Barcelona – Lyon Preview

By: Inara | September 16th, 2007

In what is definitely one of the most electrifying clashes of Match Day 1, Olympique Lyonnais travel to Camp Nou to take on Barcelona. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m really excited. That’s why I’m posting this preview a day early – let’s get the discussion going!

(I’m not sure when Isaiah will be back from his vacation to post about Barcelona’s preparations).

September 19, 2007
Camp Nou, Barcelona
2:45 PM Eastern Time (20:45 in France)

Match background:

I don’t think it needs to be said that Barcelona have a far superior squad in every department. They won the Champions League twice, the Spanish title eighteen times, and won nearly 40 cups from various other competitions. Their club is over 100 years old and have one of the biggest fan bases in the world.

Compared to that, Lyon have spent nearly half of their fifty year history in the second division. They have only six domestic titles to their credit, all of which came back to back. They also have three French Cups and one League Cup. And not only have they never passed the quarterfinal barrier in the Champions League, this is only their eighth participation in the competition…ever (and also back to back).

On paper, it seems like a mismatch. The David and Goliath of football. Except it’s not. Lyon may lack the history and honors that Barcelona have accumulated over the years, but they have always punched above their weight, and while they aren’t regarded as heavy weights, they aren’t to be disregarded either. Lyon are a dangerous team when on song, and only a foolish manager would write them off as “easy.”

The leading men.

This is the second time in Lyon’s relatively short Champions League career that they are not hosting the first match. The last time, in 2002, they traveled to Ajax (and lost). But Barcelona aren’t looking too great at the moment (they drew at Osasuna this weekend and play Sevilla the next) whereas Lyon are finally hitting their stride. So perhaps it’s not that much of disadvantage. Granted, it’s Camp Nou, but Lyon do well away from home and don’t get intimidated by hostile crowds.

Barcelona and Lyon have met only once, during the group stages in 2001. Barcelona won both games, 2-0 at home and 3-2 away. But back then, it was Lyon’s second time in the CL, and they had yet to win a domestic title. So don’t expect similar results.

The Teams: Lyon have a rather fortunate advantage over Barcelona. While La Liga started only three weeks ago, Lyon have been playing competitively since July, their Peace Cup campaign immediately followed by the Trophée des Champions and L1. Sure, there were those two losses against Toulouse and Lorient, which had the world crying that Lyon are doomed, but one of those losses happened under extenuating circumstances. Lyon have been off-kilter at times, but that is to be expected with new players, a new manager, a new tactical system, and an early and unexpected injury crisis. But most of those kinks have been worked out, and Lyon are now settling into a comfortable rhythm. The players know each other and are aware of what’s expected of them.

Compare that to Barcelona, who had a similar level of player turnover. On the pitch, they seem disconnected, having not had enough time to establish team chemistry. They are also in worse physical shape, their season having started a full month after Lyon’s. Like us, they lost the services of one of their best players, Samuel Eto’o, and though they have a rich squad, you can tell his absence hasn’t been smoothed over yet.

Some stats for the math people.

The managers: I’m not going to write off Alain Perrin just yet. He might have an unimpressive resume, but I admire the way he takes some risks with the squad, by playing them in a different formation and in different positions (moving Sidney Govou to the left, allowing Hatem Ben Arfa to play as a secondary striker, etc). He might be tactically outclassed by Frank Rijkarrd, but he wants victory just as much.

The players: Many of Barcelona’s players are familiar to OL. Both Edmilson and Eric Abidal came to prominence with Lyon while Thierry Henry and Lilian Thuram know many of OL’s French players through the national team. Furthermore, Rafael Marquez, Yaya Toure, and Ronaldinho have played against Lyon during their stints in L1.

But while there are no doubts to the superiority of Barcelona’s squad, I ask you to consider Lyon’s.

Many people have decreed that Lyon are weaker, but I have to disagree. Of the six recruits this summer, four have prior Champions League experience. Tiago departed for Serie A, but we have Mathieu Bodmer and Kim Kallstrom, who more than compensate for his loss. Abidal was one of Lyon’s worst players last year, seemingly disinterested and distracted on the pitch. All those stellar performances he’s putting in for Barcelona was not what he was doing for us last year, so his loss hasn’t hurt. Fabio Grosso and Nadir Belhadj, while not that great defensively, have added a new dimension to Lyon’s attack.

The new kids aren’t so new.

Florent Malouda took away his wonderful work ethic and consistency, but Kader Keita possesses more talent, and while he is still unrefined, once he settles in, he may make us forget about Flo. Couple that with the blossoming of Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa, as well as Sidney Govou’s resurgent form, and Jeremy Toulalan and Sebastien Squillaci’s confirmation as solid, talented players…and don’t forget we’ll have Fred back in one month. He might be PMSing half the time, but he also has one of the best goal conversion rates, at one goal every 96 minutes. Even Milan Baros, a CL winner with Liverpool, is scoring again!

So I have to echo Evilo and say that this is Lyon’s strongest squad ever. No big names, but no untalented names either.

