Jeunesse Esch (full name Association Sportive la Jeunesse d'Esch/Alzette) is a professional
football club based in
Esch-sur-Alzette, in south-western
Luxembourg. The side play in the
National Division, the highest league in the country, and have won the league title on 28 occasions between 1921 and 2010, the most of any team in Luxembourg.[2]
History
The club was founded in 1907 as Jeunesse la Frontière d'Esch in reference to the proximity of their stadium to the
border with France. "La frontière" was dropped to give the club its current name in 1918, which it retained until World War II, where the
Nazi regime implemented the German name SV Schwarz-Weiß 07 Esch and the club had to play in the Gauliga Moselland, finishing runners-up in the 1943–44 season. After the liberation of Luxembourg, the name reverted to AS la Jeunesse d'Esch.
Historically, Jeunesse Esch has been the most successful side in Luxembourgish football. They have won the
National Division on 28 occasions: first in 1921, and most recently in 2010. This is a national record, unless Racing FC Union Luxembourg's many predecessor clubs are counted together (they won a total of 28, divided between six incarnations). Jeunesse has also won the
Luxembourg Cup on twelve occasions, second behind the fourteen won by
FA Red Boys Differdange (now a part of
FC Differdange 03). In total, they have completed the coveted
Double on eight occasions.
They first entered the
European Cup in 1958, but like most of Luxembourg's clubs, failed to pass the preliminary rounds of the competition. Their most famous result came in the early stages of the 1973 competition when they held then-UEFA Cup holders
Liverpool to a 1–1 draw at home before losing the second leg 2–0 at
Anfield.
Jeunesse have continued their success into recent times, being one of the top three Luxembourgish clubs, along with
F91 Dudelange and
FC Etzella Ettelbruck, of the past few years. However, the club had a disastrous
2006–07 season, in which the club finished ninth, and only just avoided a relegation play-offs.
First qualifying round (3): 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016–17
Second qualifying round (2): 2013–14, 2019–20
Jeunesse Esch is the only club from Luxembourg to have reached the second round of the
European Cup, and it has achieved that feat on two occasions, both under the leadership of
George Berry in the early years of the competition:
In
1959–60, Jeunesse were drawn against
ŁKS Łódź, champions of Poland. In an incredible first leg, Jeunesse put five past the Poles without reply, practically guaranteeing their place in the second round regardless of the return leg (in the event, Łódź won 2–1, but only after Jeunesse had gone ahead). In the next round, Jeunesse faced somewhat harder opponents:
Real Madrid, champions of Europe four times in a row. The first match, in the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, was no contest, as Real Madrid trounced Jeunesse 7–0, with
Puskás scoring a hat-trick. Despite their comfortable victory, Real Madrid took no chances in the second leg and fielded a full-strength team, including Puskás,
Di Stéfano, and
Gento. The array of stars did nothing to over-awe the Luxembourgers on their home patch; Jeunesse scored twice within fifteen minutes, and made a good account of themselves, but succumbed to lose 5–2, 12–2 on aggregate. Real went on to win the European Cup for a fifth straight season, beating
Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 in a memorable final.
In the first round of the European Cup in
1963–64, Jeunesse was given a relatively easy tie against
FC Haka. Although they had avoided the biggest sides in the competition, Jeunesse was facing the dominant
Finnish side, and Jeunesse was thrashed 4–1 in
Valkeakoski. In the return, Jeunesse mounted a comeback, but were winning by only 2–0 after 84 minutes. Suddenly, two goals in as few minutes put the Luxembourgian side through. The second round pitted Jeunesse against the
Yugoslav champions,
Partizan Belgrade for a place in the quarter-finals. Jeunesse won the first match 2–1, thanks to another late goal. However, the tie was turned on its head by four goals by
Vladimir Kovačević, and Partizan won 6–2, and 7–4 on aggregate. 1963–64 turned out to be the annus mirabilis of Luxembourgian football, as the
national team almost reached the semi-finals of the
European Championship.
Overall, Jeunesse's record in European competition reads: