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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.

Alain Perrin took over management of St. Etienne last November, after the last derby that took place in August. Today will be bittersweet for him because he won more trophies than any other OL manager (four), led the squad to their first ever domestic double, and despite a horrible injury crisis, was a hairsbreadth away from kicking Manchester United out of the Champions League. But he was fired anyway because he’s a crappy man manager and had managed to alienate both players and staff alike by the end of his tenure.

Today he’ll be especially desperate for a win just to stick the proverbial middle finger up at Jean-Michel Aulas and Bernard Lacombe, and to show the fans that Claude Puel isn’t that great (though I think he is!).

February 1, 2008
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
3 PM ET (21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT)

Match background:

St. Etienne are not doing well this year. Though many would like to point the finger at Perrin, his predecessor Laurent Roussey shares most of the blame. St. Etienne spent the first half of the season on a losing streak, and though it’s already February, they are still in the process of recovery. Their goal this year is simply to avoid relegation. Interestingly, St. Etienne are doing really well in the UEFA Cup and will be in the Round of 32, with a very good chance of progressing. So at least something is going right for them.

St. Etienne has several injured players, including David Sauget, Christophe Landrin, Sylvain Monsoreau, and Loic Perrin. However, they still have a strong squad, and when they are in form, a dangerous one. Blaise Matuidi, Yohann Hartcoeur, Dimitri Payet, and Bafetimbi Gomis, just to name a few. Gomis is also their top scorer, with six goals.

Right now, St. Etienne are in 16th place, with six wins, two draws, and thirteen loses, having scored 16 goals and conceded 30. They are just one spot above the relegation zone. They are only one point ahead of the next team, so a loss could see them in the zone itself. They really need those three points, and more importantly, they need a moral boosting win. So St. Etienne will be coming to the Gerland with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Lyon are tenuously in first place, but Bordeaux, Marseille, PSG, and even Rennes and Toulouse are hot on their heels. Bordeaux are only one point below Lyon, and they have a game today as well. So if they win, they will, at least temporarily, be in first place until the Lyon-St. Etienne match takes place. Lyon have 21 wins, six draws, and three losses, with only 26 goals scored and 13 conceded. Bordeaux and Marseille have each scored 11 more goals than Lyon, by the way.

Lyon haven’t lost at home to St. Etienne since 1992, and they’ve won every game since then except a scoreless draw that took place ten years ago. So history is certainly on Lyon’s side.

Lyon info:

No new injuries to report, which is a rarity in itself. Good news is that Francois Clerc and Anthony Reveillere are rehabilitating just fine – Clerc is expected to make a full return by the end of this month (hopefully). Mathieu Bodmer is also doing well, though no news on when we’ll be seeing him. Sidney Govou and John Mensah are being kept off their feet for now.

Le groupe lyonnais: Lloris, Vercoutre – Grosso, Boumsong, Cris, Mensah – Juninho, Toulalan, Makoun, Fabio Santos, Källström, Pied – Ederson, Pjanic, Delgado, Mounier – Tafer, Piquionne, Benzema.

This is the third game in a row that Fred has been left out. It’s obvious that Puel would like to leave him out permanently, but eventually Fred will be called back into the team, probably right before the Champions League starts up again. Yannis Tafer and Jeremy Pied also make their return to the senior team. Tafer got to play against Concarneau, so he’ll be looking for more minutes.

Expected Lineup:

Lloris
Fabio Santos – Cris – Boumsong – Grosso
Toulalan – Juninho
Ederson – Delgado – Kallstrom
Benzema

At least that is my guess for Puel’s preferred starting lineup at the moment. Fabio Santos has been filling in so adequately at the back that Puel decided not to recruit an additional RB, especially since Clerc will be returning soon anyway. Cris and Jean-Alain Boumsong are a very solid pair, and having adjusted to each other, are not making any of the blunders that were common in the beginning of the year. Fabio Grosso is also fitting in really well, helping to make the backline a refreshingly solid one. Gone are the horrible memories from the summer, when leaking in goals was a pastime.

In midfield, it’s obvious that Jean II Makoun is second choice to Jeremy Toulalan, who has yet to put a foot wrong. Juninho is still essential and irreplaceable. Puel seems to prefer only two central midfielders in recent times, especially because it allows him to play someone right behind the striker.

Up front, the phrase is DELGADO!!! Cesar Delgado is finally coming into his own, and so is Ederson. Both have been doing really well in recent weeks, and hopefully the progression will continue. Problems continue on who to put on the left. Kim Kallstrom is there right now, and while he’s been doing okay, he’s not a winger. Miralem Pjanic is still too weak to have the necessary physical force, Anthony Mounier is too inexperienced, and Kader Keita is still a far cry from what he was at Lille. With Sidney Govou out, options are slim.

