FC Metz
[5] During World War II, due to the Moselle département being annexed by Germany, the club had to play under the Germanised name of FV Metz in the Gauliga Westmark.An expansion of the league to 20 clubs meant, the team was not relegated and stayed at the highest level until 1950, when a last place finish ended its Ligue 1 membership.Metz was allowed to stay within Ligue 1 as a special privilege due to its catastrophic situation in the year following the war: the stadium had been damaged, almost beyond repair.FC Metz ascended to the top level of French football once more in 1967; the team remained in the highest division until they were relegated in 2001, although they bounced back immediately and returned to the Ligue 1 the following year.However, a hat-trick from Yugoslav striker Tony Kurbos gave Les Grenats a shock 4–1 win in the second leg to send the French side through 6–5 on aggregate.In 2006, FC Metz were relegated from Ligue 1, finishing at the bottom of the table, despite the regular presence of an extremely promising prospect, Miralem Pjanić, who would later be transferred to giants Lyon, for an astonishing fee of €7.5 million.At the end of the 2011–12 season, Metz finished 18th in Ligue 2 and were relegated to the Championnat National, the third tier of French football after a 1–1 draw with Tours at home on 20 May 2012, in very tense circumstances.[12][13] On 12 June 2023, LFP Decision that FC Metz secure promotion to Ligue 1 from 2023–24 season after Bordeaux against Rodez has been suspended and return to top flight after one year absence.[15] FC Metz also gained recognition in France and Europe for its successful youth academy, which produced star players including: Rigobert Song, Robert Pires, Louis Saha, Emmanuel Adebayor, Papiss Cissé, Miralem Pjanić, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Sadio Mané.Nicolas "Nico" Braun, the team's top all-time goalscorer, as well as Pjanić or more recently Chris Philipps, have played in the G-D's amateur leagues before joining "les Grenats".