Editing Lille OSC (section)

===First decade of glory : The War Machine (1944–1955)===
{{main|Olympique Lillois|SC Fives}}
[[File:LilleOSC October1946.jpg|thumb|{{ill|Roger Vandooren|fr}} with Lille against [[RC Strasbourg Alsace|Strasbourg]] in 1946]]
Before the [[Second World War]], the city of Lille had two clubs at the top level; [[Olympique Lillois]] and [[SC Fives]]. Olympique Lillois were crowned domestic champions in [[1932–33 French Division 1|1932–33]], the first in the history of the championship that was created in 1932, and were runners-up in [[1935–36 French Division 1|1935–36]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Dorvillé |first=Christian |date=2010 |title=Grandes figures sportives du Nord-Pas-de-Calais |language=fr |location=Villeneuve-d'Ascq |publisher=Presses Universitaires du Septentrion |isbn=978-2-7574-0152-1}}</ref> They also earned a [[Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques#Football|USFSA Football Championship]] title in [[1914 USFSA Football Championship|1914]], the French football top division before the creation of the French Division 1, and went to the [[Coupe de France]] final in [[1939 Coupe de France Final|1939]]. Their neighbours, SC Fives, ranked second in [[1933–34 French Division 1|1933–34]].<ref>{{cite web |language=fr |url=https://www.zoomsurlille.fr/decouvrir-lille/sports-de-haut-niveau/sc-fives-ol |title=SC Fives + OL |date=6 August 2014 |website=ZoomSurLille.fr |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172801/https://www.zoomsurlille.fr/decouvrir-lille/sports-de-haut-niveau/sc-fives-ol |url-status=live }}</ref> They also went to the Coupe de France final, being defeated by [[FC Girondins de Bordeaux|Girondins AS Port]] in [[1941 Coupe de France Final|1941]].<ref name="CoupeFFF">{{cite web |language=fr |url=https://www.fff.fr/competition/engagement/392609-coupe-de-france/phase/1/155-le-palmares-de-la-coupe-de-france.html |title=Coupe de France |website=[[French Football Federation|FFF]] |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171844/https://www.fff.fr/competition/engagement/392609-coupe-de-france/phase/1/155-le-palmares-de-la-coupe-de-france.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Weakened by the war, the two clubs decided to merge in the autumn of 1944, on 23 September, giving birth to Stade Lillois, renamed Lille Olympique Sporting Club a few weeks later.<ref name="MemoirePHJV">{{cite book |last1=Hurseau |first1=Paul |last2=Verhaeghe |first2=Jacques |date=1997 |title=Olympique lillois. Sporting Club fivois. Lille O.S.C. : mémoire du football |language=fr |location=Joué-lès-Tours |publisher=Alan Sutton |isbn=2-84253-080-2}}</ref> On 25 November 1944, the club is officially registered under its new name.

For its first season, the newborn club reached the [[1945 Coupe de France Final|1945 Coupe de France final]], with a squad composed of the best players of both merging teams, who are mostly natives of the [[Nord (French department)|Nord department]].<ref name="MemoirePHJV" /> Next season, Lille won the [[Double (association football)|double]], beating [[Red Star F.C.|Red Star]] in the [[1946 Coupe de France Final]] and finishing at the first place of [[1945–46 French Division 1|French Division 1]] ahead of [[AS Saint-Étienne|Saint-Étienne]] and [[CO Roubaix-Tourcoing|Roubaix-Tourcoing]]. In 1947, Lille finished in the fourth place but came back to the Coupe de France [[1947 Coupe de France Final|final]] and retained the trophy, defeating [[RC Strasbourg Alsace|Strasbourg]]. The club won the cup again in [[1948 Coupe de France Final|1948]] beating main rivals [[RC Lens|Lens]], its third in a row, and were runners-up of the league the same year, behind [[Olympique de Marseille|Marseille]] that became the champions after a strong [[1947–48 French Division 1|1947–48 season]] finishing. They were also runners-up in [[1948–49 French Division 1|1948–49]], [[1949–50 French Division 1|1949–50]] and [[1950–51 French Division 1|1950–51]].<ref name="MemoirePHJV" /> On 24 June 1951, an exhausted Lille reached the [[Latin Cup]] final and lost against [[Gre-No-Li]]'s [[AC Milan]] after having played 250 minutes in the span of two days.<ref>{{cite web |language=fr |url=https://www.lepetitlillois.com/2020/04/24/le-jour-ou-le-losc-a-failli-remporter-la-coupe-deurope |title=Le jour où le LOSC a failli remporter la coupe d'Europe |last=Deléglise |first=Thomas |date=24 April 2020 |website=Le Petit Lillois |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313155957/https://www.lepetitlillois.com/2020/04/24/le-jour-ou-le-losc-a-failli-remporter-la-coupe-deurope |archive-date=13 March 2023}}</ref>

On 31 May 1953, they got back to winning and earned their fourth Coupe de France trophy in a 2–1 [[1953 Coupe de France Final|final]] win against [[FC Nancy]], before 60,000 spectators. The club then won its second domestic title in [[1953–54 French Division 1|1953–54]], having only conceded 22 goals within 34 games. After this season, Lille is praised for its defensive proficiency and acquired a reputation as a rock-solid defense.<ref name="MemoirePHJV" /> A year later, ''Les Dogues'' earned their fifth Coupe de France in a 5–2 win against [[FC Girondins de Bordeaux|Bordeaux]] in the [[1955 Coupe de France Final|final]].<ref name="CoupeFFF" /> This period of glory and hegemony, occurring after the war and the [[German occupation of France]], has led to one of the club's nicknames: ''La Machine de Guerre'' ([[French language|French]] for "The War Machine").<ref name="CohenLOSC">{{cite book |last=Cohen |first=Stéphane |date=15 February 2018 |title=Les fous du stade |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_i5wDwAAQBAJ |language=fr |location=Paris |publisher=Solar Éditions |isbn=9782263156502 |trans-quote=LOSC, known as The War Machine, earned its nickname at the end of the Military Administration in France and became the best French football team in subsequent years. |access-date=21 March 2023 |archive-date=7 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007192257/https://books.google.com/books?id=_i5wDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Within its first decade of existence, the club gathered the vast majority of its major trophies, winning two league titles and reaching the second place for four consecutive seasons. Lille, known as the best French club in the post-war period, accumulated five Coupe de France wins in seven finals, including five successive finals and winning the trophy three times in a row, one of the best performances in the history of the tournament.<ref>{{cite web |language=fr |url=https://www.lepetitlillois.com/2020/02/26/le-parcours-du-losc-en-coupe-de-france-depuis-1994 |title=Le parcours du LOSC en Coupe de France depuis 1944 |last=Simon |first=Émile |date=26 February 2020 |website=Le Petit Lillois |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313160415/https://www.lepetitlillois.com/2020/02/26/le-parcours-du-losc-en-coupe-de-france-depuis-1994 |archive-date=13 March 2023}}</ref>