At least we know who the striker will be. Karim Benzema seems to have hit a slump in recent weeks, but he’s showing signs of getting out of it. St. Etienne has always been a good luck team for him, so hopefully he’ll continue the trend of scoring against them.

Viewing options:

This game will be live on Setanta and Setanta Broadband. You can also find streams here. As always, if you find a good stream, please share in the comments!

Expected result:

I’m hoping for a 2-0. The players are motivated to attack, and the defense is solid.

“It’s very difficult. Every time, it’s the same thing – the fans are angry with me and whistle at me. When the team draws or loses, it becomes my fault. I don’t deserve this. This proves that they aren’t real fans. Fortunately, I’m supported by my teammates and the technical staff, who also don’t understand the fans’ reaction towards me…”

Fred also says that if he scores in the next match, he won’t celebrate with the fans. He also confirms that he will not leave Lyon this winter no matter how much the fans whistle him. At the very least, he will stay until the end of his contract, which ends this summer. Aulas on the other hand is hoping that Fred doesn’t take the whistling too personally (too late, he already has) because he wants the Brazilian to extend his contract.

Fred’s most frequent expression these days.

What’s hilarious is Fred’s refusal to acknowledge why Lyon fans – who are the last people on the planet to engage in booing their own players – dislike him so much. Maybe it’s because he’s been less visible than Casper when he’s been on the pitch. Or maybe it’s because of his belief that he’s entitled to a starting spot based on his performances three years ago. Or maybe it’s because of all that shit he pulled last year (for more info, read this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this).

Geez, Fred is such a delinquent. Has he lately done ANYTHING besides falling to the ground and missing really easy sitters? Anything?!?!?!I mean, even his own coaches bitch about him. Gerard Houllier, when asked about Fred’s whereabouts two years ago, famously replied: “How the hell should I know? I only pay attention to players who are at the club.” Alain Perrin, when asked last summer about Fred’s whereabouts, responded: “I’m seriously thinking about calling the FBI and filing a missing persons report.” I can only imagine what Puel has to say about him.

And before I get accused of being on an anti-Fred agenda (which I am, I have no patience for the guy), I should mention that he’s had personal issues, so you can read about that here. Though that’s no excuse if you ask me.

The question is, do we want Fred to extend his contract at Lyon? Based on past performances and incidents, I think I’d rather just get Loic Remy back. Hell, I’d rather just promote Yannis Tafer.

It must have been quite a reunion for the 2Bs.

Oops, how did this picture get in here?

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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

Lyon’s backline patrolman Cris has given a candid interview about former teammate Hatem Ben Arfa. Even though Inara wrote an excellent “cathartic” piece on HBA’s departure and most of us have closed the file on Hatem’s Lyon career, I thought this would be of interest.

In an interview with FranceFootball, The Policeman spoke about his relationship with HBA and his attempts to keep Lyon’s “ex-resident juvenile delinquent,” [These are my words not Cris'] on the straigth path. Here is the interview verbatim:

Hatem is a great player. But he must learn. He can do great things on the pitch. On the other hand, off the pitch he can have some stupid reactions. It’s strange, because when you talk to him and try to suggest little things to help him out in his life and career, he always tells you that he will take into account the things that you have told him. But the problem is that ten minutes after you turn your back, he does the exact opposite of what you told him[Cris Laughs]! Hatem must understand, that in order to have a great career, it’s not sufficient to just be successful on the field, it is also necessary to respect a certain number of rules off the pitch as well.

It would have been interesting to hear accounts from more of HBA’s ex-teammates. Anyway, it’s interesting that the evidence just points more and more towards the fact that Hatem’s departure was necessary and inevitable, and that I was wrong in criticizing Alain Perrin for his benching. Hopefully Miralem Pjanic will help fill the void left by that departed talent.

But I just can’t let this go. I can’t just delete the “Ben Arfa” category on the right and list him as “Former Lyonnais.” I can’t just shut the door on years of history, at least not without closure. So please bear with me (or ignore me entirely) as I try to come to terms with Lyon selling the most gifted French player of this generation to a hated rival.

I’m going to skip over the mundane details of his transfer and the stupid and pointless squabbling between Lyon and Marseille over some technicalities in Ben Arfa’s contract. You can read about that here and here.

Instead, I’m going to focus on why this transfer, as painful as it was, had to happen.

