Beginnings Olympique Lyonnais was established in 1896 originally as
Racing Club de Lyon, which is currently known as the multisport club
Lyon Olympique Universitaire. In 1899, Olympique de Lyon formed a football team within the multisport club. The early years of the club, the football section was often overshadowed by local rivals
FC Lyon, who won the French championship in both the 1908 and 1909 seasons. Both LOU and FC Lyon also shared rivalries with local clubs
CS Terreaux and AS Lyonnaise. In 1910, Lyon Olympique won the French Championship eclipsing their rivals. By 1917, the city of Lyon was divided with its citizens supporting only one of the four clubs. By 1945, Lyon Olympique was managed by
Félix Louot, who provided leadership, determination, and faith in order to create a
professional football in the city of Lyon. His principles helped the club win the southern pool of the final wartime championship by two points over
Bordeaux. In the national final, which pitted them against
Rouen, Lyon Olympique lost the match 4–0. These successes propelled the club to the first division, but also led to problems regarding the cohabitation of amateurs and professionals within Lyon Olympique Universitaire. Due to numerous disagreements, Louot and his entourage began to contemplate forming their own club. On 3 August 1950, Louot's plan came to fruition when
Olympique Lyonnais was officially founded by Dr. Albert Trillat and numerous others. Due to the split, Lyon moved into the
Stade de Gerland, a stadium designed by local architect
Tony Garnier. The club's first manager was
Oscar Heisserer and on 26 August, played its first official match defeating
CA Paris-Charenton 3–0 in front of 3,000 supporters. In 1951, the club was crowned champions of the second division, thus moving up to the first division. Lyon were relegated back to the second division after just one season, despite Heisserer coming out of retirement as a player. Lyon spent the next two seasons in Division 2 building for the future by signing players such as Åke Hjalmarsson and
Erik Kuld Jensen. Eventually, during the 1953–54 season, the club achieved promotion back to the first division under the leadership of Heisserer, who departed the club after a four-year stint as manager. He was replaced by
Julien Darui, who only managed the club in the first division for six months before leaving his post.
Lucien Troupel replaced him. Troupel joined the club midway through the season, where Lyon ultimately finished in 12th position. Despite the inconsistent start, Troupel developed a squad full of talent, which included savvy veterans like
Swiss international Jacques Fatton and Antoine Dalla Cieca, and young emerging talent in
Jean Djorkaeff, Marcel Le Borgne and Bernard Gardon. The team responded the following season finishing in the top half of the table and also reaching the semi-finals of the
Coupe de France. Over the next three years (1956–1959), Lyon finished mid-table. In 1959, Troupel was replaced as manager by Gaby Robert. The arrival of a new manager included the arrival of an influx of new players with the Argentine
Nestor Combin, Cameroonian striker
Eugène N'Jo Léa, and Frenchman Jules Sbroglia being the biggest signings. Despite the signings, Lyon still struggled finishing in 16th position for the
1959–60 season.
Success in 1960s and '70s , former
France national football team and Olympique Lyonnais manager from 1976 to 1980. Olympique Lyonnais enjoyed limited success in the 1960s, partly due to the play of strike force
Fleury Di Nallo – known as "The Little Prince of Gerland" and arguably Lyon's greatest player ever – and the Argentine
Néstor Combin. Under the guidance of manager
Lucien Jasseron, the club achieved their highest first division finish, at the time, finishing in fifth place. The successful season culminated into the club reaching the
1963 Coupe de France final, where they faced
Monaco. Lyon secured a 0–0 draw in the first match, but lost the replay 0–2. The following season, the club captured their first-ever
Coupe de France title defeating Bordeaux 2–0. The club also finished in fourth position in the league. The
1964–65 season saw the departure of Combin to Italian club
Juventus. Due to this, the team suffered from his absence, finishing in a respectable sixth position in the league, but suffering elimination in the early rounds of both the
Coupe de France and the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The
1965–66 season saw Lyon finish in 16th position, their worst finish since
1960–61. The disappointing finish ultimately led to the departure of Jasseron, but his stint at the club is remembered as being largely positive by supporters and he is known for being the first Lyon manager to win the Coupe de France. Jasseron was replaced by
Louis Hon, a former
Real Madrid player and a known
tactician in the
Spanish league. Along with the departure of Jasseron, Lyon also lost several prominent players, including
Marcel Aubour,
Jean Djorkaeff,
Stéphane Bruey and Michel Margottin. The loss of such talented players resulted in the team finishing in 15th position for the
1966–67 season. On a positive note, however, the club won their second Coupe de France title, defeating
Sochaux 3–1. The following season, Hon and the team again struggled finishing for the second straight season, finishing in the bottom half of the league. The club did reach the quarterfinals of that year's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, losing to German side
Hamburger SV. The struggles domestically led to the firing of Hon, and he was replaced by former Lyon legend
Aimé Mignot. Mignot first season was mostly timid as the club finished a modest ninth in the league and were eliminated in the round of 16 in the Coupe de France. This inconsistent season was primarily due to Di Nallo breaking his leg in just the fourth match of the season. Despite a healthy Di Nallo returning for the
1969–70 season, Lyon still suffered, finishing 15th. Destrumelle spent only one year at the club, but brought in several notable players such as
Jean Tigana,
Alain Moizan,
Simo Nikolić and
Jean-Marc Furlan. The club finished in the top half of the table and also played in front of a record crowd for the Stade Gerland with 48,852 spectators on hand for the visit of Saint-Étienne, a figure that would remain a French record for ten years. The next six years (1981–1987), the team played under three different managers,
Vlatko Kovačević,
Robert Herbin and
Robert Nouzaret, and also were operated by numerous presidents and chairmen. By 1987, the club were playing in the second division.
