Just some random odds and ends for you to read as you bide your time waiting for Lyon’s Champions League clash with Liverpool.

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<— Sid’s Serious Captain-y Face.

If you’re wondering why the captain’s armband showed up on Cris last Saturday, despite Sidney Govou also being on the pitch, it’s because our dear (former?) captain was seen drunk in public only two nights before the derby. He was at the Grand Prix de tennis de Lyon (part of the ATP World Tour, for you tennis junkies) with Remy Vercoutre, Florent Laville, and Sylvain Wiltord, another ex-Lyon bad boy. Sadly, pictures of a wasted Govou have yet to circulate on the internet (damn French media – in England they have no scruples about this sort of thing), but video tapes have made their way to Claude Puel’s desk.

Puel wasn’t very happy and took away Govou’s armband, though no word yet on whether this is a permanent change. Puel was pragmatic enough to realize that captain or not, Govou was needed on the pitch, which is why he was in the starting XI against St. Etienne. For Puel, it seems the matter is closed, but Jean-Mimi naturally had more to say. While he did say that Govou is willing to make amends, Aulas also called his leadership abilities into question and said that he’d consider Govou’s punishment carefully. Aulas met with him on Sunday to discuss the situation with him.

I guess this probably seems like an overreaction from Lyon, but given Govou’s hard partying history – and don’t forget that he was arrested for drunk driving less than a year ago – it’s no surprise that the club is so concerned.

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Just for lulz.

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I was going to write about the latest blow to French football’s eternal quest for equality on the global markets, but since Xavier of the Lens Offside has already done such an excellent job in telling us why getting rid of the DIC is really bad news for Ligue 1, I figure, why reinvent the wheel?

Aulas is desperately sounding the alarm. According to him, this change will mean that Lyon lose an extra €6m a year. It doesn’t seem like a lot, at least on the surface, but keep in mind that France already has really strict rules on club finances. Aulas fears that he may not be able to offer extensions to Sidney Govou, Francois Clerc, and other players nearing the ends of their contracts.

Also, here is a great interview (in English!) of Jean-mimi on UEFA.com.

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Kader Keita is the latest ex-OL player to accuse the club of mistreating him. Honestly, all these disgruntled former players make Lyon sound like an abusive ex-husband. Should I be more disturbed?

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I have so much love for these two. Bafe and Lisandro are this, but without the ~dramah~.

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The two latest recruits at Lyon are Norwegian pair Christine Colombo Nilsen and Isabell Hervolsen Both women left Kolbotn for OL Féminines, though their transfer fee remains undisclosed. They were signed just in time for them to be eligible for the club’s CL match against Fortuna Hjørring. Along with Arsenal and Bayern Munich, Lyon are one of three clubs that are still represented in both the men’s and women’s UEFA Champions League. Let’s hope that one of them actually win the damn trophy this time.

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The spot for a third blogger on the Lyon Offside still remains open. John and I post when we can, but I know many of you would prefer more frequent updates. If you think you can post at least once a week, have decent grammar, and are such a diehard fan that you want to share your love of OL with the rest of the world, please read this post.

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Phrase of the day week month: “The unstoppable groin-pocalypse going on at Lyon….What in the name of Cleber’s crotch is going on here?” Found on Dirty Tackle.

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Most of the major roadblocks in the development of OL Land have been removed, as 74% of the population of Greater Lyon are in favor of the new stadium. The biggest obstacle has had to do with the construction of more public transportation to the Decines area, or more accurately, the funding of that new transportation. Right now, there is one dinky tram line that goes out there, which is not enough to support the amount of people expected to utilize public transportation to get to the games (which is estimated at 65%). Some citizens don’t want the city to take on the added burden of these costs (OL wouldn’t be paying for it as it’s the city’s expense), though others argue that the area has long been in need of new train lines regardless, and that the increased revenue to the businesses in the area would make up for the expenses.

In any case, Aulas expects the final plans to be approved this spring, and that applications for the building permits will be completed by fall next year. The expected date of the new stadium is December 8th, 2013.

Lyon have also launched a new website that will keep everyone up to date with the latest news and pictures of the stadium. The site is chock full of interesting stuff, like details about the stadium’s eco-friendly design, the transportation and traffic surveys, a map showing all the sites of interest, and information on how the stadium will be funded (€450m from OL and its private partners and an additional €180m from public funds for transportation purposes).

The architectural firm chosen by Aulas is Populous (formerly HOK Architecture). They have a lot of impressive projects to their name, so we can expect good things from them.

And of course, the photos. I don’t think I’ve posted these pictures before. If you want to see the other pics I’ve posted of the new stadium, just click of the “OL Land/New Stadium” category on the right.

(click to enlarge)

The biggest news is the medical update on Bafetimbi Gomis. Two days ago at Guingamp, Gomis collapsed during practice with the France squad. He was out for a minute or two but revived enough to walk out of the field. He apparently felt fine afterward, and though the team doctor insisted he stay off his feet for the rest of the day – and though his fellow players were scared shitless – he’s been cleared to go back to full training today.

