Less fancy playing, better defending, more cynical finishing. This will be Fiorentina's lesson tonight after their elimination from the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League. And it sounds like an awfully familiar one. The kind that spectacular but inexperienced teams are forced to learn, as indeed La Viola's return to Europe's top competition demonstrated. Click to continue reading...

If any of you read my match preview of yesterday's Coupe de la Ligue game against Metz, you can see that I was expecting a comfortable win for my team. Not champagne football, but a solid, no-nonsense victory. But it turns out that I, along with the entire squad of Olympique Lyonnais, am now being punished for such arrogance.

Click to continue reading...

These 3-0 losses are starting to turn into a yearly ritual. A humiliating one.

The game was so bad that Lyon's official website posted a highlight video that was only three minutes long - usually they are around twenty minutes. Watching it, I realized why. Apart from Mickael Pagis's three goals, not much else happened.

Click to continue reading...

Claude Puel says that the only game he's thinking about is tomorrow's game against Nancy, but we all know he's lying because next Tuesday is Lyon's crucial match against Bayern Munich, a game that Lyon need to get at least a draw in if they want to keep their hopes of qualifying for the round of 16.

Click to continue reading...

Fiorentina had the French "Lion" almost tamed. In their nth rendez-vous with top European football (since the 2001-02 season, OL have won 7 consecutive Ligue 1 championships), Lyon started the match at ferocious pace, but after a couple whip-cracks by Alberto Gilardino (coupled with an almost flawless Viola defence) the beast had stopped roaring. Click to continue reading...

One of the Italians to move abroad this summer was World Cup winning fullback (and team barber) Massimo Oddo. The 32 year old right back had a nightmare season last year. He wasn't himself at all, he played poorly, all his crosses ended up in Row Z, and he found himself left out of the national team set-up, missing Euro 2008.

Click to continue reading...

IL TECNICO GIALLOROSSO
TRA I GRANDI DEL CONTINENTE

Presa l'Europa, riprendi la Roma

Spalletti ieri a Nyon al Forum per Allenatori
di Club d'Elite. Oggi parlerà, ieri ha ringraziato
per i complimenti Scolari. Che guida quel Chelsea
"peccato originale" della stagione romanista

Di DANIELE LO MONACO
Funziona spesso così, negli ambienti calcistici
meno equilibrati. Click to continue reading...

A new coach, several new players, new tactical systems...so I figured it was time for another team building exercise.

I can't resist this picture. It's Lyon to a T.

Between friendlies and the first few competitive games, we've gotten a vague idea about the kind of team Puel wants to form - tactically organized, defensively solid, players sticking to their roles (as opposed to last season, where players would be out of position all the time).

Click to continue reading...

Lens Reserve and France U18 LB Thimothe Kolodziecjzak

Well, as the transfer window nears, Lyon look to bolster their defense as well as move out some "surplus" stock. On the offensive side, everything seems to be finalized, and all that is left is the anticipated departure of Milan Baros.

Click to continue reading...

Benzema celebrates after scoring Lyon's only goal in last year's 2-1 loss to Lorient.

This week, Lyon travel to Brittany to face FC Lorient at Le Stade Moustoir. Lorient is currently tied for 2nd place with seven other teams in L1, having defeated Le Mans 1-0 in the first week.

Click to continue reading...

Lyon's favorite son and patron saint of goal-scoring, Karim Benzema expressed his feelings about the upcoming season in a recent interview in L'Equipe. Karim speaks about the changes in the club this season, as well as his thoughts on his coaches- new and old- and his newfound superstar status on the pitch.

Click to continue reading...

Right. So Frederic Piquionne is a Lyon player. He was nabbed for €4.5m on a four year contract from Monaco. Everyone is excited. Really.

*tumbleweeds*

Or maybe not. Umm...

A new player? What?

Click to continue reading...

Just when Lille fans thought that Lyon was done plundering their club of their most valuable assets, it turns out that Lille's club doctor, Emmanuel Ohrant, has decided to join Claude Puel's staff.