Budding success In June 1987,
Rhône businessman
Jean-Michel Aulas took control of the club and invested in the club with the objective of turning Lyon into an established Ligue 1 side. His ambitious plan, titled "OL – Europe", was designed to develop the club on the
European level and back into the first division within a time-frame of no more than four years. Aulas' first season (1987–88) in charge was a success as the club finished a respectable second in Groupe B of the second division only faltering in the promotion play-offs. Three different managers served under Aulas during the season. Nouzaret, who started the season, departed midway and he was replaced by Denis Papas who only lasted a few months. Former Lyon player Marcel Le Borgne took over and managed until the end of the season. , former
France national team manager and former Lyon manager. The following season, Aulas brought in 36-year-old
Raymond Domenech, who was born in Lyon and played for the club during the 1970s. Domenech had previously performed well in a player-coach role as manager of
Alsatian club
Mulhouse. Aulas also brought back Bernard Lacombe, who, now retired, took the position of sporting director. The aspiring chairman gave both Lacombe and Domenech
carte blanche to recruit whichever player they saw fit to help the team reach the first division. Domenech, in an effort to increase competition in the squad, brought in several experienced players such as the
Congolese striker
Eugène Kabongo and
François Lemasson, but also focused on the club's youth teaming the veterans with the likes of
Bruno Ngotty and
Pascal Fugier. Led by 21 goals from Kabongo, the strategy and results were immediate with the club achieving promotion to Ligue 1 after a scoreless draw against
Olympique Alès. Lyon were crowned champions of
Ligue 2 for the third time. Lyon's first top-flight season under Domenech saw them finish eighth in the league, safe from relegation, despite struggling early on during the season. In Domenech's second season in the first division, he completed Aulas' plan of reaching Europe finishing in fifth following a victory over Bordeaux at a sold-out Gerland on the last day of the season. Initially, the finish did not insert Lyon into the
UEFA Cup, but following Monaco's victory in the
1991 edition of the Coupe de France, a spot opened and allowed Lyon progression. The
next season under Domenech was severely underachieving. The club lost in the first round of both the UEFA Cup and Coupe de France losing to Turkish club Trabzonspor (4–8 on aggregate) and
Istres, respectively. The club also finished 16th in the league, which is, as of today, still the worst league finish of the Aulas era. Following the
1992–93 Ligue 1 season, where Lyon again finished in the bottom half of the table, Domenech resigned his position and agreed to manage the
France under-21 national team. , former manager of Olympique Lyonnais. Aulas' first choice replacement was former
France national football team and Lyon midfielder Jean Tigana. Tigana had been a part of the celebrated
Magic Square, along with
Michel Platini,
Luis Fernández and
Alain Giresse. Tigana's arrival saw the club sign world-class players which included three-time
African Footballer of the Year Abédi Pelé, who ultimately disappointed,
Manuel Amoros and
Pascal Olmeta. All three players had been a part of the Marseille dynasty, which had included five-straight Ligue 1 titles from 1989 to 1993 and a
UEFA Champions League victory. In the club's
first season under Tigana, they finished eighth, just short of European qualification. The
1994–95 season saw the club become a legitimate title contender. Under the leadership of Ngotty and influential play of youngsters
Florian Maurice and
Franck Gava, Lyon finished in an impressive second place, ten points behind champions Nantes. The finish meant Lyon have qualified for their second UEFA Cup appearance. The new season also debut a new competition, the
Coupe de la Ligue. In the inaugural edition of the competition, Lyon suffered elimination in the round of 16 losing to the eventual winners of the tournament,
Paris Saint-Germain. Tigana departed the club after the successful season leaving for Monaco, however, not without leaving an indelible mark on the supporters of the club. His departure also saw others leave. Veteran defenders Ngotty left for Paris and Amoros returned to Marseille. Aulas did keep hold of his young striker tandem Maurice and Gava. For the
1995–96 season,
Guy Stéphan took charge of the club. Stéphan struggled early on losing Gava for the entire season due to an injury. Due to this, the new manager was forced to rely on Maurice and inexperienced youngsters like
Ludovic Giuly and
Cédric Bardon. Maurice responded scoring 18 goals; however, the next closest player in that category was Giuly with four. The inexperience showed on the field as Lyon finished in 11th position in the league, lost in the second round of the UEFA Cup to English club
Nottingham Forest (1–0 on aggregate), and were eliminated in the early stages of the Coupe de France. Despite the unimpressive finishes, Lyon still had a chance to qualify directly to the UEFA Cup, due to reaching the
1996 final of the Coupe de la Ligue. The faced
Metz and lost on penalties 4–5. The new season saw the arrival of striker
Alain Caveglia, as well as veteran midfielder
Christophe Cocard. However, Stéphan again suffered bad luck losing his star striker Maurice for six months after the player ruptured his
Achilles tendon following his return from the
1996 Summer Olympics. The lost weakened the team completely and Stéphan was fired following the club's defeat by