Gomis periodically suffers from Vasogoval episodes, which is a malaise of the vagus nerve. Certain situations can trigger attacks, which is stress, in Gomis’s case. Jean-Michel Aulas raised the red flag stating how alarmed he is over Gomis’s health – this is his third attack since joining Lyon – but Emmanuel Ohrant, OL’s club doctor, says that Gomis is just fine. His health is carefully monitored, and he does not have any heart problems, which is the number one worry in these situations. He undergoes frequent medical checkups, and so far, the club is satisfied with the state of his health. Ohrant even points out that not only were Lyon aware of this issue before they signed Gomis, but that St. Etienne knew about it before they offered him a pro contract, so it is clearly not that much cause for concern.

All the same, it’s still scary to think about, especially when footballer deaths seem to be occurring on an almost yearly basis. While I do trust both OL and Le Bleus when they say that Gomis is fine, it’ll take a long time before this picture is wiped from my memory.

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Here is a quick run down of all the international action involving OL players.

France (vs. Faroe Islands – 10/10/09, vs. Austia – 10/14/09): Jeremy Toulalan, Hugo Lloris, Sidney Govou, Bafetimbi Gomis.

France U21 (vs. Netherlands – 10/09/09, vs. Belgium(h) – 10/12/09, vs. Belgium (a) – 10/14/09): Clement Grenier, Yannis Tafer, Thimothée Kolodziecziak, Alexandre Lacazette

Cameroon (vs. Togo – 10/10/09, vs. Angola – 10/14/09): Jean II Makoun

Sweden (vs. Denmark – 10/10/09, vs. Albania – 10/14/09): Kim Kallstrom

Bosnia (vs. Estonia – 10/10/09, vs. Spain – 10/14/09): Miralem Pjanic

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On to the good news. OL Féminines, who are participating in Europe for the third year in a row, defeated Serbian club Masinac to reach the Round of 16 in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The ladies defeated Masinac 1-0 at home and then beat them 5-0 away (check out this link on the main webpage for lots of pictures). They’ll be facing Danish side Fortuna Hjørring in the next round. For those of you who keep track of women’s football, UEFA overhauled this tournament, renaming it from the previous moniker, the Women’s Cup, and also changing around the format so that it was closer to the men’s format.

I’m also pleased to report that Aulas continues to take OL Féminines seriously – not only is he still continuing to let them use the Stade de Gerland for their European and major domestic matches, but he’s continuing his policy of aggressive recruiting and extensive financial support. Many of the women are now on pro-contract, and he’s trying to lure in more players from abroad. The latest target is Kolbotn’s goalkeeper and Norweigian international Christine Colombo Nilsen, who is being considered to replace Sarah Bouhaddi, France’s #1 gk. Bouhaddi herself was brought on this past summer (ironically to replace Bente Nordby, Norway’s previous #1), but due to an injury she picked up, she’ll be out for six months.

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The FFF had a great article on its website about the long standing friendship between Yannis Tafer and Clement Grenier, two of the youth players Puel is integrating into the senior squad. The article provides a nice look into their experiences and insights of growing up together in Lyon’s training center. Reading it, I got the feeling that these two are being groomed as the next Karim Benzema/Hatem Ben Arfa duo, which would be great on one hand, but on the other hand (all that ~dramah~), maybe it’d be better to let the boys grow up without the shadows of their currently troubled predecessors looming over them.

*Bonus question: Who is the next Samir Nasri to complete the latest golden trio?

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And since we’re on the subject of young prodigies, I’m sure you’ve all heard by now of Karim Benzema’s now famous interview in which he admitted to not trying very hard for both France and Lyon. He also blamed Claude Puel as the reason for his leaving (yeah right). Raymond Domenech is pissed while Jean-mimi is patting himself on the back for getting rid of Benzema before his megalomania began taking serious effect – and for 35 million euros, no less.

I’m rather sad about Benzema’s words because until last season, he was such a hard working and humble kid. He loved OL, and we loved him. But the press and stardom got to him, and pretty soon he was thinking that he was bigger than the club. Regardless of that, I was still upset to see him leave this past summer, but it looks like Lyon’s strategy of cutting loose players has once again worked out. Because for all of Benzema’s talents, his attitude would have further poisoned the atmosphere among the players, and no amount of goals would make that worthwhile (plus, it’s not like Benzema was all that great last season anyway). It was time for him to leave and time for OL to lose their dependence on him.

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Hugo Lloris has been voted September’s Player of the Month by the L’Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP). Lloris beat out team mate Bafetimbi Gomis and Bordeaux’s Alou Diarra. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who can say that Lloris doesn’t deserve it – he’s been the best player in L1 this past month, and his performances in the Champions League have been equally impressive. Despite picking up a harsh red card against Serbia during France’s WC qualifiers this past month, he still remains an integral part of Domenech’s plans, and most expect him to continue being the first gk choice over Steve Mandanda.

Buttttttttt…

I happened to watch Lloris’s latest interview on the FFF website, and wow, that was cringe-worthy. Somehow, he’s managed to pick up Jeremy Toulalan’s bad camera habits. The poor boy can’t stop touching his face (nor can he look into the camera) during his less than three minute interview. The entire time I was watching it, I was having nightmare flashbacks to this video. You all know how much I adore both Lloris and Toulalan, but really, someone needs to tie their hands down and keep their eyes up any time they give an interview.

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Lyon’s new stadium, which still hasn’t left the drawing board yet, has been officially selected by France’s Euro 2016 committee as one of the 12 sites for the games. While France hasn’t officially been named as hosts, their competitors are Sweden/Norway, Turkey, and Italy. The first two have never hosted the Euros while Italy’s financial situation is rather dire at the moment, which makes France the favorites.