Geez. Within one year, Lyon signed Lille's three best players, stole their manager and his assistant, and now they take their chief doctor too!

Click to continue reading...

I wasn't planning a post on Lyon's supposed interest in Samuel Eto'o because I thought that these rumors would have blown away by now, but with my inbox flooded with over thirty google alerts in four different languages - in just one day - I guess I need to be more proactive about it.

Click to continue reading...

My second favorite signing of the season- and I'm sure Cris' favorite- was realized on Monday. John Mensah is officially Lyon's new left-center back. After weeks of waiting for Sebastian Squillaci's transfer to FC Sevilla to be finalized, Mensah is Lyonnais.

Click to continue reading...

Although we've all been waiting for the eventual signing of The Rock, John Mensah -which should happen today, Monday- there are other smaller happenings in the Mercato. I apologize for the shortness of the piece, but transfer news is scant lately. I thought I'd throw in some tiny morcels of info to keep the stomach growling to a minimum for those of us who are genuine transfer news junkies, and for those of us who don't read French.

Click to continue reading...

A lot of European teams are heading back into training. Step one? Bonding with their new teammates. And in some cases, their new coaches as well. Here we have the boys from Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) engaging in male bonding on the river with their new coach Claude Puel. Click to continue reading...

Lyon had their first summer friendly this afternoon against Nimes in Albertville. Goals were scored by Juninho (10), Yannis Tafer (40), and Anthony Mounier (63). This was Claude Puel's first match in charge, and for many of the players, their first match in an OL jersey.

Click to continue reading...

As most of you probably know, Lyon have started their pre-season training at Tignes, a ski resort in the Alps on the Italian border. Lyon go there every year for high altitude workouts, which is supposed to make them really fit.

Both Lyon and the France NT train at Tignes yearly.

Click to continue reading...

Nothing major to report on the transfer front. Most of the info from Inara's last transfer post is still up to date. Here's the latest:

OUT:

Gregory Coupet: Greg's transfer to Atletico Madrid has been finalized.

Click to continue reading...

Liverpool have been tentatively linked with a move for disgruntled Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Juninho Pernambucano.

Juninho recently told l'Equipe that he may leave Stade Gerland this summer, as he is less than satisfied with Lyon's decision to sack Alain Perrin as coach and hire Claude Puel in his stead. Click to continue reading...

Just the other day, the LFP published the summer schedule of friendlies for both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs. Nearly all of them will be busy this summer - Marseille have nine friendlies planned while Bordeaux have a respectable five (fyi, PSG will be playing against Porto in August - fun).

Click to continue reading...

The latest news from this week...Due to the amount of material covered, I didn't post links to the original sources like I normally do, but if you want them, let me know.

OUTGOING:

FRED: Is it just me, or does Fred spend an inordinate amount of time making life difficult for the rest of us?

Click to continue reading...

After several weeks of waiting, one of the least suspenseful signings of the summer has been realized. Former Lille LOSC and Monaco manager Claude Puel is officially the new manager of Lyon. The contract is said to be for 4 years and JMA has agreed to a compensation package with Lille for the manager's signature.

Click to continue reading...

Greetings fellow readers. As Inara has been been somewhat busy lately, I thought I'd lend-a-hand and keep the ball rolling. If you're like me, you need your daily posting like that morning shot of java, or your day just doesn't feel right.

Lyon's ongoing seduction of Lille LOSC's most prized players and staff continues, as former Lillois sucumb to the "charms" of JMA.

Click to continue reading...

Yesterday I wrote about how Alain Perrin will probably be sacked. Today, let's go over the possibilities for the guy who will be Lyon's ninth manager in the Aulas era.

For some odd reason, Lyon struggle to attract the kind of coach that match their ambitions. As attractive as Lyon might be, Ligue 1 itself was (and still is) considered relatively uninteresting.

Click to continue reading...