Auxerre, in which Lyon conceded seven goals. He was promptly replaced by sporting director
Bernard Lacombe. Lacombe quickly changed the environment and style of the team. Though the club endured elimination from both cup competitions early on, they rebounded in the league finishing mid-table in 8th, which meant a berth in the
UEFA Intertoto Cup. The season also saw the emergence of Giuly who scored 16 goals, second on the team behind Caveglia (19). Lacombe's
first full season in charge was subdued with the club struggling at home, but dominating on the road. The club eventually finished in sixth place, moving above Auxerre on the final day of the season for a guaranteed spot in the UEFA Cup. The club also reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France. It was the club's best finish in the competition since 1976. In Europe, the club won the Intertoto Cup reaching the second round of the UEFA Cup where they faced the task of defeating Italian outfit
Internazionale, who had the likes of
Ronaldo and
Giuseppe Bergomi in its arsenal. Despite upsetting Inter at the
San Siro 2–1, Lyon's home form continue to sulk losing in the return leg 1–3 eliminating Lyon from the tournament. Inter later went on to win
the tournament. The
1998–99 season saw Lyon suffer many highs, but also heartbreaking lows. With the arrival of new players
Vikash Dhorasoo and
Marco Grassi, Lyon got off to a great start in the league thrashing
Toulouse 6–1 and defeating title contenders Marseille and Bordeaux both by a score of 2–1. On 3 February 1999, however, the club received damaging news when it was discovered that
Luc Borrelli, one of the team's goalkeepers, was killed in a car accident. Borelli had been a popular figure inside the club and the players were hit hard by the news. Borelli's number 16 shirt was later retired by the club. Despite the tragic news, the players pull together performing admirably in the league finishing in 3rd, which meant the club had qualified for the
UEFA Champions League for the first time. The club suffered early elimination in the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue, but reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup losing to another Italian side in
Bologna, 0–5 on aggregate. The mid-to-late 1990s proved to be an enriching but ultimately frustrating learning period for Lyon. The club had become a regular qualifier for European competitions but was making little impact apart from entertaining watchers. Even more disappointingly, the second-place finish of 1994–95 in the French league had not provided the expected foundations for success, the club finishing out of the top-five for the following three campaigns. Third-place finishes followed in 1998–99 and 1999–2000.
Rise to prominence At the start of the new millennium, Olympique Lyonnais began to achieve unlimited success in French football. Following the 1998–99 season, Aulas made a big gamble signing the Brazilian international
Sonny Anderson from Spanish giants
Barcelona for a then-French record fee of €17 million. Sonny Anderson, who was labeled a flop while playing for the
Catalan club, had previously had success in Ligue 1 with Monaco and Aulas felt that justified the signing. Aulas later signed
Pierre Laigle from Italian club
Sampdoria and
Tony Vairelles from Lens. The
1999–2000 season saw Lyon begin the season slowly, but eventually the club took control of the league topping the table following the fifth match day. In the club's first appearance in the Champions League, they endured defeat losing 0–3 on aggregate to Slovenian club
Maribor. This result shifted the club's European ambitions back to the UEFA Cup, where they made it all the way to the third round defeating Finnish club
HJK and Scottish giants
Celtic, before losing to German club
Werder Bremen. At the midway point of the season, Lyon were effectively in first place, but on 15 February 2000, the club suffered a disastrous defeat by Nantes losing 1–6. Four days later, the club was eliminated from the Coupe de France losing to
Bastia. The club eventually secured another berth in the UEFA Champions League finishing 3rd for the second consecutive season, despite suffering late seasons losses to
Nancy and Lens. Sonny Anderson effectively lived up to his price tag bagging 23 league goals. Following the season, Lacombe departed his position as manager and was replaced by technical director
Jacques Santini. Lacombe was later installed as a special advisor to Aulas. Having already shored up the striker position with Sonny, Santini brought in Brazilians
Edmílson and
Caçapa and also captured Swiss international
Patrick Müller in order to solidify the team's midfield and backline. Lyon began the season with three straight draws and midway through the season were in ninth position. In the UEFA Champions League, Santini led the club to their first group stage appearance, where they finished in second place, which meant a spot in the second group stage phase, where they were pitted against the likes of
Bayern Munich and English club
Arsenal. Despite having a better goal differential than Arsenal, Lyon were eliminated from the tournament due to the club's head-to-head matches. In league and cup play, Lyon managed to go on an 18-match unbeaten streak, which resulted in the club finishing runner-up in the league and also reaching the
2001 final of the Coupe de la Ligue, where they defeated Monaco by a score of 2–1 with new signings Caçapa and Müller getting both goals. The victory earned the club their first major silverware since the
1973 Coupe de France win. The
2001–02 season saw the arrival of
