Lyon

Olympique Lyonnais Overview

Olympique Lyonnais (a.k.a OL) is a French football club playing in Ligue 1. One of the best French teams, they have won Le Championat 6 times in a row since 2002 and they are currently leading it. Despite seven participations in Champions League, they have never gone past the quarter-finals. Their women’s football team is also one of the best in France, and even in Europe. They play their home games at Stade Gerland, Lyon.

OL Club History

Lyon Olympique Universitaire was created in 1899 and was part of a multisports club. Before 1920 and the construction of Stade Gerland, they were playing at Stade des Iris. In 1950, the football section split from the club and chose a new name, Olympique Lyonnais. The 60s and the 70s were successful for them. In 1964, they won 2-0 over Bordeaux and won their first title, the 1964 Cup of France. The same year, they played in their first European competition, the Cup Winners' Cup, as winners of the French Cup. They won against Boldklubben 1913, Olympiakos and Hamburg. They lost in semi-final against Porto. OL won their 2nd and 3rd Cups respectively in 1967 and 1973. In 1983, after 29 years in Ligue 1, they were relegated and will eventually stay in Ligue 2 until 1987.

It was in 1987 that Jan-Michel Aulas took control of Lyon. 2 years later, in 1989, Lyon were crowned Ligue 2 champions and were promoted to Ligue 1. Aulas had then the objective of European qualification in the next 5 years, an ambitious project at that time. Only after 3 seasons in French top division, Lyon finished 5th in Le Championat and were then qualified for the 1993 UEFA Cup. Mission complete for Aulas!

Runner-up of the French league in 1995, and after several good games in UEFA Cups, French company Pathe invested €15million in the club, taking control of 34% of it. In 1999, Sonny Anderson was bought by OL from Barcelona. The Brazilian striker will eventually lead his new club to finally conquer their first French title in 2002 by 1 point only! Since then, they have won 6 consecutive Ligue 1 titles and are currently leading the 2007-2008 season.

Despite Lyon’s good results in Le Championnat, they have yet to succeed in the Champions League. They’ve never been through the quarter-finals since their first participation in 2001.

Club Rivalries

Lyon’s oldest rival is AS Saint Etienne. Both clubs are only 50 miles apart, and have been rivals since the 60s. At that time, Saint Etienne were one of the top European teams, whereas Lyon was struggling to avoid relegation. Nowadays, Lyon are dominated Le Championnat, and Saint Etienne is struggling to avoid relegation…but the derby between the 2 cities is still one of the highlights of the French Championship.

Stars of the Current Squad

Juninho Pernambucano is a Brazilian player who plays as an attacking midfielder. He started his professional career in 1995 with Bazilian club CR Vasco de Gama. He played 291 games for his club, scoring 56 goals, and won several trophies, including the Brazilian Championship, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Mercosur. In 2001, Lyon bought Juninho, who will eventually become one of the most important player of the club. Before Juninho’s arrival, Lyon had never won the French championship. In his first season, he led them to win their first Ligue 1 title and since then, the club has won 6 titles in a row. His free kicks, his accuracy, his power and his leadership led Juninho to become team captain in 2005. Since 2001, he has appeared in 261 games and has scored 88 goals, 37 of them were free kicks!

Gregory Coupet is a French player, vice-captain of Lyon and goalkeeper of the French National Team. He started his professional career in 1993 with Ligue 1 club AS Saint Etienne. In 1997, he moved to league rival Lyon : Saint Etienne and Lyon are only 50 miles apart, and have been rivals since the 60s. Named Ligue 1 Keeper of the Year in 2004 and 2005, he was voted 4th into the top 10 for the IFFHS World’s best Goalkeeper Award. His amazing performances with OL contributed a lot to their strike of 6 Ligue 1 titles, and to his nomination as number 1 in the French National Team. On August 2, 2007, he injured himself in a training session and missed the rest of the 2007 season. He came back in the squad on January 6, 2008.

Karim Benzema is a French striker of Algerian descent. He joined the Olympique Lyonnais Youth Academy when he was 9 years old, in 1996. Considered as the leader of the new French generation, he is one of the best strikers in Le Championnat, in 2 seasons only. In the 2007-2008 season, he played in 35 games and scored 24 goals, in all competitions. On March 28, 2007, he earned his first cap with France in a friendly against Austria, scoring his first international goal the same day.

