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.

Source: Lyon’s official website (I’m serious).

Which sorta happened, but not exactly as I expected.

Did someone’s bunny just die? Oh wait, it was last season’s title hopes.

Instead, our beloved Jean-Mimi is going insane with his wallet. It’s as if he suddenly thinks Lyon are Real Madrid and can spend without being bothered by the price tag. To illustrate my point, let’s take a look at Lyon’s five main summer targets.

Lisandro Lopez - €24m + plus €4m in incentives
Michel Bastos – €18m + plus at least €2m incentives
Aly Cissokho – €15m + plus up to €4m in incentives
Andre-Pierre Gignac – €25m
Loic Remy – €16m + Anthony Mounier

So far, Lyon have only signed the first two, but Lyon are dead serious but acquiring the remaining three. The ink on Lopez’s contract is barely dry, and Bastos will be putting pen to paper in the next two or three days. Furthermore, Lyon are also confident over Cissokho (though with Porto, you never know – their president is even crazier than ours). The only two question marks are Gignac and Remy, both of whom are being zealously guarded by their clubs.

Lyon are buying Bastos so he can’t humiliate us anymore.

I’m okay with the amount spent on Lopez because he’s very experienced, he’s an international, he has a proven track record in Europe (which is key, in Lyon’s case), and Porto wanted to take advantage of the fact that Lyon were desperate to replace Karim Benzema. Even the amount we’re spending on Bastos doesn’t make me uneasy because A) It’s Lille, B) Seydoux Connection, and C) After Lyon spent a similar amount on Kader I’m-A-Waste-of-Space Keita, Lille can charge us whatever they want.

But here is where I’m getting concerned. Porto bought Cissokho last January for €300,000 from some tiny Portuguese club no one has ever heard of. Last year, Cissokho was plying his trade in the French second division. But after a really good game against Manchester United in the Champions League quarterfinals, he’s suddenly hot property, with Porto demanding over 30 times what they paid him for despite having him for only 5 months. Damn, that’s good business.

The worst part is that Lyon are actually willing to meet Porto’s €15m evaluation (Lyon tried to bid lower…if you consider €12m low…but Porto told Lyon to fuck off, and then Aulas got scared). The only reason things are still hung up is that the two clubs are bickering over incentives.

According to AC Milan, Cissokho has a tooth problem. I can kinda believe it.

Lyon’s bid of €13.5m + Anthony Mounier (who himself is valued at €5m) has been rejected because Nice want €18m + Mounier + Miralem Pjanic on loan. In response, Lyon will now be sending a renewed bid of €15m + the player. What is embarrassing is that Remy, an OL youth product, was sold last season for €8m to Nice (in order to compensate for the purchases of Ederson and Hugo Lloris). And now Lyon have to pay over twice as much to get him back because they underestimated his talent. This all seems pointless to me because I’m sure next year we’ll be trying to buy back Mounier.

The biggest transfer saga of all is shaping up to be Gignac’s. Toulouse don’t want to sell their best player, who was also the highest scorer in L1 last season. They especially don’t want to sell him to Lyon because they claim that Aulas is being classless by pursuing a player who is “off-limits.” Normally, I’d sympathize because Lyon go through that all the time, but then I remember what Toulouse did when they signed Gignac (he had already signed a pre-contract with Lille, and Lorient had also come to terms with Lille, when Toulouse lured him away with a better contract at the last possible second. It was a scandal). Now Toulouse are saying that they will only sell Gignac to Lyon if Aulas ponies up €25m. Lyon’s €15m offer has already been refused, though I feel Aulas might be willing to go up to €20m.

But here is the batshit crazy part. Assuming that Lyon get all five players (which might happen given the aggressive way they are pursuing both Remy and Gignac), Lyon will be spending at least €83m, not counting incentives. If Lyon end up paying the full asking price for Remy and Gignac, that number could catapult to €98m. Add in those incentives, and Lyon might end up as the second biggest spender this summer after Real Madrid.

Wait.

WHAT?

Gignac has been taking Michael Essien lessons.

Realistically, I expect Aulas to whittle down Gignac’s price a little – at least he could if Toulouse would stop ignoring his phone calls. On the other hand, I think Nice are pretty firm about their price, especially since Remy isn’t sure he wants to return, as opposed to Gignac, who is boycotting training. Lyon would also prefer to sign only one of the two, either Gignac or Remy, though the chief of operations, Marino Faccioli, is keen to point out that Lyon can afford both of them quite easily. But Aulas isn’t sure which club will gave in first, as both Nice and Toulouse can be rather stubborn – and there is always the possibility that neither Gignac or Remy will be released – so for now, Lyon are acting as if they want both.

While I’ve always advocated that one should not be afraid to spend money, I’m a little worried that breaking the bank this summer is more of a reactionary response to losing the title – and everything else – than sound planning. Furthermore, I didn’t even realize Lyon had that much money to spend, especially considering the piss poor season they just had. Granted, Lyon did sell Benzema for €35m and Keita for €8.5m, but that’s pretty much it for Lyon’s sales this summer. Juninho left on a free, and if Fabio Grosso leaves, I don’t see him going for more than €3m. So that’s hardly anything when compared to the expenditures. At the rate Aulas is going, he’s going to make the EPL look like cheapos.