Juninho, an unknown in European circles. Santini also brought in
the 2001 Player of the Year Eric Carrière and made the decision to increase the playing time of emerging youth product
Sidney Govou. The club began the season losing their opening match to title contenders Lens 0–2. The club proceeded to go on a six-match unbeaten streak, which included five wins, to move into first place. In the Champions League, the club finished in third position, which meant a return to the UEFA Cup. In the competition, they lost to Czech club
Slovan Liberec in the fourth round. For the majority of the league season, Lyon maintained their second-place positioning and had some scares, which included being saved against Auxerre by Sidney Govou, who scored a 90th-minute goal to give Lyon a 1–0 victory and keep them on par with Lens. The league ultimately came down to the final match day of the season when first-place Lens faced off against second place Lyon at the Stade Gerland on 4 May 2002. The game opened with Govou scoring a goal in just the seventh minute of the play. In the 14th minute, Lyon doubled their lead through
Philippe Violeau. Later, despite Lens getting a goal from former Lyonnais
Jacek Bąk, they were finished off following a goal from Pierre Laigle. The 3–1 victory assured Lyon their first-ever Ligue 1 title. It was their first French league title since the 1944–45 season. In an otherwise dormant season for the club, which had gone backwards in its European ambitions, the domestic title was considered as a bright spot. More importantly, it instilled a winning mentality among OL players, who had previously been known to buckle under pressure when it came to key moments of previous seasons. The 2001–02 winning campaign marked the beginning of what would become known among French followers as the "Lyon DNA" for the following few seasons: the ability to overcome deficits, deal blows to their opponents when it mattered the most and win tightly contested games, and a belief among the players that, on the domestic front, they could overcome any kind of adverse circumstances and rally precisely when everything appeared to play against them. This
DNA was to play a crucial part in subsequent league successes of 2002–03 and 2003–04, when Lyon came from behind to win the title on each occasion. A fortnight after the win over Lens, Santini announced that he would be departing the club to take over as manager of the
France national football team. On 1 August 2002, Aulas announced the replacement for Santini would be former
Rennes manager
Paul Le Guen. Le Guen, who had taken a year off after resigning from his hometown club, was highly noted for grooming players such as
El Hadji Diouf during his tenure at the club. Le Guen applied those policies to Lyon improving the club's training center, the
Centre Tola Vologe, and signing youth players like
Hatem Ben Arfa and
Demba Touré. Le Guen also gave younger players such as Juninho,
Péguy Luyindula and
Jérémie Bréchet more prominent roles in the squad. One of Le Guen's more notable signings included signing
holding midfielder Mahamadou Diarra from Dutch club
Vitesse. Le Guen began the season capturing the club's second
Trophée des champions title after a 5–1 hammering of
Lorient. In the league, Lyon recorded big wins over
Sedan and Bastia, but fell to as low as 10th position, due to focusing more on the UEFA Champions League, where they again finished in third and were shifted over to the UEFA Cup. Following the Lyon's elimination from the UEFA Cup (0–1 on aggregate to Turkish side
Denizlispor) and the domestic cup competitions, the club focused on the league and reached the top of the table with six matches remaining. Facing mounting pressure from rivals Monaco and Marseille, Lyon went on a five-match unbeaten streak, effectively giving the club their second straight Ligue 1 title. Lyon lost the final match of the season to Guingamp 1–4, but the title had already been secured. The club's celebrations were ecstatic having repeated, but later turned to tears as on 26 June 2003, Lyon midfielder
Marc-Vivien Foé suffered cardiac arrest while playing for the
Cameroon national team at the
2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. The death was even more shocking to some as it occurred at the Stade Gerland. Out of respect, Foé's number 17 was retired. , led Lyon to three straight Ligue 1 titles. Le Guen's second season saw Lyon win their third consecutive league title for the
2003–04 season. Le Guen continued his policy bringing in young good talent signing
Florent Malouda,
Michael Essien and
Anthony Réveillère from
Guingamp, Bastia and
Valencia respectively. The club also signed veteran Brazilian
Giovane Élber and promoted the young
left-back Jérémy Berthod to the senior team. In the league, Lyon was mostly dormant during the fall season only reaching the top of the table in the spring on 20 March 2004, following a 1–0 victory over Nantes. The club also were shockingly defeated in Coupe de la Ligue losing to Lens in their opening match on
penalties. Lyon, eventually, held on to their hold giving the club their third consecutive Ligue 1 title. The club performed especially well in the
newly revamped format of the UEFA Champions League reaching the knockout stages after winning their group, upending the German powerhouse Bayern Munich. In the round of 16, Lyon were pitted against
Real Sociedad and defeated the club 2–0 on aggregate advancing to the quarterfinals where they lost to Portuguese club
Porto, who ultimately won the competition. , first Lyon player to be awarded the
UNFP Player of the Year award.