Aulas is hoping to get the final plans approved, though the stadium being selected as part of the tournament will no doubt speed the process along. The costs have jumped up another one hundred million, raising the estimated costs to 350 million euros. In addition, Aulas is working with the city to address the issue of accessibility to the new stadium site, which is the biggest concern among those opposed to the project.

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And to cap off this massive post, here are the latest transfer fallacies blurbs.

*Inter Milan is keeping tabs on Jeremy Toulalan and may make a move for him either this January or the next summer. They need to replace their aging DMs, and France has proved to be the best source of those. While I’m tempted to brush this off, I worry over how long we’ll be able to keep Toulalan, who said that he has no plans to leave any time soon and definitely not until after the World Cup. Personally, he’s one of the players I want to keep at OL for life, and so hopefully Aulas will do whatever it takes to keep Toulalan at Lyon.

*At least Ederson has denied that he’s tempted by the cow eyes that Inter has also been making at him, though unlike Toulalan, I don’t anticipate Ederson to stay at OL for more than another two years or so. For now, Ederson is happy at OL (though he is chafing at losing his starting place), but Inter have been following him for over a season, and Jose Mourinho is no stranger when it comes to buying expensive players from OL.

*Manchester City’s interest in Miralem Pjanic gave me a good laugh. If Pjanic leaves, it won’t be for a while and not for Manchester City. And DEFINITELY not for 5 million pounds.

*Marouane Chamakh has finally put an end to rumors of a potential move to Lyon. In all honesty, this hasn’t been a serious option for the past few years, but Aulas really likes him and has wanted him at OL for a long time. But Chamakh says that while a transfer to OL was enticing a a few seasons back, he can’t imagine playing for another French club anymore, so when he does leave Bordeaux, it’ll be for a club abroad.

*While this isn’t exactly a transfer rumor, Mathieu Bodmer said recently that he doesn’t regret changing positions from midfield to central defense. It’s a fairly lengthy interview full of details, but the salient points are that he gets more playing time as a CB and that his bust up with Puel (which occurred before he left Lille, a full year before Puel followed him to Lyon) is old history, and that the two have a completely professional relationship. Which basically means that Puel is on the bottom of his Christmas card list. But at least Bodmer isn’t trying to move to another club, which is often the case when players are forced to play in positions they don’t really like.

At least Lyon are on target for one European trophy…the Women’s UEFA Cup

So some of you may know that the US has it’s own pro-league for women – the WPS. Right now, they are only seven teams (but another three franchises should be in place by 2010). It’s a fully professional league catering to the most competitive female players all over the world.

What does this have to do with Lyon, you ask?

Well, we’re all familiar with how Lyon always lose their best players because of the lack of competition in Ligue 1. Turns out the same thing is happening on the women’s side. Lyon are pretty much heads and tails above the rest of their competition in Division 1 (the top flight for women). Aulas has over the years collected the best female footballers in France and has recently begun attracting them from abroad. Just last year, Lyon paid the highest ever transfer fee for a female footballer when he brought over Lotta Schelin.

But the problem is the same one the men’s team face – the players are bored with winning every thing. Aulas has his sights set on a European trophy for the women, and indeed Lyon are semifinalists in the competition, with every chance of winning it this year. Unfortunately, it’s not enough.

It’s a bitter blow to lose France’s best female player (voted twice!) in such a sneaky fashion.

In comes the WPS. Just a few weeks ago, they snapped up Camille Abily and Sonia Bompastor, two of Lyon’s best players. Worse still, they signed them after Lyon’s transfer season ended and provided no recompense to the club. Abily and Bompastor chose to leave Lyon midseason because they feared the WPS’s offer wouldn’t be there if they waited until the summer.

This had Lyon really mad, so they published a press release on their official website threatening to take “action.” The WPS said whatever, the players said whatever (albeit in a more apologetic way), and everyone thought the matter was closed. After all, Lyon had no true legal ground to stand on. The reason for that is because women’s football is still treated as an amateur sport in France, and so the neither Abily nor Bompastor had binding contracts with Lyon. The only thing that ties them to OL as footballers is their player registration.

Confused? Let me explain further. How it works for Lyon is this – the players are hired as employees of Lyon, and they spend part of their day training, the other part working. The lucky ones like Schelin are hired only in name – in reality they just collect their paychecks and show up at training. But the rest are pretty much part time players.

It’s not that Lyon are cheap (in fact, Aulas has been wanting to sign his female players to pro contracts for a long time now), but the laws in France don’t allow professional contracts for women footballers because only one or two other clubs could even afford to have pro players. So in the interest of fair play, the FFF decided to keep the league an amateur one so that one club wouldn’t have that too much of an advantage over the others.

But Aulas wasn’t going to take this sitting down. First, he’s convinced the FFF not to release the international transfer certificates of both Abily and Bompastor. Second, Lyon are planning to sue the two women for injury to the club and injury to the image of the sport. Thirdly, Lyon are also iniating proceedings against the two WPS clubs (Los Angeles Sol and Washington Freedom) for unfair poaching.

Ultimately, Lyon will probably end up losing their cases since the courts tend to side with the players, but at the very least, they are taking a stand. Most other clubs tend to bow down to the superiority of the WPS (I’m looking at you, Umea and Arsenal) without kicking up a fight.

