Olympique Lyonnais
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| Olympique Lyonnais | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Olympique Lyonnais | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Les Gones or OL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1899/1950[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Stade Gerland Lyon |
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| Capacity | 43,051 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Jean-Michel Aulas |
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| Manager | Gérard Houllier |
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| League | Ligue 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-2006 | Ligue 1, 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Olympique Lyonnais (popularly known as OL, or simply Lyon) is a French football club based in Lyon. They play in Ligue 1 and are the reigning champions of France, for the fifth time running, and currently favoured to deliver a sixth Le Championnat title. Lyon have won six Trophées des Champions, three Ligue 2 Championship and Coupe de France titles as well as seven participations in the UEFA Champions League, despite not taking part in a final. Olympique Lyonnais play their home matches at the 43,051 seater Stade de Gerland, Lyon. OL are also a member of the G14 group of leading European football clubs. Lyon was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians but was nationally established as a club on August 3, 1950.
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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 1950, 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 seven years in the making 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 1945/6 season, but headed by Félix Louot the club plummeted back into to Division 2 by 1946.
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, after spending a season in the Ligue 1. A fresh new, rebuild team was formed by Julien Darui and in 1954, OL had gained promotion for the second time in four years.
OL enjoyed triumph after triumph in the 60's and the 70's where they won three Coupes de France, and a Trophée des Champions; taking note that five managers had joined and left OL at that specific era. However, the club had 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 and invested in the club with the objective of European qualification and become an established Ligue 1 side, within fifteen years. Under coaches Denis Papas and Marcel Le Borgne, the club rose back into the top flight, but each departed at the end of the season.
Raymond Domenech who was born in Lyon, was appointed as their successor and achieved promotion to Ligue 1, after a scoreless draw against Alès. Lyon were crowned champions of Ligue 2 for the third time.
Olympique Lyonnais first top-flight season under Raymond Domenech saw them finish eight in the league, and were safe from relegation. Domenech managed a fifth place finish in his second season, which had meant an UEFA Cup spot. European qualification was achieved after a mere two years at the top level (only four years of Aulas' control).
Domenech had 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 was former French international, Jean Tigana. He was part of the celebrated 'The Magic Diamond', along with Michel Platini, Luis Fernandez and Alain Giresse. Tigana had enhanced Lyon to become genuine title contenders as well as fielding new players such as Abédi Pelé. Tigana, however left the club, amongst pressure from the French media in 1995.
Guy Stéphan took in charge in 1995, following the exit of Tigana and helped Lyon assure a place in European football, once more through the backdoor of the Intertoto Cup. Stéphan resigned at the start of the new season, and Bernard Lacombe was placed as manager immediately. OL were granted a place in the UEFA Cup, but failed to make it through to the Third round after losing to Inter Milan, who were 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 have dominated the top French level, Ligue 1, in the early years of the 21st century. After their second-place finish in 2001, OL have won five consecutive Ligue 1 titles (2002-2006), becoming the first club in French history to do so. Lyon's European ambitions have meanwhile never stretched beyond the quarter-finals, however.
The club has attracted many top level coaches, each successful in different competitions and areas of the field.
Jacques Santini was appointed in 2000 after leaving his position at FC Sochaux. Santini quickly restored the team and in 2001, Lyon had won Coupe de la Ligue (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 top-two finish and Lyon, therefore qualified for the UEFA Champions League in second place. Santini was still not popular with the fans for 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 against RC Lens. It still didn't convince the majority of the OL 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, whom suffered humiliation after being knocked out in the 2002 World Cup.
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 at 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 OL 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. OL 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 FC Porto, who ultimately won the competition.
The club had won the league for a fourth time by a majority margin, but were knocked out of the Quarter-finals in the Champions League, yet again. It had looked like OL 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 PSV Eindhoven 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 OL 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 the current 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 recently successful in signing French U21 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 Mahamadou Diarra, Gérard signed another French international Alou Diarra from RC Lens.
Yet despite a triumphant season debut, in wich Lyon thrashed championship challengers Olympique de Marseille 1-4 and RC Lens 0-4 and scored 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 St. Etienne 1-3, but were not in their autumn form and were decisively beaten by AS Roma at Gerland, thus being eliminated from the Champion's League.
[edit] Supporters and Rivals
Olympique Lyonnais has a highly-active and loyal fan-base, in Lyon and across France. The supporters 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 a sell-out in the majority of their home European and League matches.
Lyon has a healthy rivalry with fellow side Saint-Étienne, which is one of the highlights in Ligue 1. AS Monaco, Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain have been OL's secondary rivals, and in recent years Lille and RC Lens have posed threats.
[edit] Major honours
- Ligue 1 Championship: 5
- 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
- Trophée des Champions: 6
- 1973, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
- Coupe de France: 3
- 1964, 1967, 1973
- Ligue 2 Championship: 3
- 1951, 1954, 1989
- Coupe de la Ligue:
- Winners (1): 2001
- Runners-up (1): 2007
[edit] Retired Numbers
16 – in recognition of goalkeeper Luc Borrelli.
17 – 
in recognition of midfielder Marc-Vivien Foé. Foé died while playing for Cameroon in the 2003 Confederations Cup.
[edit] Managers
| Name | Period |
|---|---|
| Oscar Heisser |
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 |
| Vladimir Kovacevic | 1981-1982 |
| Robert Herbin |
1982-1985 |
| Robert Nouzaret |
1985-1987 |
| Denis Papas/Marcel Le Borgne | 1987-1988 |
| Raymond Domenech |
1988-1993 |
| Jean Tigana |
1993-1995 |
| Guy Stéphan |
1995-1997 |
| Bernard Lacombe/José Broissart |
1997-1998 |
| Jacques Santini |
2000-2002 |
| Paul Le Guen |
2002-2005 |
| Gérard Houllier |
2005– |
[edit] Current squad
As of August 30, 2006
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[edit] Players out on loan
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[edit] Technical staff
| Manager: | Gérard Houllier |
| Assistant Manager: | Rémi Garde |
| Assistant Coach | Patrice Bergues |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Joël Bats |
| Team Doctor: | Jean-Jacques Amprino |
| Fitness Coach | Robert Duverne |
| Kinesiotherapy: | Patrick Perret/Abdeljelil Redissi |
| Special advisor: | Bernard Lacombe |
[edit] Famous former players
For a complete list of former Olympique Lyonnais players with a Wikipedia article, see here.
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Belgium Brazil Cameroon
Ghana Ireland Mali Norway |
Paraguay Poland Portugal Switzerland |
[edit] Olympique Lyonnais ladies
OL has a women's side who 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: 1991, 1993, 1995, 1998.
- Vice-champion of France top division : 1985, 1994, 2003, 2004.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
Official
- Olympique Lyonnais (French) (English)
- Discover Lyon and its region
- ESPNsoccernet: Olympique Lyonnais
- Lyon formations at football-lineups.com
