9 May 1937 - Sochaux Shows How It's Done

On 9 May 1937, Sochaux won their first Coupe de France, coming from behind to beat Strasbourg 2-1 in the Final.

Founded in 1928 as the Peugeot company team, Sochaux merged with Montbéliard in 1930. The new team quickly established their credentials by winning the league in 1935, one point ahead of Strasbourg. The architect of that title-winning campaign was manager Conrad Ross, then in his first season with the club. After a fourth-place finish in 1936, Sochaux were again challenging for honors in 1937 in both the Coupe de France and the league.

The Final was played before a crowd of approximately 40,000 at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes. Strasbourg struck first with a goal from their German forward Oskar Rohr in the 32nd minute, but Sochaux quickly rallied with a 40th minute equalizer from their Argentinian midfielder Miguel Angel Lauri. Then, with only two minutes remaining, Irish forward Bernard Williams delivered the match-winner.

Sochaux narrowly missed out on the double, finishing second in the league, even on points with winners Marseille, but with a worse goal differential. They did win the league the following season and won the Coupe de France again in 2007.