Club Profile: Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais, known simply as Lyon, is a French football club based in Lyon, France. The Club was established in 1899 as Lyon Olympique Universitaire, but in 1950, it was given its current name and nationally established. The club currently plays at the highest level in French domestic football, the Ligue 1. Lyon play their home games at the 41,044 seater stadium, the Stade de Gerland in Lyon. The club have put plans into motion to move to a bigger stadium in 2013, tentatively named OL Land.
Until very recently, Lyon was one of the less successful clubs in France. During the 70s and 80s, the club was moderately successful, but they never reached the heights they have in the last decade. In three decades, they managed to win the Coupe de France three times, in 1964, 1967 and 1973. Lyon also secured a victory in the Trophée Des Champions in 1973, but that was all they achieved worth talking about during that era.
The start of the millennium has proved to be tremendously successful for the club in terms of honours, finances and the growth of the club's profile all over France, and indeed the world at large. After the club's first ever Ligue 1 title in 2002, there was no looking back for them, as no less than 7 back-to-back titles were won by Lyon, which signified their absolute dominance on French football during that time. The 7 consecutive titles is a record in France, and it is one that will probably never be broken.
The domestic run coincided with impressive performances in the UEFA Champions League, where the club has become an established name. Lyon have managed to upset the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid, and although they haven't secured the European title just yet, they have gotten very close to that goal (pun intended). Last year, the club managed to reach the semifinal, where they lost out to Bayern Munich; however, they beat the Spanish giants Real Madrid en route to the semifinal.
Domestically, Lyon's run of successive title victories was brought to an end by Bordeaux in the 2008-2009 season. Lyon have not managed to regain the title since then, coming very close when they lost out to a resurgent Marseille side.
In recent times, Lyon has become known throughout for producing very talented young players. The likes of Michael Essien, Florent Malouda and Karim Benzema, to name a few, have come through the ranks at Lyon and have moved on to European giants such as Chelsea and Madrid since then, bringing in a lot of revenue for Lyon.
A criticism often aimed at the French club has been about them being a selling club. Despite producing a number of promising players, the club has never been able to hold on to them for a long period of time, and that is something not found in the biggest teams in Europe. If players are not retained, it is difficult to mount a successful challenge at European titles, and even domestic ones. After the sale of Benzema, the club President had some explaining to do to the supporters, who were very displeased at the way the club was acting.
Lyon have qualified yet again for the UEFA Champions League for the next season, and will be looking to go one step further and reach the final for the first time in their history. Domestically, they will be looking to regain the title from Marseille, and continue to bring through new talent into their team.
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