Domestic domination strengthens, progress in Europe The
2004–05 season saw Lyon win their fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title by a majority margin. With many of his players being linked to clubs abroad, Le Guen openly denounced the rumors keeping his core players at the club and also signing Ligue 1 starlet
Eric Abidal from
Lille and
Sylvain Wiltord and the Brazilian defender
Cris and striker
Nilmar from abroad. Lyon began the season capturing their third straight Trophée des champions defeating Paris Saint-Germain on penalties and got off to a fast start in the league. By October 2004, the club had easily achieved a sizable lead that they would never give up winning the title by an amazing 12 points. By comparison, in their previous title-winning campaigns of 2002, 2003 and 2004, the club's lead over the second placed team had never exceeded three points. In the Champions League, the club's dominance on the domestic level was finally shifting to the European level. Lyon cruised through to the knockout rounds losing only to
Manchester United, and topping their group ahead of the English giants. In the knockout stages, Lyon dominated Werder Bremen 3–0 in Germany and destroyed them 7–2 at the Gerland. Going into the quarter-finals, Lyon were heavy favorites against Dutch club
PSV, but were shockingly held to 1–1 draws in both legs and eventually bowed out on penalties, also penalized by a number of dubious decisions from match officials. On 9 May 2005, with Lyon favorably ahead in the league, Le Guen announced that it would be his final season at the club. He resigned, despite being offered a three-year contract extension by management. Following the season, midfielder Michael Essien was awarded the
UNFP Player of the Year award becoming the first Lyon player to achieve this honor. Just two weeks after Le Guen's announcement, on 29 May 2005, club president Jean-Michel Aulas announced that the club had reached an agreement with former national team and
Liverpool manager
Gérard Houllier with the latter agreeing to a two-year deal that brought him back to France club football management 17 years after he had left Paris Saint-Germain. Houllier, already equipped with a championship side, brought in strikers
Fred and Norwegian
John Carew and midfielders
Benoît Pedretti from Marseille and
Portuguese international Tiago from
Chelsea to fill the void of the departed Essien, who moved to Chelsea. The Essien transfer concluded a summer-long transfer battle between the Ghanaian and the club. Houllier, a known youth developer, also increased the playing time of youth products
Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, and
Jérémy Clément. He also inserted Juninho as
lead captain. Lyon began the
2005–06 season going on a 15 match unbeaten streak. This included another Trophée des champions title and victories in the league and Champions League. One of those victories included Lyon humbling Spanish giants Real Madrid 3–0 at the Gerland in front of a sold-out crowd in the club's opening group stage match of the
2005–06 UEFA Champions League. Lyon continued their domination of the group going undefeated. In the league, the club went on unbeaten streaks of seven matches on three occasions. The club reached the top of the table on 28 August 2005 and never gave up the spot winning their final league match 8–1 over Le Mans, in which Fred scored a
hat-trick. The victory was, without question, the best of the season, but wasn't required as the club had already secured their league title following the 35th match day. In the end, Lyon captured their fifth consecutive title winning the title by a stunning 15 points. Lyon, however, suffered heartbreak in the cup competitions, losing in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France to rivals Marseille and also suffering elimination from the Champions League in the quarterfinals to
Milan, despite being minutes away from advancing to the semi-finals due to an away goal from Mahamadou Diarra. Milan secured the berth with an 88th-minute goal from
Filippo Inzaghi. After the season, a Lyon player was awarded the UNFP Player of the Year, for the second straight year with Juninho earning the honor. , Lyon won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007 The
2006–07 season saw Lyon increase other clubs' notion that they were a selling club as they lost Diarra to Madrid for approximately €25 million, sold John Carew the previous winter to
Aston Villa in a swap deal for
Milan Baroš, and let Jérémy Clément leave for Scotland for €2.5 million. Houllier and Aulas, however, replaced these players with Ligue 1 stars. These included the Swede
Kim Källström from Rennes,
Jérémy Toulalan from Nantes and
Alou Diarra from Lens. The season, for the first time in years, saw Lyon perform well in all competitions. In the league, Lyon achieved historic success topping the table at the winter break with a record 50 points. The club reached the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France and made it all the way to the
2007 final of the Coupe de la Ligue, where they lost to Bordeaux 0–1 due to a late goal from
Carlos Henrique. In the Champions League, Lyon in the group stage went undefeated for the second straight season. For the first time in three years, Lyon suffered elimination, not in the quarterfinals, but in the round of 16, losing to
Roma after being beaten 0–2 at the Gerland by the
Giallorossi. Despite struggling during the second half of the league, Lyon maintained their first-place positioning again winning the league, their sixth straight, by double digits. Malouda later completed the hat-trick that season: winning the Player of the Year award becoming the third Lyon player to be bestowed with the honour. After the season, manager Gérard Houllier's contract expired and he departed. His track record was largely positive: he had not only maintained OL's stronghold on French football, but reinforced it, leading them to record points totals (84 in 2005–06, 81 in 2006–07) and record leads over the second place team (15 and 17 points respectively). Till date, those points tallies remain the highest ever achieved by Lyon under any manager in their league history, something few fans had anticipated at the time of his departure. Houllier's main failure had been the Champions League. In spite of going within seconds of leading OL to their first ever semi-final of the competition in the 2005–06 edition, Houllier's side had ultimately succumbed to late Milan goals. 2006–07 had been even worse, with Roma humbling the France team in the round of 16, signalling Lyon's earliest European exit since the 2002–03 season.