If you’re wondering why Lyon care so much, the reason is simple – Aulas. He’s been sinking in tons of money into the ladies team (money that comes from the men’s side) despite the fact that he stands no chance of making a profit. He does it for the love of the game, which he wants to make accessible for both men and women. Say what you will about Jean-mimi, but at least in his case, his heart really is in the right place.

But two good things have come out of this (well, only one if you happen to be female). First, the FFF has agreed to allow women to sign pro-contracts. So though it’s too late for Bompastor and Abily, Lyon have the opportunity to prevent further such losses to occur. Of course, it will be a long time before Division 1 is an entirely professional entity – as things stand right now, Lyon will probably be the only club with pro players, and even then, not all of them will be pros, the rest will be semi-pros).

The second is that some people have gotten so tired of women’s football not getting attention in France that they are taking matters into their own hands. They want to prove that hot women in football isn’t just synonymous with being a WAG – female footballers can be hot too (see below for proof). They hope that photos like these (many of which contain female OL players) will convince more people to show up at games.

The things I do for you guys. I am such a good blogger.

Here’s a recap, for both me and you.

1. The nitty gritty on Lyon’s postponed French Cup match:

The match against Concarneau, which was supposed to have taken place on January 3rd, was postponed due to the frozen state of the pitch at Guingamp (where the match was supposed to be held). Concarneau, used to playing in such conditions, were upset at the cancellation because of the money and effort already expended. But the referee decided it was too risky to the health of the players.

Even more drama erupted when it was discovered that the French Cup, under the jurisprudence of the FFF, would follow standard protocol (Article 6.7, to be specific) and reschedule the match during an open midweek slot. Concarneau argued that as an amateur team, they had “day jobs” that take place during the week, and most of the families and supporters also had work, so the only time that would be fair would be during a weekend.

Unsurprisingly, due to the extensive lobbying by Concarneau and the silent support of every other club in France, the FFF decided to accommodate Concarneau by rescheduling the match to Saturday, January 24th.

Pule wasn’t too happy because, assuming Lyon beat Concarneau (and this could be doubtful based on OL’s current form), they have to play Marseille in the next French Cup round four days later, and four days after that, they have a derby against St. Etienne.

Lyon launched an official statement pointing out that by law, postponed French Cup games are supposed to be rescheduled to the midweek. They also said that they regretted that the city of Guingamp, who are responsible for maintaining their stadium, did such an inadequate job of it. Lyon also said that since the new timetable will not allow Lyon to meet the organization security guidelines required for the French Cup, they expect the FFF to take full responsibility for any incidents that might occur (something usually left to the two clubs).

2. Transfers, or lack thereof.

This has got to be one of the most boring transfer windows ever. There is so little happening that the press is just making stuff up. Like the rumors of Patrick Vieira’s arrival. Ha. That Lyon might swoop for Simone Perrota. Or that Julien Faubert is being tracked by Lyon. Because that’s what we need, more old, injured, and useless midfielders.

Up front, both Fluminense and Tottenham have been tentatively sounding out transfer possibilities for Fred, with the price around €5m. Fred has apparently turned down Fluminense and will probably also refuse Tottenham because in a few months, he’ll be a free agent. The bastard. Portsmouth is once again “interested” in Sidney Govou, and Govou is once again “considering” his options. Sadly, there have been no requests for Kader Keita.

Lyon most desperately need defensive recruits, but that’s where the rumors are the stingiest. Rod Fanni claims that Lyon tried to sign him this winter, but he thinks it’s too early to leave Rennes, especially since a winter transfer can be more difficult. If the press is to be believed, Lyon are “this” close to signing Charles N’Zogbia, a LB/LW from Newcastle. Or, if you read other sources, Lyon are about to signing Kleber, a LB/LW from Santos. Gee, I thought the problem was on the right?

3. Benzibye?

Karim Benzema gets his own little blurb. In an interview today, he says that his future at Lyon is in doubt. While he wants to stay at the club, he also doesn’t want to keep getting kicked out in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. So whether or not he stays until 2010 depends in large part on how Lyon fare against Barcelona. So we might as well say goodbye now.

The vultures are already circling, with Barcelona themselves apparently preparing a €65m bid. Manchester United are also keeping tabs on the situation, and in the event that Carlos Tevez leaves, something that’s looking increasingly likely, they too will go after one of Fergie’s favorite young players.

Just….ugh.

4. Lyon’s overall suckitude and the resurgence of the title race.

It looks like the winter break didn’t do Lyon any good since they started the second half of their season with as much mediocrity as they ended the first. They tied 1-1 with Lorient, which as most of you know is a huge powerhouse in French football. Ederson managed the only OL goal, Fabrice Aubriel scored the other, and that’s it for any high points in the game.

I didn’t watch this game, but in hindsight, I didn’t need to because I’ve seen Lyon play a dozen like it since the season started. And yet teams like Bordeaux and Marseille are in better form than ever, not only scoring goals but also keeping them out. As things stand, Lyon are only one point ahead of second placed Bordeaux, who are now so confident that they believe they can win the title. Other clubs are also sounding out, some saying that Lyon’s time is over, with the team getting progressively weaker and becoming vulnerable because of their dependence on individual talents. All this is true, I’m sad to say.

