Marseille	3–0	Metz	Marseille
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Camara 29' Maurice 44' Gourvennec 90'	Report		Stadium: Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 46,377 Referee: Philippe Kalt

15 December 1998 19	Metz	4–0	Bastia	Metz
18:30 CET (UTC+1)	Jestrović 13', 58', 60' Lukić 71'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 14,717 Referee: Laurent Duhamel

19 December 1998 20	Bordeaux	6–0	Metz	Bordeaux
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Micoud 36', 90' Wiltord 47' Laslandes 52', 60', 74' Saveljić 85'	Report	Rodriguez 85'	Stadium: Parc Lescure Attendance: 22,447 Referee: Gilles Veissière

17 January 1999 21	Metz	1–0	Strasbourg	Metz
18:00 CET (UTC+1)	Boffin 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 18,214 Referee: Marc Batta

30 January 1999 22	Toulouse	1–0	Metz	Toulouse
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Batlles 24'	Report		Stadium: Stadium de Toulouse Attendance: 11,952 Referee: Patrick Anton

6 February 1999 23	Metz	3–0	Lorient	Metz
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Meyrieu 34' Boffin 35' Horlaville 73'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 13,711 Referee: Bruno Ruffray

26 February 1999 25	Metz	1–1	Sochaux	Metz
20:00 CET (UTC+1)	Schemmel 42'	Report	Bouger 40'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 15,663 Referee: Bruno Coué

10 March 1999 26	Monaco	0–0	Metz	Monaco
20:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Louis II Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Serge Léon

20 March 1999 27	Metz	0–1	Lens	Metz
20:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report	Brunel 46'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 18,218 Referee: Damien Ledentu

3 April 1999 28	Lyon	2–0	Metz	Lyon
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Toyes 66' (o.g.) Violeau 90'	Report		Stadium: Stade de Gerland Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Bertrand Layec

9 April 1999 24	Nancy	1–0	Metz	Tomblaine
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Wiart 42' Meniri 45'	Report		Stadium: Stade Marcel Picot Attendance: 15,667 Referee: Jean-Claude Puyalt

14 April 1999 29	Metz	1–1	Paris Saint-Germain	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Jestrović 57'	Report	Algerino 46'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 19,026 Referee: Marc Batta

24 April 1999 30	Nantes	0–0	Metz	Nantes
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade de la Beaujoire Attendance: 30,252 Referee: Bruno Coué

1 May 1999 31	Metz	2–0	Auxerre	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Danjou 4' (o.g.) Horlaville 48'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 20,072 Referee: Patrick Lhermite

4 May 1999 32	Montpellier	1–1	Metz	Montpellier
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Thimothée 78' (pen.)	Report	Van Handenhoven 36'	Stadium: Stade de la Mosson Attendance: 8,436 Referee: Gilles Chéron

22 May 1999 33	Rennes	1–0	Metz	Rennes
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Nonda 36' (pen.)	Report	Boffin 35'	Stadium: Stade de la Route de Lorient Attendance: 16,500 Referee: Bernard Saules

29 May 1999 34	Metz	1–0	Le Havre	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Rizzetto 12'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 23,470 Referee: Serge Léon

Source: ^[5]

Coupe de France

23 January 1999 Round of 64	Metz	1–0	Bordeaux	Metz
	Boffin 43'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 10,680 Referee: Claude Colombo

19 February 1999 Round of 32	Wasquehal	0–2	Metz	Wasquehal
		Report	Gaillot 56' Horlaville 63'	Stadium: Complexe sportif Lucien Montagne Attendance: 2,716 Referee: Pascal Garibian

14 March 1999 Round of 16	Metz	1–3	Nantes	Metz
	Meyrieu 70'	Report	Monterrubio 33' Savinaud 48' Touré 90'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 9,214 Referee: Bernard Saules

Coupe de la Ligue

9 January 1999 Round of 32	Metz	1–0	Nantes	Metz
	Toyes 34'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 10,081 Referee: Jean-Claude Puyalt

2 February 1999 Round of 16	Metz	2–0	Louhans-Cuiseaux	Metz
	Meyrieu 78' (pen.) Jäger 88'	Report	Ba 83'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Franck Glochon

7 March 1999 Quarter-finals	Metz	3–3 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p)	Toulouse	Metz
	Jestrović 61' 74' Toyes 74' Gaillot 88' Strasser 104'	Report	Moreau 38', 53' Paviot 46' Cobos 86' Petrović 106'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 8,566 Referee: Stéphane Bré

18 April 1999 Semi-finals	Metz	4–3	Montpellier	Metz
	Jestrović 13', 48', 85' Meyrieu 51'	Report	Silvestre 18' Ouédec 49' Delaye 62'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 15,512 Referee: Pascal Garibian

8 May 1999 Final	Lens	1–0	Metz	Saint-Denis
	Moreira 56'	Report		Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 78,180 Referee: Claude Colombo

Champions League

Second qualifying round

12 August 1998 First leg	HJK	1–0	Metz	Helsinki, Finland
19:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Strasser 71' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Olympic Stadium Attendance: 8,287 Referee: Roelof Luinge (Netherlands)

26 August 1998 Second leg	Metz	1–1 (1–2 agg.)	HJK	Metz, France
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Meyrieu 78' (pen.)	Report	Vasara 68'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 2,500 Referee: William Young (Scotland)

UEFA Cup

First round

15 September 1998 First leg	Red Star Belgrade	2–1	Metz	Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Ognjenović 3' Drulić 12'	Report	Rodriguez 90'	Stadium: Red Star Stadium Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Graziano Cesari (Italy)

29 September 1998 Second leg	Metz	2–1 (a.e.t.) (3–3 agg.) (3–4 p)	Red Star Belgrade	Metz, France
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Kastendeuch 38' Meyrieu 68' (pen.)	Report	Marinović 18'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 8,448 Referee: Jacek Granat (Poland)
	Penalties
	Proment Meyrieu Jestrović Boffin Kastendeuch		Ljubojević Škorić Aćimović Mićić Bunjevčević

Notes and references

Notes

^ Regis was born in La Trinité, Martinique, but also qualified to represent the United States internationally as his wife was an American citizen and made his international debut for the United States in May 1998.
^ Kraouche was born in Thionville, France, but also qualified to represent Algeria internationally and made his international debut for Algeria in 1999.
^ Joubert was born in Metz, France, but also qualified to represent Luxembourg internationally and would make his international debut for Luxembourg in June 2006.

References

^ "Ligue 1 1998/1999 » Attendance » Home matches". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Metz 1998/1999". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
^ "Saison 1998-1999". FCMetz.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
^ "Metz - 1998/99". FootballSquads.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
^ "FC Metz 1998/1999 calendar". Ligue1.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.

[5] Regis was born in La Trinité, Martinique, but also qualified to represent the United States internationally as his wife was an American citizen and made his international debut for the United States in May 1998.

[6] Kraouche was born in Thionville, France, but also qualified to represent Algeria internationally and made his international debut for Algeria in 1999.

[7] Joubert was born in Metz, France, but also qualified to represent Luxembourg internationally and would make his international debut for Luxembourg in June 2006.

[attendance-1] "Ligue 1 1998/1999 » Attendance » Home matches". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

[foot99-2] "Metz 1998/1999". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 14 January 2021.

[metz99-3] "Saison 1998-1999". FCMetz.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.

[squad99-4] "Metz - 1998/99". FootballSquads.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2021.

[99results-8] "FC Metz 1998/1999 calendar". Ligue1.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[notes 1]

[notes 2]

[notes 3]

[5]