Olympique Lyonnais
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| Full name | Olympique Lyonnais | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Les Gones (The Kids) Lyon OL |
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| Founded | 1899/1950[1] | ||
| Ground | Stade Gerland Lyon (Capacity: 41,044[2]) |
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| Chairman |  Jean-Michel Aulas |
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| Manager | Claude Puel |
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| League | Ligue 1 | ||
| 2008-09 | L1, 3rd | ||
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 Current season |
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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. Between the years 2002–2008, Lyon won the Ligue 1 title seven consecutive years, a record that no other club in France has matched. The streak came to an end during the 2008–09 season, in which they finished in 3rd place. Lyon have also won seven Trophée des Champions, four Coupe de France titles, three Ligue 2 Championships, as well as seven appearances in the UEFA Champions League, despite not taking part in a final, or a semi-final. Olympique Lyonnais play their home matches at the 41,044-seat Stade de Gerland, Lyon. OL were also a member of the G14 group of leading European football clubs. In 2008, they were one of the founding members of the newly created European Club Association.
Lyon was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club on 3 August 1950. The club also has a women's football team.
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[edit] History
[edit] 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 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 2nd 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 2nd 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, former Liverpool manager who had guided the side to a Cup Treble success in 2001, 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 A.C. 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.
[edit] Supporters and rivals
Olympique Lyonnais has a highly-active and loyal fan-base, in Lyon. 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 in the majority of their 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.
[edit] 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
[edit] Retired numbers
16 – in recognition of goalkeeper Luc Borrelli. Borrelli was killed in a road accident in February 1999.
17 – 
in recognition of midfielder Marc-Vivien Foé. Foé died while playing for Cameroon in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup at Stade de Gerland, Lyon. The number was brought out of retirement in 2008 to allow Cameroonian player Jean Makoun to wear it.
[edit] Managers
| Name | Period |
|---|---|
| Oscar Heisserer |
1950-12/1954 |
| Julien Darui |
12/1954-1955 |
| Lucien Troupel |
1955-1959 |
| Gaby Robert |
1959-1961 |
| "Manu" Fernandez |
1961-1962 |
| Lucien Jasseron |
1962-1966 |
| Louis Hon |
1966-1968 |
| Aimé Mignot |
1968-02/1976 |
| Aimé Jacquet |
02 / 1976-1980 |
| Jean-Pierre Destrumelle |
1980-11/1981 |
 Vladica Kovačević |
11/1981-02/1983 |
| Robert Herbin |
02 / 1983-1985 |
| Robert Nouzaret |
1985-10/1987 |
| Denis Papas |
10/1987-03/1988 |
| Marcel Le Borgne |
03 / 1988-1988 |
| Raymond Domenech |
1988-1993 |
| Jean Tigana |
1993-1995 |
| Guy Stéphan |
1995-10/1996 |
| Bernard Lacombe |
10/1996-2000 |
| Jacques Santini |
2000-2002 |
| Paul Le Guen |
2002-2005 |
| Gérard Houllier |
2005-2007 |
| Alain Perrin |
2007-2008 |
| Claude Puel |
2008- |
[edit] Current squad
'As of 7 July 2009.[4]
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[edit] Reserves
For the reserve and academy squads, see Olympique Lyonnais Reserves and Academy.
[edit] Former players
For a complete list of former Olympique Lyonnais players with a Wikipedia article, see here.
[edit] Technical staff
| Manager: | Claude Puel |
| Assistant Manager: | Rémi Garde |
| Assistant Coach | Patrick Collot |
| Assistant Coach | Bruno Genesio |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Joël Bats |
| Team Doctor: | Jean-Jacques Amprino |
| Fitness Coach | Vincent Espie |
| Kinesiotherapy: | Patrick Perret/Abdeljelil Redissi |
| Special advisor: | Bernard Lacombe |
[edit] Olympique Lyonnais ladies
Olympique Lyonnais (ladies) currently play in France's top division, the Championnat de France de football féminin. The ladies team was set up in the 1970s as part of FC Lyon, but was attached to OL in the summer of 2004. They mostly play their home games at Plaine des Jeux de Gerland, 400 metres from Stade Gerland, the main stadium.
[edit] Honours
- Champion of France top division 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
[edit] Nickname
The name Les Gones means "The Kids" in Lyon's regional dialect of Arpitan language
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "According to Lyon's official website, it suggests that they consider this their foundation date rather than 1899 - (translation: "1950, date of the club's creation")". OLWeb.fr. http://olweb.fr/fr/club/palmares.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
- ^ (French) Capacity of stade de Gerland, on olweb.fr
- ^ Olympique Lyonnais coaches on RSSSF
- ^ 2009/10
[edit] External links
Official
- Olympique Lyonnais (French) (English)
- ESPNsoccernet: Olympique Lyonnais
- Lyon Reserves