No comments in the Lyon camp, except from Govou, who says that there is no unity amongst the players. Is it just me, or is that always the issue with Lyon?

5. At least the Ladies show some signs of ambition.

OL Féminines are on course to being the Chelsea of women’s soccer. They are buying up talent that they don’t really need and have such a surplus of talented players that they could line up two competitve teams. Their newest recruit is Ingvild Stensland of Norway, who wanted to leave Goteborg (Lotta Schelin’s old team) for new pastures. She also had offers in Germany, Norway, England, and from the WPS, but she turned them down in favor of Lyon. It’s a mystery to me because she’s a DM, and Lyon already have two internationals in that position.

But Stensland comes with a shining resume, having been named Norway’s Player of the Year last season, and having been among the nominees for FIFA’s Player of the Year for the last several seasons. She also has 50 caps with Norway and will be reuniting with Bente Norby at OL. Stensland is Lyon’s sixth fully professional player.

Lara Dickenmann, a Swiss international and OSU All-American, who was signed last summer, just finished her last semester at college and has finally arrived. She’s a striker, so Lyon’s arsenal is seriously jacked now. I’m not sure if there will be anymore transfers, but with OL Féminines having so much more money than their competitors, it looks like the only constraint is how many lockers are available. At any rate, Aulas wants to stave off the influence of the WPS in Lyon and has promised to offer new contracts (most likely professional ones) for some of the other girls who are currently only semi-professionals.

That’s it for now. I’ll be back once more information is available.

Pretty soon OL will be signing token Chinese players a la Manchester United.

The Chinese version of the website is making almost all the French information available, with the exception of OL Web TV. But everything else is there – the articles, news briefs, squad information, match results, advertisements…there’s even a fanzone with an interactive forum.

I’m actually a little jealous since the Chinese version of the website is a lot better than the English one, which has half the articles and not much else. But Aulas is serious about expanding into the Chinese market, and I’m sure this summer there will be a tour or two in Asia.

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In other news, Lyon played their last group match in the UEFA Women’s Cup against Arsenal Ladies. Both teams had already qualified for the quarterfinals, so yesterday’s match only settled who would top the group (which is important because it would determine who they faced in the next round). Lyon topped the table thanks to goal difference (15:1 vs. 13:2), so they only needed a draw to win the group. But Arsenal, who are England’s strongest women’s team and winners of the Cup two years ago, were Lyon’s toughest opponents this year so far, and there was the fear that Lyon weren’t adequately prepared for the match.

It’s rare when a French club has the upper hand when it comes to the English.

However, that turned out to be moot because Lyon dominated the match from start to finish. Arsenal rarely had the ball and floundered in the midst of Lyon’s fluid style of play. Lotta Schelin scored the first goal in the 27th minute, Camille Abily added the second at the 76th, and then Schelin added the third in the 80th minute. Louisa Necib also played very well. I’m quite sure Aulas, who was sitting in the stands with Puel, Fred, and Juninho, was not regretting the amount of money Lyon have spent on their new Swedish striker, and no doubt he is planning similar rewarding contracts for his other good players.

I have to say, I was REALLY impressed with yesterday’s game. As much as I support women’s football, I don’t really watch it because their game isn’t as high quality as the men’s. But yesterday was some of the prettiest football I’ve seen in a long time, full of skill and talent, and I wasn’t bored once. In fact, I forgot at some moments that I was watching the ladies! They played a lot better than the men have in recent games, at any rate, something even acknowledged by Juninho. So if you are ever in France, stop by a game of theirs. The tickets are really cheap (something like 4 euros), and it’s fun to watch.

As group winners, Lyon will be facing the runners-up of Group B2, Bardolino Verona, while Arsenal will face Umeå in the quarterfinals.

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International week is almost over. Most players have returned to the club, with the exception of Hugo Lloris and Anthony Mounier, who are at this very moment playing in a crucial U21 match against Germany. Both countries are fighting for a spot in the final tournament. France tied Germany 1-1 away, so they have the slight advantage in the home leg. But they have to play to win because Germany is a dangerous team. Miralem Pjanic, who has a match against Armenia later today, and John Mensah, who will be facing South Africa in a friendly this evening, will also be returning tomorrow.

The results of the other internationals are lukewarm. France’s World Cup qualifier against Romania ended in a 2-2 draw. Jeremy Toulalan and Jean-Alain Boumsong starting the match, and Karim Benzema came on in the second half. The draw puts France in third place in their group, behind Serbia and Austria (!!). Yesterday, France played in a friendly against Tunisia, which they eventually won 3-1. Toulalan, Boumsong, and Benzema started the match, with Benzema scoring the third goal. In both games, France came from behind.

Awww.

The cool news is that Toulalan received the captain’s armband from Thierry Henry, despite more senior players being on the pitch. It’s a very big deal and it establishes him in the hierarchy behind Vieira, Henry, and Gallas. And considering that those three are injured every other week, it’s a fair bet we’ll be seeing Toulalan captain France more often.

Jean II Makoun scored in Cameroon’s 5-0 over Mauritius. Kim Kallstrom, who started for Sweden, could only manage a scoreless draw against Portugal. John Mensah’s Ghana booked a place in the next round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers after a 3-0 win over Lesotho. Bosnia-Herzegovina lost 2-1 to Turkey, with Miralem Pjanic coming off the bench in the 80th minute.

