Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – Former Strasbourg president Egon Gindorf, who used to watch home matches in the stands with supporters, has died at the age of 89, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.

“All our thoughts are with his family, loved ones and all Racing (Strasbourg) fans who have today lost a emblematic and historic figure in the club’s history,” the club said in a statement.

Gindorf, who took charge of the club in 2003, oversaw the side when they won the League Cup in 2005.

He won over the locals by joining the club’s hardcore ‘ultra’ supporters in the stands for matches, and on very cold nights he would even share a pot of split pea soup with his fellow fans.

He quit his position in December 2005 for personal reasons, after which the club began a slow slide down the divisions and years of instability before re-establishing themselves as a Ligue 1 team in 2017.