Olympique Lyonnais
(popularly known as OL
, or simply as Lyon
) is a French football club based in Lyon. They play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1.
The club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire
in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. Their most successful period has been the 21st century - they won their first ever Ligue 1 championship in 2002, starting a national record-breaking streak of seven successive titles. Lyon have also won seven Trophée des Champions, four Coupe de France titles, three Ligue 2 Championships. They have appeared in the UEFA Champions League eleven times, but have not progressed further than the quarter-finals.
Olympique Lyonnais play their home matches at the 41,044-seat Stade de Gerland, Lyon. Their home colours are white, red and blue. OL were a member of the G14 group of leading European football clubs and are founder members of its successor, the European Club Association. The chairman is Jean-Michel Aulas and the first team is managed by Claude Puel.
The club also has a women's football team.
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History
from August 2009
Early history
OL came into existence after a disagreement between the rugby and football sections of the multisports club
Lyon Olympique
, which has existed since 1899. The football section split from the rest of the club and chose a new name:
Olympique Lyonnais
. This is why supporters of OL claim that their club was founded in 1899.
Before
1966, the club enjoyed some success; after being eclipsed by FC Lyon in
1908 and
1909, they won the French Championship in
1910. By
1920, they had moved into the Stade de Gerland, a stadium designed by
Tony Garnier, a local architect.
Then called
Lyon Olympique Universitaire
, the club rejoined the professional ranks in 1942, and won the southern pool of the final wartime championship by two points from
Bordeaux. The national final pitted them against
Rouen, who triumphed 4-0. These successes propelled them in to Division 1 at the start of the
1945–46 season, but headed by
Félix Louot, the club plummeted back to Division 2 the following season.
The club would have to wait a further ten years until they won Ligue 2; their first established trophy, in
1951. However, Lyon were soon relegated back to the second division, after spending a season in the Ligue 1. After manager
Julien Darui rebuilt the squad, the club gained promotion back to the first division for the second time in five years.
OL enjoyed triumph after poking their bums triumph in the 60's and the 70's where they won three
Coupes de France titles, and a Trophée des Champions; taking note that five managers had joined and left OL during this era. However, the club suffered a long period of drought and were relegated in
1983. The team underachieved and failed to retain any domestic trophy.
Jean-Michel Aulas - European aspiration
Jean-Michel Aulas took control of the club in
1987. Aulas invested in the club with the objective of turning Lyon into an established Ligue 1 side and also developing the club on the
European level, within a time-frame of no more than fifteen years. Under the coaching of
Denis Papas and
Marcel Le Borgne, the club gained promotion to the top flight on two occasions, but unfortunately was relegated the following season on both occasions.
Raymond Domenech, who was born in Lyon, was appointed as their successor and achieved promotion to Ligue 1, after a scoreless draw against
Olympique Alès. Lyon were crowned champions of
Ligue 2 for the third time.
Olympique Lyonnais first top-flight season under Raymond Domenech saw them finish eighth in the league, safe from relegation. Domenech managed a fifth place finish in his second season, which secured Lyon a
UEFA Cup spot. European qualification was achieved after a mere two years at the top level, and only four years after Aulas had taken control.
Domenech decided to leave after the end of the
1992/93 Ligue 1 season, after being selected as the new
French U21 coach. Aulas' first choice replacement was former
French international,
Jean Tigana. He was part of the celebrated 'Magic Diamond', along with
Michel Platini,
Luis Fernández and
Alain Giresse. Tigana developed the Lyon side into genuine French
Ligue 1 title contenders, with the emergence of new players such as
Abédi Pelé,
Manuel Amoros, and
Alain Caveglia. Tigana was forced to leave the club in
1995 after serious media pressure.
Guy Stéphan took in charge in
1995, following the exit of Tigana, and helped Lyon assure a place in European competition, once more through the 'back-door' system of the
Intertoto Cup. Stéphan resigned at the start of the new season, and former Lyon great
Bernard Lacombe was brought in as the new manager. 'OL' achieved a place in the UEFA Cup, but failed to make it through to the second round after losing to
Inter Milan, the eventual
winners of the tournament. The club's league positions continued to rise at the final stages of the 20th century - sixth in
1998 and third in
1999 and
2000.
Success after success
Olympique Lyonnais dominated the top French level,
Ligue 1, in the early years of the
21st century. After their second-place finish in
2001, Lyon won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles, becoming the first club in
French history to do so. However, despite the domestic success, Lyon's European ambitions were never realized only reaching as far as the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Jacques Santini was appointed in
2000 after leaving his position at
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. Santini quickly restored the team and in 2001, Lyon had won
Coupe de la Ligue (French League Cup)
, which surprisingly was the club's first major silverware since the
1973 Coupe de France win. He also steered the side to a 2
nd place finish, which, as a result, guaranteed the club
UEFA Champions League qualification. Despite these successes, Santini was still not popular with the fans, who did not approve of his defensive approach to the game.
