Olympique Lyonnais - 2000-2008...

[Rozay]

These teams come along across Europe every so often. They have a group of brilliant young players, coming from a combination of their academy and shrewd purchases of unknowns, often combined with one or two older flawed geniuses who had been considered finished, but they managed to revive and get a tune out of them. The combination is often great, energetic football, and a crop of about 4 or 5 players who turn into household names and get picked off.

Credit to Lyon who actually sustained it and had a couple of cycles within this period. They dominated French football, and they were the Dortmund, Monaco, Bilbao hipster team of their time. Under Le Guen, they won the league like 5 times in a row.

The headline young players were:

Benzema
Ben Arfa
Essien
Diarra

and then they had great experience with the likes of:

Toulalan
Juninho
Elber
Govou
Coupet
Cris

On their day they would give anyone a proper game in the CL, and often got far in the knock-out rounds.

 

[RikRuud]

Agree, they were a naughty team back then. Quality all over the pitch and always managed well when someone would poach one of their top players. Was also very exciting when they had a free kick up to 40 yards out with Juninho stood over it.

 

[Eriku]

I won a solid chunk of money by using them and Chelsea as the base for my betting accumulators in 2005.

 

[MileStolar]

They were Real Madrid's Kryptonite if I recall correctly.

 

[JPRouve]

They won the league 7 times in a row with Santini, Le Guen, Houllier and Perrin as managers.

 

[paraguayo]

sorry i confused myself having a tough day..

 

[FootballHQ]

They won the league 7 times in a row with Santini, Le Guen, Houllier and Perrin as managers.

Was Remi Garde the first manager to break the sequence? Was going to say PSG coming to the fore but Bordeaux won the league in 2009 of course.

From what I remember they were like Mexico in world cups, seemed to always get to quarter finals but would then run into a Milan or Barca and that would be the end.

When they got to semi finals v Bayern Munich in 2010 their team wasn't quite as strong as 3-4 years earlier. Then they went into decline.

 

[Rozay]

Essien was the one, I was gutted that we didn’t get him. Benzema was quality too of course, but Essien would have been perfect for us.

 

[Luke1995]

They were so good back in the day that great players such as Nilmar and Fred couldn't really fit in.

Juninho has a case to being the greatest freekick taker of all time but he also had great vision and passing

But yeah, they had a really fantastic transfer strategy alongside with a big work ethic and understanding between that group of players

I even remember Lyon knocking Real Madrid out of the CL ten years ago although not sure how many of these players were still there by then. At the time, it was a big upset.

 

[JPRouve]

Was Remi Garde the first manager to break the sequence? Was going to say PSG coming to the fore but Bordeaux won the league in 2009 of course.

From what I remember they were like Mexico in world cups, seemed to always get to quarter finals but would then run into a Milan or Barca and that would be the end.

When they got to semi finals v Bayern Munich in 2010 their team wasn't quite as strong as 3-4 years earlier. Then they went into decline.

No it was Puel, though it's a bit harsh to put it that way, they were still good but Bordeaux, Marseille and Lille played at a high level between 2008 and 2011, which coinceded with Lyon focusing their money on the financing of their stadium and sport center.

 

[Rozay]

They were so good back in the day that great players such as Nilmar and Fred couldn't really fit in.

Juninho has a case to being the greatest freekick taker of all time but he also had great vision and passing

But yeah, they had a really fantastic transfer strategy alongside with a big work ethic and understanding between that group of players

I even remember Lyon knocking Real Madrid out of the CL ten years ago although not sure how many of these players were still there by then. At the time, it was a big upset.

I remember Nilmar as not turning out very good at all. He cost big money at the time and didn’t impress. I think it was later at Villarreal that he showed some quality.

 

[SportingCP96]

I know this was a Lyon thread but that Bordeaux team from 08-09 and 09-10 were brilliant.

I remember in the CL in 09-10 they were outclassing Bayern and Juve in the groups and made it all the way to the quarters where they undeservedly lost to Lyon. Had they gotten to the semis I reckon they beat Bayern as they had there number.

Dont know what happened to them in the second Half of that season but they lost it.

Gourcuff was must see TV and chamack was a great link up play striker with him. They also had a bunch of solid players and there set piece ability was scary good.

 

[ArseHat]

Don't think Abidal and Malouda were mentioned yet, but they were also key contributors to that team before they moved onto Barca and Chelsea respectively.

There was a spell from the early-to-mid 2000's up to the end of that decade where it seemed like Lyon and Inter always won their domestic leagues.

They were so good back in the day that great players such as Nilmar and Fred couldn't really fit in.