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Fabio Grosso is back in training and is expected to play against Lille on October 18th. This is good news because if he does well, he play against Steaua a few days later. Kader Keita is also training normally, and Cesar Delgado (remember him?) is starting light training.

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Our beloved Jean-mimi has threatened to leave Lyon if stadium plans continue to stall. Originally, construction on OL Land was supposed to begin June 2008 – which was almost five months ago. Now it’s looking like the earliest construction can start would be June 2010 – which was when the stadium was scheduled for completion.

The reason for the delay is due to a few upstart groups who don’t want a stadium near their neighborhood for fear of extra traffic and noise. Unfortunately, this handful of people have the support of some obnoxious city officials, who are holding up the paperwork.

I for one don’t think Aulas is making an idle threat. He’s right in that Lyon have peaked as much as they can under current conditions, and the next logical step is a new stadium. Every year that there is a delay, Aulas will be forced to sell off players to make up for the increased revenue he could potentionally be earning from increased ticketing and marketing, and that in turn pushes back Lyon’s entrance into the Big Boyz Club.

If Aulas does leave, it would be catastrophic, not just for OL, but for the whole of French Football and even for the city of Lyon. People hate him outside of OL, but he is responsible for helping modernize French football and raising the standards across the entire league. Any other club would be damn lucky to have him.

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Laurie has already covered this on the main page, but matters between the UNFP (the players union) and the UCPF (the club management union) are threatening to boil over. What has their knickers in a twist is the proposed makeup of the LFP’s management board, which currently features 12 club presidents amongst the 25 members. The UCFP, backed by the LFP, is demanding that the number of club presidents on the board be increased to 14, which is something that UNFP doesn’t want because that might mean further changes to the season’s calendar and the clubs’ payroll.

The UNFP is threatening to go on strike the weekend of October 24th if the LFP continues to push this matter, so things could get ugly. Remy Vercoutre, who is the representative of the Lyon players to the UNFP, has confirmed that all the players have unanimously agreed that they would go on strike if necessary.

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OL Féminines have gotten to a fantastic start, both domestically and in Europe. They are currently topping Division 1 (the women’s topflight) with five wins and one draw and 25 goals scored and only two conceded. However, their rivals Montpellier are right on their heels with only one less point.

Today the ladies started their UEFA Women’s Cup campaign (they were seeded directly into the second qualifying phase) with an 8-0 victory over Austrian side Neulengbach. Goals were scored by Camille Abily (8, 77), Louisa Necib (10, 43), Lotta Schelin (12), Sonia Bompastor (18), Laura Georges (37), and Elodie Thomis (40).

Their next opponents will be FC Zurich on Saturday and then Arsenal on Tuesday. If Lyon win their next match, which they are likely to do, they will pretty much be qualified for the quarterfinals, though they will want to win all three matches so that they can win the group and therefore be paired with another group’s runner up for the next round.

All games in Lyon’s group for this stage of the competition are taking place in Lyon. OL Féminines are playing all their matches at the Gerland, and the other group matches are taking place in one of the smaller Lyon stadiums.

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Chelsea’s website posted an interview of Florent Malouda, who had some nice things to say about Lyon and the future of the club, so check it out here.

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And speaking of interviews, the LFP also posted a selection of interviews from the various clubs interested in Karim Benzema, among them Manchester United, Inter Milan and Barcelona, who recently admitted that their bid for him this summer had been rejected.

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Anthony Mounier – who some of us predicted would have his breakout year this season – is currently the latest media darling. In fact, he’s been getting more attention than Karim Benzema in recent weeks! Claude Puel says that if he continues to improve, he may earn a starting spot (thereby making Lyon’s entire forward line homegrown). Mounier has even caught the attention of Raymond Domenech, who told Mounier that if he could play more regularly, he might even find himself on the way to South Africa in two years.

Mounier on the other hand isn’t letting this get to his head. He’s aware that he’s only started a couple of games and isn’t anywhere near as consistent. But he would like to extend his contract with Lyon (it expires in 2010), so hopefully that will be taken care of soon.

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Fred has been granted leave until Friday to go to Brazil and visit his daughter. You can read the interview John posted here about the troubles in Fred’s personal life and why he often acts like he’s bipolar.

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Finally, here is the list of players away on international duty this week.

France (vs. Romania – 10/11/08, vs. Tunisia – 10/14/08): Karim Benzema, Hugo Lloris, Jeremy Toulalan, Jean-Alain Boumsong

France U21 (vs. Germany – 10/10/08, vs. Germany 10/15/08 – yes, they are playing the Germans twice): Anthony Mounier

Bosnia-Herzegovina (vs. Turkey – 10/11/08): Miralem Pjanic

Ghana (vs. Lesotho – 10/11/08): John Mensah

Cameroon (vs. Mauritius – 10/11/08): Jean II Makoun

Sweden (vs. Portugal – 10/11/08): Kim Kallstrom

But it’s not just the men’s team getting the attention. Aulas stayed true to this promise and has strengthened the women’s team as well. No players have left this season, but four have been added, which means that Lyon – who were already a strong team – are on their way to becoming one of the heavyweights.