In
2002, Santini went one better and guided Lyon to their first ever Ligue 1 title, after a win, on the last day of the season, over 2
nd place finisher
RC Lens. It still didn't convince the majority of Lyon supporters that he was the right man, after suffering an early knockout in the Champions League, and a fortnight after the win, Santini announced his resignation with Lyon. He opted for the
France national football team.
The man who was responsible for delivering three consecutive league titles with Lyon was former
Rennes manager Paul Le Guen. Le Guen was highly noted for grooming players such as
El Hadji Diouf during his time at Rennes, but he was feared as another failure, according to much of the press.
He undoubtedly proved them wrong, and Lyon had improved in Ligue 1 and in the Champions League. Despite finishing third in the Champions League group stages, Lyon were only knocked out due to the
goal against
rule, which had meant that Lyon were placed in the UEFA Cup. Lyon lost to Turkish side,
Denizlispor after drawing at home. Le Guen won the league once more by one point.
Le Guen's second season saw Lyon win their third title and second during his reign. Lyon were also top of their group in the Champions League, despite the threat of previous winners,
Bayern Munich. The team had beaten
Real Sociedad in the round of 16, but their luck ran out against
F.C. Porto, who ultimately won the competition.
The club had won the league for a fourth time by a majority margin, but were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the second straight season. It had looked like Lyon were going to cruise through the semi-finals, after trashing German opponents
Werder Bremen 10–2 on aggregate. They were cruelly knocked out on penalties by
Dutch club PSV and left Lyon fans waiting another year for a Champions League final.
A night after Lyon's league success, Le Guen resigned from his position as manager. The news surprised Lyon fans, who thought that Le Guen would sign a contract extension and commit himself to the club. He was offered a three-year extension, but decided to leave and be proud of his achievements.
Gérard Houllier was appointed as Lyon boss in
2005, after the resignation of Le Guen. He had inherited a worthy championship side, with the likes of
Juninho,
Sylvain Wiltord,
Sidney Govou,
Florent Malouda and
Grégory Coupet. He placed Juninho as captain and brought Portuguese international
Tiago to the club from
Chelsea, in a part-exchange deal for
Michael Essien.
In his first full season, he had guided the side to a fifth consecutive league title but failed to make an impact in the Champions League, after crashing out to
AC Milan at the
San Siro. It was their third consecutive quarter-final appearance in the Champions League. Lyon won the title after Lille's win against Bordeaux.
Houllier was successful in signing French U-21 international
Jérémy Toulalan from
Nantes, as well as Swedish play-maker
Kim Källström from
Rennes. Gérard, however, lost the services of
Mali's
Mahamadou Diarra, who had agreed a five-year contract with
Real Madrid worth up to
€25 million. In order to replace Diarra, Gérard signed another French international,
Alou Diarra, from
RC Lens.
Yet despite a triumphant season debut in which Lyon thrashed championship challengers
Olympique de Marseille 1–4 and Lens 0–4, scoring 50 points in the first part of the season alone, Lyon didn't recover from the winter break and lost or drew nearly all the matches in January, including the Coupe de France knockout against Marseille. They managed to regain confidence by beating rivals
AS Saint-Étienne 1–3, but were not in their autumn form and were decisively beaten by
A.S. Roma at Gerland, thus being eliminated from the
Champions League.
During the
2007–08 season, Lyon changed their coach, bringing in former
Portsmouth boss
Alain Perrin from Sochaux. They also recruited
Italian World Cup winner
Fabio Grosso, as well as
Mathieu Bodmer and
Abdul Kader Keïta from
Lille. The season started badly, with defeats against
Toulouse and
Lorient, as well as important players such as Grégory Coupet and
Cris being injured. The UEFA Champion's league campaign started in disaster, with the club suffering two humiliating defeats against
FC Barcelona (3–0) and
Rangers (0–3). These difficulties were due to a lack of defensive discipline and because of Perrin's
4-4-2 system, a formation the players weren't used to.
However, the team managed to maintain itself in first place, thanks to fantastic performances by
Karim Benzema and
Hatem Ben Arfa. Lyon qualified for the next stage in the Champion's League thanks to wins against
VfB Stuttgart (0–2 and 4–2) and Rangers, at
Ibrox Park (0–3).
The season was marked by some erratic performances, and by a much less marked domination;
Bordeaux emerged as serious contenders for the title. The league was eventually decided on the final day. In Lyon's match against
Auxerre, Benzema scored a goal (his twentieth that season in
Ligue 1), a mere 24 seconds after kick-off, followed by goals from
Fred and Källstrom, securing the League for Lyon. Had Lyon lost, Bordeaux would have been crowned champions as they also won on the final day.
