Olympique Lyonnais–AS Saint-Étienne rivalry participating team AS Saint-Étienne
The Olympique Lyonnais–AS Saint-Étienne rivalry, is a football rivalry between French clubs Olympique Lyonnais and AS Saint-Étienne, with matches between them referred to as the Derby Rhône-Alpes, Derby Rhônealpin or simply Le Derby. Both clubs are located in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The term Derby du Rhône is sometimes used by French media, despite the city of Saint-Étienne not being located along the Rhône River nor in the Rhône département.Background
The two clubs first met in 1951 and, due to the clubs' close proximity, being separated by only 50 kilometres (31 mi), a hotly contested rivalry developed. The derby is cited as one of the high-points of the Ligue 1 season and, like other major rivalries, extends outside of the pitch. The rivalry is locally considered a symbolic challenge between the two cities, as the city of Lyon is considered white collar while its counterpart Saint-Étienne is viewed by the locals as more blue collar.During the 20th century, Saint-Étienne was the most successful club in French football winning ten league titles between 1957 and 1981, a record that still stands today. During that span, the club also won six Coupe de France titles and performed well at European level. However, the club's performance declined in the 1980s and it even suffered a relegation to the second division in 1984, causing its stranglehold on the national and regional consciousness to weaken. Lyon began a similar ascension into French football at the beginning of the new millennium when the club won their first-ever Ligue 1 championship in 2002. The initial title started a national record-setting streak of seven successive titles.
Currently, both clubs are among the best-supported in Ligue 1, and each has participated in European competition in recent years.
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