FC RM Hamm Benfica

RTL Today has for some reason decided to assign the new intern (me) the task of outlining the accomplishments of every club playing in Luxembourg's top football league. It is a journey that will take us through 16 clubs and to every corner of this little country.

Every journey has to start somewhere, and in this case we will start with the team currently occupying the league cellar in FC RM Hamm Benfica. But before we talk about their struggles this season, let's go through the history of the side proudly representing Luxembourg City's Hamm quarter.

History

The club now known as FC Rapid Mansfeldia Hamm Benfica, like many other clubs in Luxembourg, is the child of a series of mergers between other clubs in the eastern sector of Luxembourg City.

The merger that gave birth to the current club took place in 2004, when FC Hamm 37 merged with RM 86 Luxembourg. While the former had existed unchanged since 1937, the latter was formed via another merger in 1986 between FC Rapid Neudorf (founded 1909) and FC Mansfeldia Clausen-Cents (founded 1919). Thus, the club can trace its roots back over a century.

For the first two years of its existence, the club was known simply as RM Hamm. In 2006, the club took on its current name when it began an affiliation (or "sporting marriage" as the club calls it) with Portuguese giants SL Benfica, who use the club as a regional academy for young players.

Just a season after the sporting marriage began, Hamm gained promotion to the National Division for the first time. They established themselves as a solid top-tier side once there, staying in the league for 7 seasons and achieving a record finish of 5th in both the 2009-10 and 2012-13 seasons.

However, just a year after that second record finish, Hamm suffered relegation following a 12th-placed finish and a loss on penalties to Mondorf-les-Bains in the relegation playoffs.

Hamm's return to the second tier only lasted a season, as they finished champions of the Division of Honour in 2015. Their second spell in the National Division was less successful than their first, as following three consecutive bottom-half finishes, Hamm were relegated again in 2019.

This time, the club could only finish 6th in a Covid-shortened Division of Honour season. Under normal circumstances, the club would not have been promoted, but following a merger with last-placed National Division side Blue Boys Mühlenbach, Hamm took their place in the league for the 2020-21 season. Thus, the club are now in their third top-tier spell.

Accomplishments

Unlike some of the teams we will see later on in this series, Hamm Benfica do not have any top-level titles to display in their trophy cabinet. However, they have been crowned champions of the second-tier Division of Honour in 2007 and 2015, giving the team something to be proud of.

Hamm just missed out on qualification for European competition in the two seasons they finished 5th, so they are still waiting to make their debut on the continent.

Stadium

Hamm Benfica play in the friendly confines of Luxembourg-Cents stadium, which can house up to 2,800 spectators. There is a small seated section on one side of the ground, but it is largely a standing stadium. The stadium is located less than two kilometers east of the city center, making it an easy trip for anyone who wants a "small club" matchday experience.

This Season

After finishing third from bottom in a 2020-21 season where no teams were relegated from the National Division, Hamm have unfortunately had a nightmare season so far, taking just 4 points from 27 matches. All of those points have been won from mid-table side Victoria Rosport, having claimed their sole victory of the season over them in September with a 1-0 result at home, then held a 1-1 draw in Rosport in March.

The club has been on the receiving end of some painfully heavy defeats this season, including 7-0 losses away at Swift Hesperange and at home to Fola Esch, and worse yet a 9-1 obliteration at home against Progrès Niederkorn. They were also eliminated at the first hurdle from the Coupe de Luxembourg by second-tier side Schifflange 95, who easily won 3-0. In the league, their goal difference sits at a miserable -77, and that deficit seems certain to grow even larger in the last weeks of the season.

Sometimes in the case of a team performing as poorly as Hamm, there is still a star player to point to that is responsible for the large majority of whatever attacking output they are able to muster. This is not the case here, however, as only two players on the team have scored more than one goal all season. It might be worth noting that the only goal Hamm scored in a winning effort was scored brilliantly by 20-year-old Frenchman Mattéo Compère, who chipped the ball over an out-of-position Rosport keeper from close to 30 yards out.

Hamm's relegation back to the Division of Honour was confirmed a few weeks ago, and had been anticipated for far longer. They are dead last, 23 points behind even the relegation playoff places. With this in mind, the club should turn its focus to retaining whichever players are willing to play second-tier football and replacing those who leave so they can ensure that this season's bad results do not demoralize the squad and trigger a fall down the leagues.

In the meantime, the club could at least avoid sharing an unwanted record for lowest points total in the three point win era. That record was set in 2017-18 by US Esch, who also recorded 4 points in 26 games. Just one more point in their last three games would be enough to surpass that total, but sadly that is no guarantee for Hamm Benfica.

For more information, visit the club's website.