Montagnarde is a very small part of Saint-Nicolas (not to be confused with the Saint-Nicolas in Flanders) in the neighbourhood of Liège. The village is mostly known for clubs as RFC Tilleur (in Tilleur - a subvillage) and RRFC Montegnée (in Montegnée - also a subvillage). But there is more.
Although Montagnarde isn't an actual village or subvillage, it is a very small neighbourhood in Saint-Nicolas, right next to Montegnée. It becomes a bit more confusing when you know there is an actual village in France named Montagnarde, and there is also a small area in Charleroi named Montagnard.
In the latter, there have been teams such as Cercle Sportif Montagnard, Football Club Montagnard, Sporting Club Montagnard, Pavillon Montagnard Football Club and Racing Club Montagnard. Quite the amount for an area that isn't even an actual village. The French Montagnarde have Union Sportive Montagnarde. In the Belgian Montagnarde, Etoile Sportive Montagnarde was the first to become a member of the Belgian FA and they did so in 1929. But they didn't even make it a full month.
The Belgian version of Union Sportive Montagnarde is in fact older, by being created in 1921 already. But it took them until 1940 to become a member of the Belgian FA. There are suspicions the team first was member of a local FA. It's difficult to find reliable sources on this. But we can tell for sure they didn't even do that bad. As in 1949 already, Union Sportive Montagnarde reached the national divisions for the very first time. Third division back then. Sadly enough, they ended completely last. The neighbours of RFC Montegnée were also in third division, but they were put in a different division for some strange reason.
In 1955, Union Sportive Montagnarde was already back in the national division, fourth division in the meantime. Again, they relegated after one year, but this time they didn't end last in the league. In 1960 they would return one last time. And yet again, a fourteenth place would be their end position, not enough to save them from relegation. After that, Union Sportive Montagnarde would never be seen in the national divisions again.
On the contrary, their only real highlight would be the royal title in 1991. Right now, RUS Montagnarde is playing in the lowest regional league in Liège. And they only have a first team and a veterans team. No youth teams or whatsoever. It's almost shocking they still exist. And we're glad for that, as their stadium in the Rue Pasteur is an absolute gem!
If you want to enjoy our articles in Dutch, you can read them here.
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