Juninho has a case to being the greatest freekick taker of all time but he also had great vision and passing

But yeah, they had a really fantastic transfer strategy alongside with a big work ethic and understanding between that group of players

I even remember Lyon knocking Real Madrid out of the CL ten years ago although not sure how many of these players were still there by then. At the time, it was a big upset.

I remember that was the period where Real failed to make it past the R16 for like 5+ seasons. People were wondering if Real were cursed, and asking when they would be able to break out of that funk. Think they got their revenge on Lyon the year after or so though.

 

[Skills]

I know this was a Lyon thread but that Bordeaux team from 08-09 and 09-10 were brilliant.

I remember in the CL in 09-10 they were outclassing Bayern and Juve in the groups and made it all the way to the quarters where they undeservedly lost to Lyon. Had they gotten to the semis I reckon they beat Bayern as they had there number.

Dont know what happened to them in the second Half of that season but they lost it.

Gourcuff was must see TV and chamack was a great link up play striker with him. They also had a bunch of solid players and there set piece ability was scary good.

Must-buy on career mode too. I just looked him up and he's only 33 now

Chamakh's another blast from the past

 

[Gasolin]

They had a good run, but somehow it didn't work out in the CL. Disappointing, I think. They had really interesting players. Especially when Benzema, Ben Arfa, Juninho were all there, Essien and Diarra were very impressive in the middle too.

I remember players like Fred too haha!

I never thought that highly of Malouda. Well that brings back memories, and I feel old all of sudden!

 

[Luke1995]

I remember Nilmar as not turning out very good at all. He cost big money at the time and didn’t impress. I think it was later at Villarreal that he showed some quality.

Well, yeah. But later on he earned multiple Brazil caps. Maybe Lyon just didn't know the right system to play him in.

 

[Luke1995]

Don't think Abidal and Malouda were mentioned yet, but they were also key contributors to that team before they moved onto Barca and Chelsea respectively.

There was a spell from the early-to-mid 2000's up to the end of that decade where it seemed like Lyon and Inter always won their domestic leagues.

I remember that was the period where Real failed to make it past the R16 for like 5+ seasons. People were wondering if Real were cursed, and asking when they would be able to break out of that funk. Think they got their revenge on Lyon the year after or so though.

IMO in 2009/10 Real had a better squad than in 2010/11. It's funny how things happen in football.

Can also remember Juninho scoring a great freekick against Barcelona in 2008/09

 

[Pat_Mustard]

He arrived after their golden era and I'm not sure if he was actually that good, but I really liked Michel Bastos. Strung together a lot of highlight reel moments in his prime, then seemed to fade quite quickly.

 

[Lay]

Didn't their weakest team in that period reach the semi finals? Their better sides always seemed to go out in the quarters

 

[FootballHQ]

Didn't their weakest team in that period reach the semi finals? Their better sides always seemed to go out in the quarters

Side that played Bayern Munich in April 2010:

Lloris

Cris
Boumsong
Reveillere
Ally Cissokho

Jean Makoun
Bastos
Cesar Delgado
Max Gonalons

Lisandro Lopez
Govou

Young Pjanic came off the bench for them.

Far far weaker than their mid 00s teams but shows the luck of cup competitions, Chelsea were same two years later.

 

[Rozay]

Side that played Bayern Munich in April 2010:

Lloris

Cris
Boumsong
Reveillere
Ally Cissokho

Jean Makoun
Bastos
Cesar Delgado
Max Gonalons

Lisandro Lopez
Govou

Young Pjanic came off the bench for them.

Far far weaker than their mid 00s teams but shows the luck of cup competitions, Chelsea were same two years later.

Not a bad side tbh.

 

[MelvinYeo]

They won the league 7 times in a row with Santini, Le Guen, Houllier and Perrin as managers.

That was the amazing thing though, none of them other than Houllier had success anywhere else. How did they do it? Wasn't as if competition was that weak at the time with the Monaco team that reached the CL final and Marseille with Drogba who reached the UEFA cup final.

 

[SilentWitness]

Side that played Bayern Munich in April 2010:

Lloris

Cris
Boumsong
Reveillere
Ally Cissokho

Jean Makoun
Bastos
Cesar Delgado
Max Gonalons

Lisandro Lopez
Govou

Young Pjanic came off the bench for them.

Far far weaker than their mid 00s teams but shows the luck of cup competitions, Chelsea were same two years later.

I remember him at Liverpool. Fecking dreadful he was.

 

[JPRouve]

That was the amazing thing though, none of them other than Houllier had success anywhere else. How did they do it? Wasn't as if competition was that weak at the time with the Monaco team that reached the CL final and Marseille with Drogba who reached the UEFA cup final.