Rising ambitions

Just like the men’s side last season, OL Ladies also won the league + cup double, as did the ladies reserve team. Lyon were also semifinalists in the UEFA Women’s Cup and lost out to Umea due to a measly away goal (despite playing far better). Now the bar is set higher, and the goal is that European cup.

Farid Benstitti, the coach of OL Féminines, was asked to identify the weak areas on the squad. During the winter, he had signed Dorte Dalum Jensen, a Danish international, and Bente Nördby, a Norwegian goalkeeper who is probably the most titled female goalkeeper in the world. All that was left was a DM and an attacker or two (like the men’s team, the ladies team created LOTs of opportunities but sometimes had trouble putting them away).

So this summer, Lyon brought in Soyaux’s Corine Franco, as well as three attackers, Ohio State’s Lara Dickenmann, Göteborg FC’s Lotta Schelin, and Falköpings KIK’s Cynthia Uwak. All four new recruits are internationals (France, Switzerland, Sweden, and Nigeria), which means that 17 of the 24 women are internationals on the senior level. Read about all the players here.

Schelin’s signing is perhaps the most impressive. Göteborg’s captain and their most important player, she was Sweden’s top female scorer for the last two season. She was also awarded the Diamond Ball for being the best female Swedish player in 2006. With fifty international caps (and 18 goals), she’s very experienced and considered a rising star.

While the full transfer sum hasn’t been disclosed, Swedish sources claim that Schelin is costing Lyon more than 1.5 million Swedish kroner (about €160k), the largest transfer sum in the history of Swedish women’s football. Schelin herself will be paid about €160k per year (possibly making her the highest paid female footballer in France).

That’s Schelin on the left. She’s also rather good looking, so she’ll help break the stereotype that female footballers are unattractive.

These are all very good signings, and given that Lyon’s squad has only gotten better, it’s frightening to imagine what they will accomplish when last year, they came so close to a triple. Lyon’s opponents in France haven’t gotten particularly stronger, so baring a meltdown, a third consecutive league title is definitely in order. In Europe, Lyon were seeded directly to the second qualifying round, and in their group is Arsenal, who they deposed in the quarterfinals last season. They shouldn’t be too much of a threat because Arsenal have grown weaker (they lost three key players).

With Lyon bringing in so many foreign internationals, it will help raise the profile of the French league, which is still a bit behind the Scandinavian and German leagues. And Lyon as a club are slowly becoming known as a force to be reckoned with in women’s football. I have my fingers crossed, but I expect that OL Féminines will have their best season ever.

A DOUBLE!!!

Last year, Lyon made history by becoming the first ever French team to win the league titles in both the men’s and women’s divisions. This time they’ve taken it one step further by winning both doubles. So technically, that’s a quadruple.

How awesome is that?!?!?!

Also, notice how both cups were won at the expense of PSG? I’m just saying…

Let’s take a moment and applaud the ladies for their excellent season. This is their second consecutive year as league champions, and this was the fourth year in a row that they reached Challenge de France final (they lost on penalties in each of the three preceding seasons). The ladies also had a great run in Europe and lost out to Umea in the UEFA Women’s Cup semifinals due to a measly away goal (sound familiar?).

The UNFP recognized the excellent performance of OL Féminines, which is why three of the four players nominated for “Best French Female Footballer of the Year” were from Lyon this year. The trophy was awarded to Sonia Bompastor, making it the second year in a row that a Lyon player won this award. This also means that both the best male and the best female footballer in France are from Lyon (Karim Benzema won the men’s award).

Thanks to the backing of Aulas, the ladies have significantly better facilities and finances than many of their counterparts, both in France and abroad. And if Aulas has his way, soon Lyon will eventually surpass the Scandinavian and German teams to become the face of women’s club football.

Unsurprisingly, Karim Benzema won Player of the Year, beating out teammate Jeremy Toulalan, Marseille’s Mahamadou Niang, and Bordeaux’s Wendel. He’s the fourth Lyonnais in a row to win the award – Florent Malouda in 2007, Juninho in 2006, and Michael Essien in 2005, . However, unlike the others, Benzema is only 20 years old. So it’s just exciting to imagine just what he’ll accomplish next.

Hatem Ben Arfa took home the Young Player of the Year. Samir Nasri preceded him in 2007, Franck Ribery in 2006, and Toulalan in 2005.

The Female Player of the Year was awarded to Lyon’s Sonia Bompastor, who succeeded another Lyon player, Camile Abily in 2007. This is the second year in a row when Lyon won both best male and female player.

(Also, how cute is Zizou presenting the award to Benzema? They look so alike…are so alike in many ways that it gives me shivers.)

However, in the Team of the Year, Lyon are represented by only two players, Benzema and Toulalan. I’m not complaining since no one else from the squad stood out consistently all year long, but what I don’t get is how fourth place Marseille (who spent have the year in the bottom half of the table) have six players on the team while Bordeaux, who have been consistently challenging Lyon all season (and are still in the hunt for the title) have only one player on the team. That doesn’t make any sense, if you ask me.