League and Cup double amid struggles In need of a replacement, Aulas decided to bring in former
Portsmouth manager
Alain Perrin, who was coming off a monumental
Coupe de France win the previous season with Sochaux. Before the start of the season, Lyon lost several key players. Most notably Malouda, who left for Chelsea, Abidal, who joined Barcelona, Tiago, who departed for Juventus, and Caçapa, who left for
Newcastle United on a
free transfer. In an effort to replace the players, Aulas continued his strategy of signing the league's top players. Arriving at the club were Lille teammates
Mathieu Bodmer and
Kader Keïta, who joined for a combined fee of €24.5 million with Keïta being Lyon's highest paid transfer at the time. Other arrivals included
2006 FIFA World Cup winner
Fabio Grosso, who joined from Internazionale,
César Delgado and
Jean-Alain Boumsong with the latter two joining the club during the winter transfer period. Perrin began the
2007–08 season with the more modern 4–3–3 formation vacating the tactics of the club's previous managers who opted for the more simple
4-3-1-2 formation. Perrin also promoted the youngster Karim Benzema to the lead striker role and converted
Hatem Ben Arfa into a
left winger in order to relieve Malouda's departure. Due to this, the club struggled to adapt losing two of their opening three matches. Perrin also lost important players Grégory Coupet and Cris to long-term injuries. Following these setbacks, the team, most notably Benzema, rejuvenated itself and went unbeaten in their next ten matches, which put them top of the table, with Benzema scoring nine goals. In the Champions League, the club, just like in the league, struggled early losing 0–3 to both Barcelona and Scottish club
Rangers. The club did manage to reach the knockout rounds thanks to back-to-back wins against German club
VfB Stuttgart (0–2 and 4–2), a 2–2 home draw with Barcelona, and a massive 3–0 win over Rangers on the final match day at
Ibrox Park. In the knockout rounds of the Champions League, Lyon faced Manchester United, and earned a 1–1 draw in the opening leg at home. In the second leg, played at
Old Trafford, Lyon held the home side to only one goal, but could not get on the score sheet, thus suffering elimination in the Round of 16 for the second straight season. Manchester United eventually went on to win the competition. , the club's primary output during the
2007–08 and
2008–09 seasons The league season was marked by some erratic performances, disciplinary problems, and by a much less marked domination; Bordeaux emerged as serious contenders for the title and Lyon, despite maintaining first place for the entire season, struggled losing to minnows
Caen, Lens, and Le Mans. Lyon were also swept by rivals Marseille, who defeated Lyon 1–2 at the Gerland and hammered them 1–3 at the
Velodrome with Lyon's lone goal coming from an
own goal by
Lorik Cana. The club endured disciplinary issues with Ben Arfa and defender
Sébastien Squillaci coming to blows in a training session, as well as the Brazilian Fred's constant undermining of the club's management, which ultimately led to his departure. Eventually, the league was decided on the final day. In Lyon's match against Auxerre, Benzema scored a goal (his 20th that season in Ligue 1), a mere 24 seconds after kick-off, followed by goals from Fred and Kim Källstrom, securing the league for Lyon. OL finished the season with only 4 points separating them from second placed team,
Laurent Blanc's Bordeaux. In fact, they owed their league success largely to the direct results between the two clubs, which had seen Lyon dominate their rivals 3–1 and 4–2. Apart from those two games, Bordeaux had managed to match the Lyonnais' level of performances in the season, something no team had been able to achieve since the 2003–04 season when Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco had finished close to Lyon. Benzema was later awarded the UNFP Player of the Year becoming the fourth straight Lyon player to accept the honor. In the cup competitions, Lyon performed well, reaching the final eight in the Coupe de la Ligue and also winning the
Coupe de France for the first time in more than 30 years. In
the final, Lyon faced Paris-Saint Germain and, despite, going through some difficult moments during the match against a side reputed to be cup competition specialists, escaped with a 1–0 (goal scored by Sidney Govou) win in extra-time. The victory over Paris Saint-Germain assured Lyon their first ever
double. In spite of the league and cup double being achieved for the first time in the club's history, 2007–08 was not considered by club supremo Jean-Michel Aulas as a highly satisfactory one. His hopes of seeing the club becoming a European powerhouse had again been dashed, and for the first time in years, the season had been marked by unrest in the dressing room. Coach Alain Perrin, who had been under pressure from the very beginning of the season with the club struggling unusually in its first league games, was widely expected to lose his job. In fact, it was only his positive results that had managed to keep him in charge till the end of the season. As early as September 2007, he had been rather cruelly nicknamed "''PPH: Passera Pas L'Hiver''" (French for "Can't Last Beyond Winter") by sections of the French media. Though the trophies won spoke in Perrin's favour, his lack of grip on his players and coaching staff (there were news of clashes involving
Hatem Ben Arfa,
Joël Bats and Robert Duverne) cast doubt on his ability as a manager. Furthermore, Perrin's chequered record as the manager of another big France club, Marseille, did not help his cause. Taking all those factors into account, Aulas fired him from his job at the end of the season. With hindsight, Alain Perrin's record no longer seems as negative as it appeared at the time when the events happened. To his credit, he managed to create what was arguably the most entertaining Lyon side to have performed in the French League, in which they scored 74 times, a club record. Conversely, they also conceded more often than in previous seasons (37 goals), a logical consequence of Perrin's highly offensive 4–3–3. Perrin's credentials are further boosted by the several injuries to key players (Cris and Grégory Coupet) throughout the season and the fact that he was the first manager to place such a degree of trust in the talents of Karim Benzema, playing him as his central striker when previous coaches had often been using the attacker in wide positions. In addition, Hatem Ben Arfa, who had complained of being frozen out by Perrin, later clashed with all his subsequent coaches in France (
Eric Gerets and
Didier Deschamps), thereby clearing the blame which had been placed on Perrin's shoulders at the time when the conflicts were brought to the public's knowledge.