Cristiano Marques Gomes, a.k.a Cris, is a Brazilian defender. He started his professional career in Brazil, winning the Brazilian championship in 1998 with Corinthians and in 2003 with Cruzeiro Esporte Club. In 2004, he moved to Europe to play for OL, and imposed himself at the heart of Lyon’s defense in his first season. French magazine l’Equipe voted him best Ligue 1 defender of the 2005-2006 season. However, he was injured in a game between Lyon and Toulouse on August 11, 2007 and made his return to the squad on March 1, 2008.

Sidney Govou joined Lyon’s youth academy in 1996, at the age of 17. He made his debut in Ligue 1 on January 15, 2000. He can play as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. He scored a total of 60 goals in 290 appearances, in all competitions. His good performances with Lyon gave him the opportunity to play with the French National Team, earning his first cap on August 21, 2002.

Coach : Alain Perrin He started his coaching career as junior coach to Arsene Wenger in 1983. In 1993, he was named manager of non-league club Troyes AC. He led the club to Ligue 1 and even to a UEFA Cup qualification, after 3 promotions in 6 years. He moved to Marseille in 2002, but was sacked in 2004. Then, he quickly appeared in England before coming back to France and leading Sochaux to win the 2007 French Cup over Marseille. On May 30, 2007, he was named new manager of Lyon, after Gerard Houiller resigned.

Club Legends

Florent Malouda is a French leftwinger who currently plays for Chelsea. He joined OL in 2003, after playing for Châteauroux and Guingamp. Along players such as Juninho or Michael Essien, he quickly imposed himself as one of the best wingers in Ligue 1. He scored 25 goals in 131 appearances with Lyon, before being transferred to Chelsea on July 8, 2007 for a €20 million fee. Malouda is also an important figure in the French National Team, and was part of the 2006 World Cup Squad, finishing runner-up of the competition.

Eric Abidal is a French defender who is currently playing for Barcelona. Before joining Lyon in 2004, he played for Monaco and Lille. He constantly improved his skills while playing with Lyon, and became a regular in the French National Team. At the end of the 2006-2007 season, European giants were looking carefully after the Frenchman. Barcelona finally signed him for a €15 million fee in June 2007.

Michael Essien is a Ghanaian defensive midfielder who currently plays for Chelsea. He moved to French club Bastia from his native Ghana in July 2000, and was soon compared to Patrick Viera, because of his abilities to play as a defender, a midfielder or even as a side-back. In 2003, he was transferred to Lyon. He did 2 amazing seasons with Lyon, wining the French championship twice in a row. In 2005, he was named French Player of the Year, and he signed a 4 year contract with Chelsea for a €38 million fee. At that time, he was Chelsea’s most expensive player.

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Gregory Coupet : Best Goalkeeper of the Year : 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

Juninho : Best Player of the Year : 2006

Florent Malouda : Best Player of the Year : 2007

Sonny Anderson : Ligue 1 top scorer : 2000 (23), 2001 (22)

Team Honours

League 1 Championship : 6 (2002-2007)

League 2 Championship : 3 (1951, 1954, 1989)

Champions Trophy : 6 (2002-2007)

Cup of France : 3 (1964, 1967, 1973)

French League Cup : 1 (2001)

Peace Cup : 1 (2007)

Club Management

President : Jean Michel Aulas

Head Coach : Alain Perrin

Assistant Coach : Christophe Galtier/Bruno Genesio

Goalkeeping coach : Joel Bats

Uniforms

Home: White shirt with red and blue trim, and white shorts

Away: Black shirt and black shorts

Stadium

Stade Gerland was built in 1926 and has a capacity of 41 044 seats. A new stadium named OL Land is currently under construction.

Sponsors

• Umbro
• Novotel
• SFR
• Caisse d’Epargne

Important Links

• http://www.olweb.fr/index.php?pid=0
• http://www.fff.fr/
• http://www.lyon.fr/

References

• http://www.sports.fr/fr/football/equipes/lyon_24.html
• http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troph%C3%A9e_UNFP_du_football