Le Guen was excellent with Rennes, Perrin had a solid career with Troyes which allowed him to land in Marseille, he is/was good a coach but has a terrible temper, he probably would have managed France if was less abrasive. Santini is shit though, I have no idea how he managed to be hired by Lyon and then Tottenham, I remember that people were laughing at the idea of a PL club "poaching" him and thinking that they had a good coach.

 

[Offside]

Weird that they had a good side for so many years then never reached the semi-finals in 2010 when it was a weaker Lyon side. Got spanked at home to Bayern. We really should have reach the final that year.

 

[BalanceUnAutreJoint]

Could arguably have a team just as good as the ones from that era if the management as up to par with players quality.

Lot of very good players on that team (Memphis,Aouar,Denayer,Guimaraes,Dembele), had Fekir/Ndombele/Mendy the year before too and a generation of Fekir/Tolisso/Lacazette/Umtiti a few years ago

Lyon has been struggling with managers for close to a decade now, Aulas wants too much control on the team and won't pay the bills to get a
marquee signing nor will he want to deal with those who are known to be strong-headed/problematic

His solution has been to appoint pretty mediocre managers and it hasn't really paid off so far.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Essien was the one, I was gutted that we didn’t get him. Benzema was quality too of course, but Essien would have been perfect for us.

Benzema would have been more perfect for us at that time, we lost Tevez & Ronaldo, Benzema would have been perfect to replace the 2 our goal scorer. But we signed Owen instead, well, Benzema wasn't interested to join us since his favourite player was R9 and he wanted to success him in Real Madrid.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Lyon wasn't really that good back then. They were just solid and Ligue 1 was terrible since lot of their star players moved to bigger league right away after a season or two season in the Ligue 1. Dortmund is currently much better than them and the AS Monaco that reached semi few years ago was probably also better team than any of Lyon team each season. They were just solid team who is capable to reach round of 16 every year.

It's similar to FC Porto/Benfica or may be the current Napoli.

 

[Rozay]

Lyon wasn't really that good back then. They were just solid and Ligue 1 was terrible since lot of their star players moved to bigger league right away after a season or two season in the Ligue 1. Dortmund is currently much better than them and the AS Monaco that reached semi few years ago was probably also better team than any of Lyon team each season. They were just solid team who is capable to reach round of 16 every year.

It's similar to FC Porto/Benfica or may be the current Napoli.

I disagree personally. I think they were made of stronger stuff than Dortmund, and at the very least, no way is Dortmund ‘much better’ than them. Dortmund May have more attacking flair, but they are too easy to play through, and typically never live up to expectation. Lyon with the likes of Essien, Diarra, Abidal and Toulalan had more substance I think.

 

[JPRouve]

I disagree personally. I think they were made of stronger stuff than Dortmund, and at the very least, no way is Dortmund ‘much better’ than them. Dortmund May have more attacking flair, but they are too easy to play through, and typically never live up to expectation. Lyon with the likes of Essien, Diarra, Abidal and Toulalan had more substance I think.

It was a nonensical post. Their team was full of internationals, for the most part their starting backline was made of Reveillere, Cacapa, Cris and Abidal with the likes of Toulalan, Carrière, Essien, Diarra, Juninho, Malouda, Govou, Dhorasoo, Tiago, Edmilson or Kallstrom. In attack they are an interesting team because for 10 years they never actually had a bad striker group, they alternated between the likes of Elber, Luyindula, Nilmar, Fred, Carew, Wiltord, Benzema, Lisandro Lopez(the Falcao of his time), while some failed to reach Lyon's ambitions the club never relied on only one player.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

I disagree personally. I think they were made of stronger stuff than Dortmund, and at the very least, no way is Dortmund ‘much better’ than them. Dortmund May have more attacking flair, but they are too easy to play through, and typically never live up to expectation. Lyon with the likes of Essien, Diarra, Abidal and Toulalan had more substance I think.

Apart from Essien. None of those 3 players impressed me. And Essien era happened when Lyon keep getting knocked out in group stage & quarter final.

Lyon 99/00 -> Failed to qualify.
Lyon 00/01 -> 3rd place in a group
Lyon 01/02 -> 3rd place in a group
Lyon 02/03 -> 3rd place in a group
Lyon 03/04 & 04/05 & 05/06 -> Knocked out in quarter final
Lyon 06/07 & 07/08 & 08/09 -> Knocked out in round 16
Lyon 09/10 -> Semi

Lot of Dortmund players since they turned into strong side in the last 8 years could easily play in those Lyon's team. Lewandowski, Reus, Sancho, Witsel, Hummels and etc and they reached final CL before. Like I said before they were solid team but not as good as how the OP described it.

 

[paulscholes18]

I remember him at Liverpool. Fecking dreadful he was.

Also Boumsong was very error prone at Newcastle