You guys know how much I love Ben Arfa. I’ve been saying since I started this blog that he’s one of the most talented players I’ve ever seen, and I’m not just talking about prospects. He was also my favorite OL player, surpassed only by Jeremy Toulalan and Juninho. So please understand that when I say this transfer was for the best, it’s not because I don’t like or want Ben Arfa at Lyon.

We have to look at this situation logically to see that there was a reason that had Lyon acting so aberrantly. Normally, they cling onto their best talent, either to propel the club’s ambitions or to sell them for big money.

We saw Lyon fight tooth and nail to keep Clement Grenier, who hasn’t accomplished anything besides a few good showings for the U16 team. We saw what Aulas did during the transfers of Eric Abidal, Michael Essien, and Mahamadou Diarra – we’re seeing it now with Sebastien Squillaci, Anthony Reveillere, and Gregory Coupet. Lyon almost always make it difficult for good players (and even the so-so ones) to leave. Ultimately, the players who want to move are forced into hysterics and end up boycotting training.

But Lyon didn’t do any of that with Ben Arfa, who is arguably the most talented player Lyon have ever sold besides Essien. In fact, Lyon put Ben Arfa on the shop window and practically begged clubs to take him away.

It was a bad breakup.

Why?

We don’t really know the answer to that. I’ve seen speculation that it’s because he doesn’t get along with Karim Benzema, so the club is sacrificing one to keep the other happy. Please. This isn’t a high school cheerleading squad. Personal problems between two players don’t prevent them from working together unless it involves someone’s wife and/or the threat of violence.

One of Ben Arfa’s problems was that nearly the entire squad was uneasy around him. All you have to do is watch the videos from the last few weeks of the season, and you’ll see what I mean. While everyone else was celebrating, you could tell that Ben Arfa didn’t have anyone to celebrate with.

My maternal area wants to protect Ben Arfa from all those meanies on the team, but this is Lyon, not the Sicilian mafia. As much as I want to believe that Ben Arfa is the wronged one, logically I know that he’s done something to lose the friendship and trust of his teammates.

We’ve also seen comments from Ben Arfa in the media this year where, during the period when he was benched for several consecutive games, he said that he didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way he played and that it was the very qualities that Perrin criticized which made him special.

Ben Arfa is right in the sense that yes, individualism isn’t necessarily a bad quality to have in a player, but he’s wrong when he says that he didn’t have room for improvement. And that’s why all of his coaches have been frustrated with him – his refusal to acknowledge his weaknesses.

Ben Arfa flies south to a new nest.

It’s easy to blame Alain Perrin, and part of it was his fault – he didn’t handle Ben Arfa with a lot of subtlety. But it’s not just Perrin who was unhappy with him. Paul Le Guen and Gerard Houllier also had problems managing Ben Arfa. Even the staff at OL – Remi Garde, Joel Bats, Sonny Anderson, Bruno Genesio, Robert Duverne, etc – people who have known Ben Arfa since he arrived from Clairefontaine, didn’t want him to stay. His teammates isolated him. Even Aulas and Lacombe were willing to see him leave.

So it’s not just one man who wanted him out. It’s not just because of one incident. Ben Arfa’s position at Lyon has been deteriorating for some time now.

The other troubling part of this transfer is the destination. I couldn’t believe that Aulas was not only willing to deal with Marseille, but he was also willing to sell them Ben Arfa at a discount price (final price was €12m up front plus another €1m if OM qualify for the CL next season, as well as 20% of future profits from his sale).

Marseille?!?! Crazy, right? After all, they have been asses themselves when it comes to selling players to Lyon. Remember the Franck Ribery incident, when Diouf swore that Aulas wouldn’t get a player from him over his dead body? How Marseille kept the Bolo Zenden signing on the dl because they were worried Lyon would steal him from under their noses? And how they threatened to report Lyon for sniffing around Samir Nasri last year?

Make no mistake, Aulas could have made more money selling Ben Arfa abroad. He also wouldn’t have reinforced a direct rival. But I guess he really was sincere in his wish to make French football stronger, and with Marseille about to lose Nasri to Arsenal, without Ben Arfa, they don’t have as much chance to challenge Lyon for the title.

I don’t blame Ben Arfa for leaving. He needed a fresh start, and Lyon needed to bring the team back together. However, I would have preferred to see him at any other French club, but with a player of his stature, only PSG and Marseille are attractive choices, except PSG couldn’t match the fee and aren’t in the Champions League next season.

For Marseille, they are getting a terrific player, and I think Ben Arfa will enjoy Marseille. With Nasri gone, he has the chance to be the star and won’t be overshadowed by Benzema.