Equipe type:

Mandanda
Bonnart – Puygrenier – Hilton – Taiwo
Valbuena – Toulalan – Cheyrou – Wendel
Niang – Benzema

For Goal of the Year, Mathieu Valbuena took home the prize. Of course, this was voted by the fans, so no surprise there. And for the first time in a long time, Lyon are not represented among the nominees for Coach of the Year. That doesn’t bode to well for Alain Perrin…

And for those of you who missed the awards show:

Benzema’s award:

Ben Arfa’s award:

Fabio is not having a fabulous time in France

Unfortunately, I wish Grosso had restrained his rather volatile temper. Who knows how long the LFP will suspend him, but there are only three games left to play, and he might end up missing all of them (there are also two potential French Cup matches). Worse, Grosso is Lyon’s only LB, and while Anthony Reveillere can take his place on occasion, he’ll also be suspended from Wednesday’s match against Sedan for too many yellow cards. So who knows what tactics Perrin will come up with for the French Cup semifinal.

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In more positive news, Karim Benzema’s brace against Caen today has raised his tally to 30 goals for Lyon in all competitions (19 in the league), and 32 goals if you include national team games. He’s three games away from being the youngest ever best scorer in the French Championnat. Not bad, huh?

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This Monday, OL players will be packing their bags and heading to Evian, where they will spend the next week in peaceful isolation as they prepare for the grueling few weeks ahead of them. Sounds more like a week at the spa, but if it makes the boys play better, I hope they get all the manicures and pedicures they need.

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Lyon have signed Clement Grenier and Yannis Tafer to professional contracts. Both are graduates of Lyon’s academy and currently ply their trade in Lyon’s U16 and U18 teams. I’ve never heard of Tafer, but Grenier has been in the news quite a bit.

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Not done with collecting midfielders, Lyon are apparently frontrunners to land the signature of Miralem Pjanic, who would prefer Lyon as a destination as opposed to Marseille, PSG, or a big club abroad. Pjanic has also received a concrete offer from Barcelona and is the subject of heavy interest from Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Valencia, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli, Schalke, Wolfsburg, Fenerbahce, and Fiorentina.

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Lyon’s request to move the date of their French Cup match against Sedan forward one day was rejected by the French Football Federation (FFF). The match, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 7th, leaves only two full days of rest before Lyon receive Nancy, who are in third place. Aulas wanted an extra day because Lyon-Nancy is a game that could potentially decide the title, but no one else agreed. Sedan coach Jose Pasqualetti took Lyon’s request really personally:

“Mr. Aulas mustn’t forget that football doesn’t belong solely to him. If he wants to play his B team, we’ll be happy…He’s not the boss of French football. The LFP has also refused to shift our Friday match at Clermont. We’re not crying about it. If he doesn’t want to play, that’s his problem. Despite all the respect I have for Olympique Lyonnais, we shouldn’t be browbeaten. He’s not the president or the pope, he’s just Mr. Aulas, president of OL.”

Lyon didn’t get why Sedan’s knickers were in such a twist since pushing the match back by a day doesn’t affect Sedan. Not to be deterred, Lyon then asked the LFP to shift their league match against Nancy back one day, from Saturday, May 10th to Sunday, May 11th. The LFP also refused their request, saying there was no regulatory reason for the postponement.

Now Aulas is threatening to boycott the French Cup semifinal by either not showing up or by taking a reserve team. Great. Talk about taking the high road.

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Lyon’s stadium plans have hit a roadblock (the first of many, I’m sure). The new secretary of the UMP du Rhône, Michel Forissier, has said that OL Land will cost too much of the taxpayer’s money and that for now, he plans to block plans for the stadium by not allowing the building permits to be filed. The problem is that Decines, the site of the stadium, is currently served by a dinky old tram that can’t sustain huge match day audiences, and the 9,000 parking spaces are hardly enough to accommodate 50,000+ people. The only way to make the stadium more accessible is for the city to extend the metro, but as Forissier says, public transportation is paid by the public, even if the stadium itself will mostly be privately funded.

No wonder French stadia are so far behind…it’s nearly impossible to build them!

So unless Lyon can resolve the transportation situation, Forissier doesn’t intend to approve anything because he’s worried such a traffic disaster will disturb the neighboring communities. He suggested as an alternative that Aulas look into expanding the Gerland’s capacity and that Forissier himself will be happy to sell the stadium to him (which probably won’t be allowed either because the Gerland is classified as a historical monument). He also said that he resents the fact that the stadium is being imposed on Decines and that he doesn’t see how OL Land can possibly be built.

Lyon have angrily responded to Forissier by saying that Project OL Land is progressing as it should and that they plan to do whatever it takes to build their new stadium. Luckily, the opposition to OL Land is a minority, and Gérard Collomb, the mayor of Lyon, is fully behind the project. And we can trust Aulas to bribe convince whoever is necessary to see that Project OL Land gets the green light. However, it looks like the projected completion date of 2010 won’t be happening – 2011 looks more likely.

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OL Féminines, like their male counterparts, are in the semifinals of the Challenge de France, the women’s French Cup. They will be facing Soyaux tomorrow, and if they win, they will face either PSG or Juvisy in the final. And for the first time ever, the Challange de France will be held at the Stade de France, which is where the Coupe de la Ligue and Coupe de France finals are also held.

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Lyon have scheduled a friendly in Dubai in the last week of May against Al-Shabab. Since most players will be off getting ready for Euro 2008 or other sorts of international duty, it’s a good opportunity for players like Anthony Mounier, Cesar Delgado, Marc Crosas, etc.

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And finally, I’ll be on this week’s Offside Podcast to talk about French football. If you have any topics you’d like me to address, stop by here.