Olympique Lyonnais also managed to win the
Coupe de France for the first time in more than 30 years with a 1-0 (goal scored by
Sidney Govou) win in extra-time against
Paris Saint-Germain. This victory assured the club their first ever
double.
Supporters and rivals
Olympique Lyonnais has a highly-active and loyal fan-base, Lyon's fans, known as the "Bad Gones", have gained a strong reputation in Europe, due to their control of Ligue 1 as well as their appearances in the Champions League. The Stade de Gerland is frequently sold out for home European and League matches.
Lyon has a healthy rivalry with fellow side
Saint-Étienne, the derby, often referred to as the
Derby du Rhône (Rhône derby), between these two neighbouring
Arpitan cities, the "rich and the workers'", "the newly most successful French club and the former biggest French club", is one of the highlights in Ligue 1.
Monaco,
Marseille and
Paris Saint-Germain have been Lyon's secondary rivals, and in recent years
Lille and
Lens have posed threats.
Major honours
- Ligue 1 Championship: 7
- *2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- Trophée des Champions: 7
- *1973, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.
- Coupe de France: 4
- *1964, 1967, 1973, 2008
- Ligue 2 Championship: 3
- *1951, 1954, 1989
- Coupe de la Ligue: 1
- *2001
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1
- *1997
- Peace Cup: 1
- *2007
Managers
| Name
| Period
|
| Oscar Heisserer
| 1950-1954
|
| Julien Darui
| 1954-1955
|
| Lucien Troupel
| 1955-1959
|
| Gaby Robert
| 1959-1961
|
| "Manu" Fernandez
| 1961-1962
|
| Lucien Jasseron
| 1962-1966
|
| Louis Hon
| 1966-1968
|
| Aimé Mignot
| 1968-1976
|
| Aimé Jacquet
| 1976-1980
|
| Jean-Pierre Destrumelle
| 1980-1981
|
| Vladica Kovacevic
| 1981-1983
|
| Robert Herbin
| 1983-1985
|
| Robert Nouzaret
| 1985-1987
|
| Denis Papas
| 1987-1988
|
| Marcel Le Borgne
| 1988
|
| Raymond Domenech
| 1988-1993
|
| Jean Tigana
| 1993-1995
|
| Guy Stéphan
| 1995-1996
|
| Bernard Lacombe
| 1996-2000
|
| Jacques Santini
| 2000-2002
|
| Paul Le Guen
| 2002-2005
|
| Gérard Houllier
| 2005-2007
|
| Alain Perrin
| 2007-2008
|
| Claude Puel
| 2008-
|
[1]
Current squad
As of 15 July 2009.
[2]
| No.
|
| Position
| Player
|
| 1
| {{flagicon
|
| Hugo Lloris
|
| 2
| {{flagicon
|
| François Clerc
|
| 3
| {{flagicon
|
| Cristiano Marques Gomes (Captain (football)#Vice-captain)
|
| 4
| {{flagicon
|
| Jean-Alain Boumsong
|
| 5
| {{flagicon
|
| Mathieu Bodmer
|
| 6
| {{flagicon
|
| Kim Källström
|
| 7
| {{flagicon
|
| Michel Fernandes Bastos
|
| 8
| {{flagicon
|
| Miralem Pjanic
|
| 9
| {{flagicon
|
| Lisandro López
|
| 10
| {{flagicon
|
| Ederson Honorato Campos
|
| 12
| {{flagicon
|
| Timothée Kolodziejczak
|
| 13
| {{flagicon
|
| Anthony Réveillère
|
| 14
| {{flagicon
|
| Sidney Govou (Captain (football)#Captain)
|
| 17
| {{flagicon
|
| Jean Makoun
|
| 18
| {{flagicon
|
| Bafétimbi Gomis
|
|
|
| No.
|
| Position
| Player
|
| 19
| {{flagicon
|
| César Delgado
|
| 20
| {{flagicon
|
| Aly Cissokho
|
| 22
| {{flagicon
|
| Clément Grenier
|
| 24
| {{flagicon
|
| Romain Beynié
|
| 25
| {{flagicon
|
| Joan Hartock
|
| 28
| {{flagicon
|
| Jérémy Toulalan
|
| 29
| {{flagicon
|
| Yannis Tafer
|
| 30
| {{flagicon
|
| Rémy Vercoutre
|
| 31
| {{flagicon
|
| Saïd Mehamha
|
| 35
| {{flagicon
|
| Nicolas Seguin
|
| 36
| {{flagicon
|
| Sébastien Faure (footballer)
|
| 37
| {{flagicon
|
| Thomas Fontaine
|
| 39
| {{flagicon
|
| Ishak Belfodil
|
| 41
| {{flagicon
|
| Maxime Gonalons
|
|
Out on loan