The Claude Puel years: dethroned and current state Following the
season, it was announced by Aulas that Perrin would not be returning as manager of the team, despite being the first Lyon manager to win
the double. Lyon management attributed the firing to "Perrin's several malfunctions that affected the squad daily throughout the season" and their constant failure in Europe. Following an extensive search, which linked the Lyon managerial position to several managers, including former Manchester United assistant and then current
Iran national team coach
Carlos Queiroz, Brazilian manager
Vanderlei Luxemburgo, and former France players and managers Didier Deschamps and
Laurent Blanc to name a few, it was announced on 18 June 2008 that Lille manager
Claude Puel would succeed Perrin. Before Puel's arrival as manager, Aulas made several transfers, which included bringing in
Nice teammates
Ederson and
Hugo Lloris, Metz
prodigy Miralem Pjanić, and Lille
midfielder Jean Makoun. Following Puel's arrival, the club brought in the Ghanaian defender
John Mensah and Monaco striker
Frédéric Piquionne. The additions were later offset by the departure of veterans Sébastien Squillaci, Grégory Coupet, and Patrick Müller, as well as youngster Hatem Ben Arfa, who joined rivals Marseille. Lyon began Puel's reign in negative fashion losing their first Trophée des Champions, after having won six straight, to Bordeaux. In the league, Lyon opened the season going on a seven match unbeaten streak before being embarrassed by Rennes in what the media described as a "thrashing". Lyon responded positively to the loss going on another unbeaten run, this time of six matches, but, following a surprise loss to Paris Saint-Germain went on a three-match win-less streak, which included a loss to relegation strugglers Nantes. With rivals Bordeaux and Marseille on their tracks, Lyon again responded going on a nine match unbeaten streak allowing the club to maintain their first-place position. In the Champions League, Lyon, unlike last year, went unbeaten in their first five matches drawing the first two against Bayern Munich and
Fiorentina and winning the next three scoring seven goals in two matches against Romanian club
Steaua București and defeating Fiorentina 2–1. In the knockout rounds, Lyon, for the second straight season, were provided a tough test going against Barcelona. Despite controlling the first leg at the Gerland, which ended 1–1, Lyon were hammered 2–5 in the second leg by the Catalans, who later won the competition. In the cup competitions, Lyon were embarrassed by second division club Metz losing their opening match in the Coupe de la Ligue 1–3. In the Coupe de France, Lyon defeated Marseille in the round of 32. In the ensuing round, they suffered defeat by Lille 2–3, despite coming back from a goal down on two occasions. Lyon later lost to Lille in the league a mere three days later and, on 11 April 2009, following a draw with Monaco, lost their grip on first-place position. Lyon followed the draw by going on a three-match winless streak, which included a loss to title contenders Bordeaux and a disastrous defeat by
Valenciennes, which effectively eliminated the club from title contention. Despite going undefeated in their final four matches, Lyon finished in 3rd position behind Marseille and champions Bordeaux. The finish ended an impressive streak of seven successive titles. For the first time since the 1999–2000 season, the club finished out of the top two. However, by winning 3–1 at the Vélodrome against Marseille on 17 May, they helped Bordeaux take the lead and eventually win the league, thus gaining the satisfaction of having hurt bitter rivals Marseille's chances in both the Coupe de France and Ligue 1. The following season would bring no such domestic satisfaction as this time, Marseille did manage to win the league for the first time since 1992, with Didier Deschamps at the helm. On their way to the title, the Mediterranean club beat Lyon 2–1 in March to begin an impressive run of successes that proved to be decisive. For Lyon, the fact that the title was won by their rivals made the fall from grace experienced since 2008 under Claude Puel even more bitter. Their second-place finish with 72 points offered little consolation. Performances in the Champions League proved to be the season's biggest satisfaction, though the Lyonnais' run ended abruptly with a 3–0 semi-final loss at the Stade de Gerland against Bayern Munich (0–4 loss on aggregate). Lyon's run in the competition included a memorable win at Liverpool in October 2009, making them the second France club to win a game at
Anfield after Marseille in October 2007. The club finished second of its group behind Fiorentina and was drawn against Real Madrid for the round of 16. Despite odds being heavily stacked against them for the tie, France took a surprise lead when Jean Makoun scored a long-range effort. They held on to their lead, but were still expected to be eliminated in the second leg with the Spanish giants playing at their home ground. At the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Real Madrid took an early lead through
Cristiano Ronaldo and looked like they would easily get past their opponents. However, Lyon produced a resilient performance and managed to keep their deficit to one goal. In the final 15 minutes, Miralem Pjanić scored from close range to give his side a crucial away goal. The match finished 1–1 and Lyon advanced to the quarter-finals. With the win at Liverpool, the qualification over two legs against Real Madrid turned out to be the highest point of Claude Puel's stint as club manager. In the quarter-finals, Lyon eliminated fellow French side Bordeaux, winning the first leg 3–1 at home and losing the second leg in Bordeaux 0–1. This was followed by Lyon's elimination by Bayern Munich. In the summer of 2010, Jean-Michel Aulas' marquee signing was playmaker
Yoann Gourcuff from Bordeaux, following a lengthy negotiation process.