I have my doubts about it though – Eric Gerets isn’t known for working with youth, and Ben Arfa needs a lot of guidance. But perhaps he’ll surprise all of us and prove me wrong.

I will miss him. But at least he’s still in Ligue 1, where I can keep tabs on him and watch him often. If he moved to another country, he’d totally drop from my radar since I don’t really watch other leagues.

Good luck, Hatem!

First, Alain Perrin accused JMA of making him a scapegoat for any and all of the club’s potential shortcomings. Perrin went on to say of Aulas:

“I soon understood with him [Aulas] in his announcements, that I would always be held responsible for everything that went wrong. The president often tells his stories in his way. When you want to kill your dog, you say that it has a bad temperment.”

But Perrin seemed more miffed at his treatment by certain members of the technical staff than that of Aulas. A.P. divulged his relationship with two of Lyon’s coaching staff who seemed not to approve of his hiring: Goal keeper coach Joel Bats and Fitness coach Robert Duverne. Perrin claimed a certain hostility from the pair since the beginning, and that they played the largest role in bringing his tenure at Lyon to an abrupt end. A.P. went on to say about the pair:
“After about two weeks, I soon understood that the pair of them were systematically in opposition. There was always an underlying but permanent, aggressive way about them. They were trying to turn the players and Bernard Lacombe against me. But he [Lacombe] was always fine with me. One of my few supporters.”

“You had to act like they [Bats and Duverne] wanted you to , or they would start to moan. With those two there , I often felt like a beginner in the job.”

Perrin went on at length, describing what he felt towards the two trainers. He conveyed his belief for the reason behind the pair’s hostility towards him: “They would have liked someone to have taken over after Gerard [Houllier], someone like Remi Garde(Lyon’s Assistant Coach).”

Perrin also claimed that Bats and Duverne’s disapproval of him was manifested outwardly: “Duverne and Bats polluted the atmosphere. I always spoke directly to the players because I knew that they [Bats and Duverne] were talking about me behind my back.”

A.P. finished the interview by talking about his accomplishments at the club and his personal feelings as a result of the treatment he received by some at Lyon:
“We won plenty of titles, we had a magnificent season, but I leave with great frustration over the way the club is run. I haven’t enjoyed myself and , on a personal level, it’s without a doubt the most unpleasant season I’ve experienced. It seems paradoxical when you think about what we won, but I feel I’ve spent the year gagged and bound like I’ve not been able to express myself in my job.”

Even though I don’t think that Perrin was the coach to lead Lyon to CL glory, I was very harsh in my judgement of him. I didn’t see many Lyon games this year, but I’ve heard he made some tactical blunders in a few matches. That aside, he took an injury-riddled Lyon club, with two of it’s best players, as well as most experienced veteran defenders(Cris and Coupet) out of the line-up, to the knock-out stage of CL, and drew one and lost one against the eventual CL champions. In the league,after a bad start, he kept Lyon in first place from week 11 on, albiet by very narrow margins, and eventually won the league, fighting off a very good and hungry Bordeaux team. He also kept the team focused and ended their Coupe de France curse. My only real complaint was the benching of Ben Arfa, but I began to realize that it was probably a necessary thing even if it meant HBA leaving. I would have liked to see Perrin get a full season with a healthy squad. Maybe things would have been different.

…and dare I say, fetching as well?

Though I’ve written about Domenech before, that was a year ago, and it’s time that he had another shout out. He joined Lyon’s youth clubs when he was eight years old and was later promoted to the senior team when he was 17. He stayed for another eight years, winning the French Cup once and reaching the finals an additional two times. As a player, he was known as the “leg breaker” due to his reputation as a rough and tough defender. He also made ladies weep with his ’stash.

He returned to Lyon ten years later in 1987, this time as manager. During that time, he dragged the club out of the depths of the second division had them qualified for Europe within two years. After five years at Lyon, he eventually took on the coaching gig for France’s U21s. To date, he is the longest serving manager Lyon have had since Jean-Michel Aulas became president.

But don’t get my enthusiasm wrong – I’m not advocating that Domenech return to Lyon as manager. But between him and Alain Perrin, I’d choose RayRay in a heartbeat.

* This post was inspired by the latest L’Equipe magazine cover. Here in the states, I don’t have access to it, but if any of you have read it and/or have access to a scanner, I’d be so grateful if you could tell me what the article is about. I’m just dying to know more of Domenech’s personality secrets.

And here are some random Domenech pictures from antiquity. Look away if you aren’t interested in seeing him wear short shorts.

As a kid at OL.

Mr. Leg Breaker in action.

Raymond’s the hairy fellow.

You know you wanted a close up.

Domenech as Lyon manager.

In modern day times…