If there is one thing that is dampening my spirit, it’s the losses of Gregory Coupet and Cris, whose absences in the back line threw the team off track for a while. But Remy Vercoutre will try his hardest. He has CL experience, so as long as there are no set pieces threatening him, and as long as he concentrates, I think we’ll be okay. He’s a GREAT shot stopper and has blocked quite a few penalties. I know I always give him a hard time, but I’m going to stand by Vercoutre from now on and give him my support. Allez Remy!

Watch Out For: Juninho. Now that Coupet is out injured and Sylvain Wiltord has left, he is Lyon’s most senior player. The beginning of his season was lukewarm, but he’s slowly hitting his stride, and in the last few games, he’s been returning to his old, dominating self. His dead ball skills are known to the world, but he’s also a playmaker and very dangerous from open play. He doesn’t have a lot of pace, but he’s a slippery devil and difficult to mark because he roams all over the field instead of staying in one set position. When he plays well, Lyon play well. And expect him to play extra well. The Champions League is the one trophy he covets above all others, and this may be his last chance to get it. He’ll be very motivated.

Juninho LOVES playing against Spanish teams.

Secret Weapon: Karim Benzema. Only 19 years old, he’s currently not only Lyon’s top scorer but also L1’s. He’s anxious to prove that he’s not a kid anymore, and having already scored with the France NT, he’ll be eager to continue his exploration of the big stages. He scored two goals in last year’s CL campaign and probably would have scored more if it hadn’t been for his injury. Benzema might be young, but he’s already played with some of the best players in the world and can be counted on for his levelheadedness. He scored his first hat trick this past weekend and will be hungry for more.

Tactics:

Expect Perrin to be using a 4-3-3, with only one striker and two strong wingers. As tempting as it is to put out an offensive force by utilizing two strikers, we can’t delude ourselves. Barcelona have dangerous attackers, and Perrin’s first priority will be to keep them from scoring, especially since we have Vercoutre in the net, who needs to be protected as much as possible. But if we play well, we should get an away goal.

I hate to say it, but Lyon will probably be playing for a draw. The playing style may get ugly if Lyon have to resort to defensive tactics. I hope that doesn’t happen, but I would rather have Lyon play ugly football than humiliating football. A win would be nice but improbable. Best would be a score of something like 1-1. If Lyon do lose, let’s hope they get in at least one away goal.

If Cris and Coupet were around, things would be different of course, with everyone pressing forward to attack. But Bodmer and Vercoutre are backups. I think instead, Lyon will be doing their best to compress space around Henry and Ronaldinho, using smart fouls to get within scoring range. Barcelona would be dumb to give away free kicks within 30 yards of their goal.

Le groupe lyonnais: Vercoutre, Roux – Clerc, Réveillère, Squillaci, Cléber Anderson, Bodmer, Paillot, Grosso, Belhadj, Fabio Santos, Toulalan, Källström, Juninho, Govou, Ben Arfa, Benzema, Baros, Keita, Rémy.

We’ll probably see something like this:

Vercoutre
Reveillere – Squillaci – Bodmer – Grosso
Juninho – Toulalan – Kallstrom
Keita – Benzema – Govou

I think most of those positions are set in stone for Wednesday. Baros could be put in as striker instead, but given Benzema’s recent form, it might be unwise. I personally would love to see the same lineup we saw on Saturday, but it’s risky against Barcelona. As much as I love Ben Arfa, I would rather he came on as a sub, when his fresh legs and energy can replace Keita or Govou. If Lyon score no goals by the middle of the second half, Perrin will probably take out Keita and put in Baros. Hopefully, we’ll also see Ben Arfa come on and play with Benzema.

Viewing Info:

Lyon will be arriving in Barcelona on Tuesday at 11:40 AM. That evening, Perrin will be holding a press conference (I’ll have details for you then). The players will also have a practice session at Camp Nou that night.

For those of us not going to the match in Barcelona (this is me hating you, Jo), we can watch this game on television. Besides illegal steams, TF1 will be broadcasting it in France. And in the US, it will be broadcasted by…ESPN!!!

I know, I hardly believe it myself. I can’t remember the last time ESPN featured an OL game. Anyway, it’s on ESPN Classic, on a two hour delay at 5 PM Eastern. I wish it were live, but I can’t have everything thing in life. (Interestingly, ESPN only picked three CL matches to show this week – Liverpool vs. Porto on Tuesday and Manchester United vs. Sporting on Wednesday will be live on ESPN2, and Barca-OL of course). Barca-OL will be shown live on ESPN Deportes, however (2:30 PM Eastern).

Let’s hope fortune smiles on Lyon.

Expected Result:

I suppose that Lyon’s reputation of bottling big matches has people thinking that Lyon will never win the Champions League, that being unable to pass the quarterfinal barrier means they don’t deserve to be called a world class team. But think of all the strides that Lyon have made in recent years. Unlike many teams which have 20+ domestic titles and have been playing in the Champions League from before my parents were born, Lyon are still new to a lot of things and are prone to making mistakes. But they will find that winning formula and get things right. Maybe not this year or the next, but eventually.

The other good thing is that the pressure is on Barcelona to win. Everyone expects Lyon to lose, on the other hand. Even Aulas is glad that for once, the favorites tag isn’t there to burden Lyon.

I want to end with a motivational quotation from Michael Jordan. He’s a basketball player, but his words seem rather apt.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Let’s have faith, guys! Allez L’OL!