Jimmy Briand also arrived on a free transfer from Rennes. Having endured a poor 2009–10 season which had culminated in a shambolic
2010 FIFA World Cup campaign in South Africa, Gourcuff was expected to revive his career in Lyon. However, he failed to perform to the expected level, seemingly unable to shake off his disappointing World Cup campaign. Another player struggling to deal with the aftermath of that World Cup was Jérémy Toulalan, who used to be one of the club's most reliable performers. 2010–11 ended up as the club's worst season since they became genuine title contenders in the early 2000s. For the first time since the French league had reverted to 20 clubs (that is, 2002–03), Lyon ended the season with less than 65 points, with 64. The previous worst had been 68 in 2002–03, a tally that had been enough for the club to win the league at the time. Only the erratic form of direct competitors Paris Saint-Germain allowed the Lyonnais to hang on to third place, qualifying them for the preliminary round of the 2011–12 Champions League. In the Champions League, Lyon again met Real Madrid in the round of 16, but failed to reproduce the upset of 2009–10. After a 1–1 draw at the Gerland,
the Gônes were soundly beaten 3–0 in the Spanish capital. Progress in the Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France was also unsatisfactory. For the first time since Jean-Michel Aulas purchased the club in 1987, fans revolted against the manager in charge. Claude Puel was repeatedly attacked through banners deployed in home games that lambasted his record. During a game at Gerland against Caen in the spring of 2011, towards the end of the season, OL supporter groups produced several banners directed at Puel, including one that read, "''Puel, la seule chose que t'aies gagné à Lyon c'est l'argent''" ("Puel, the only thing you managed to win in Lyon was money"). The banner was deployed 20 minutes before the match ended, and this was followed by thousands of fans leaving the stands. In the same match, the fans had chanted the name of Gérard Houllier, who for them was a symbol of the club in the days when it used to win games with dazzling performances. Earlier in the season, following a derby loss at home against Saint-Étienne, Aulas had to calm down fans who were asking for the manager's head. In June 2008, Aulas had appointed Puel as an English-style manager with broader prerogatives than usually allowed for France managers. In spite of disappointing results, especially during the 2010–11 season, he kept repeating that Puel would see out his contract that ran until the summer of 2012. However, in the spring of 2011, a separation between the two parties was already looking inevitable. Puel could not see eye to eye with the fans, who perceived him as a man from the south who had ruined their club and ended its dominance on the French football scene. He suffered the ignominy of becoming the first OL manager since Bernard Lacombe to have a trophyless career on the Gerland bench. However, unlike Lacombe, Puel had arrived at the club at a time when it was the top side in France and with millions spent on transfers such as Hugo Lloris, Ederson, John Mensah, Miralem Pjanić,
Lisandro López,
Bafétimbi Gomis,
Michel Bastos,
Aly Cissokho,
Dejan Lovren and Yoann Gourcuff, he had a moral duty to bring home trophies, which he failed to do. In addition, the former Monaco manager was handicapped by his poor communication skills and his apparent lack of enthusiasm during media events. His tactics were perceived as negative and for the first time in decades, Lyon were being associated with boring football. His relationship with players was equally poor, to the point that during the 2010–11 season, no one would speak out in defence of him when he was criticized by fans or the media. Several players, including Yoann Gourcuff, hinted that their poor form could partly be explained by disagreements with the coach's tactics. Finally, Puel also took a lot of stick for his excessively physical training regimes that led to a lot of muscular injuries in the course of the 2010–11 season. Taking into account that poor record on all counts, Jean-Michel Aulas was forced to reconsider his initial plans. On 15 June 2011, Lyon began procedures to end Puel's contract. On 20 June 2011, Puel vacated his post, but both parties are still negotiating over his severance allowance. Former Lyon and Arsenal player
Rémi Garde has taken over as club manager, with the primary aim of repairing the damage done by Puel's reign. ==References==