Even Lyon’s alternative targets, left back Andre Santos of Corinthians and Kleber, a striker at Cruzeiro, may each end up costing upwards of €15m. In fact, I don’t think Lyon have any targets this summer under €12m. Now, I realize that prices are inflated all over the globe at the moment, but surely some quality players can be found in the €8m range. I just hope Lyon aren’t deluding themselves into thinking that more expensive = more quality. After all, Juninho, the best OL player ever, came to Lyon as a free agent.

And then there’s the fact that Lyon play in FRANCE. This EPL-esque spending is definitely a world removed from L1’s next biggest spender, Marseille (who, coincidentally, have yet to hit €40m despite bringing in seven players). The last thing I want is for Lyon to go into debt. Even though the departures of Benzema and Juninho have lightened the wage bill, money doesn’t grow on trees, especially in L1.

On the other hand, I’m thrilled that Lyon are finally throwing away the “oh-but-I’m-a-small-club” mentality. Lyon’s expenses are matching their ambitions (though I also said that last season, and we all saw how that turned out), and for once, they’re more concerned with having an awesome team than they are about profit.

Also, it’s kind of cool how Lyon are acting like such assholes in the transfer market. Not that I in anyway want to encourage this sort of behavior, as I always hate it when bigger clubs just waltz in and expect that they can sign our players, but it’s nice to be able to do the same. Because contrary to public belief, Lyon often don’t get their way.

In any event, if Lyon get four of the five players from their list, they will have a squad that can challenge both domestically and in Europe (that being the main goal, I feel). At the very least, L1 promises to be very interesting next season.

Guys, I’ve missed you all! I feel like I’ve been away from this blog for far too long. Thankfully, John stepped up to pick up all my slack, but expect to see more of me around from now on!

First off, it’s INTERNATIONAL TIME!!! That’s good news and bad. Good because some players get some rest, bad because others get worked even harder. The list of players don’t contain surprises, but it’s a smaller group of players this time thanks to injuries (Francois Clerc, Sidney Govou, John Mensah) and the fact that some countries don’t have friendlies scheduled despite the international break (Miralem Pjanic).

The call ups:

France (vs. Messi Argentina – 2/11/09): Jeremy Toulalan, Karim Benzema, Hugo Lloris, Jean-Alain Boumsong (who actually deserves it, no joke guys).

Cameroon (vs. Guinea, 2/11/09): Jean II Makoun

Côte d’Ivoire (vs. Turkey, 2/11/09): Kader Keita

Sweden (vs. Austria, 2/11/09): Kim Kallstrom

Italy (vs. Brazil, 2/10/09): Fabio Grosso *

* This game already took place today, but I forgot that Italy was playing a day earlier than everyone else. Oops. By the way, Italy lost 2-0, and Grosso – the sole Italian scorer – had his goal discounted. Poor guy.

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John Mensah has made the African Finest XI, a list based on the votes of the coaches of the 53 teams that make up the Confederation of African football. Our favorite Glass Ghanean joins an all star cast that includes Samuel Eto’o, Michael Essien, Mohammed Aboutreika, Emmanuel Adebayor, Yaya Toure, and Taye Taiwo.

What I’d like to know is what games the voters were watching, because I can count on one hand how many times John Mensah has played this year. Even before arriving at Lyon, he was oft-injured at Rennes, and his fitness was so-so during Ghana’s African Cup of Nations campaign (I should know, I blogged for Ghana during that month). Even his NT coach is frustrated by his injuries. So I’m just a little bit confused on how Mensah got into such an exclusive list. Was it his muscles? His personality? His smile?!?!?!

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Kader Keita crashed his Lamborghini into a van yesterday while on the way to the airport to join his NT teammates. Thankfully, no one was injured. The police checked to make sure he wasn’t taking drunk driving lessons from Sid the Kid, and once they verified that it was just a “simple” car accident, the police escorted him to the airport so he could make his flight on time.

Sigh. The life of a footballer.

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Fred is trying to leave Lyon again. Ugh.

I’m really tired of all his drama. He’s like a little kid who announces to everyone that he’s running away while secretly expecting everyone to beg him to stay. Except no one is, so he’s sulking even more than usual.

Can’t he just leave a note on his locker like everyone else?

For those of you who care, basically Fred has come to a very lucrative agreement with Fluminense. Unlike in Europe, the Brazilian mercato ends in early April, so that’s the only place he can go to right now. The Brazilian club has agreed to pay him a monthly salary of €120,000 as well as a signing bonus of €680,000. However, Fred’s agent (and brother) is claiming that the negotiations are stalled because Lyon aren’t paying Fred all the money that he’s owed (basically his performance bonuses).

However, Lyon have hit back saying that last December, Fred, in the presence of Bernard Lacombe, Jean-Michel Aulas, and club administrator Marino Faccioli, asked that he be released from his contract so that he could be sign for free in Brazil, and in return, the club wouldn’t have to pay him any of the bonuses stipulated in his contact.

Except now, Fred is demanding those bonuses, and Lyon won’t budge. The club’s official comment was that they find his lapse in memory ironic.

Ironic is a polite way of saying something much more foul, if you ask me. It says a lot that Puel, who besides Karim Benzema, doesn’t have any other serious option up front, is willing to let Fred leave halfway through the season despite the fact that the title race is in full swing.

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Hugo: Ederson left me for the Brazilians.
Jeremy: That’s okay, I’ll be your new BFF!
Hugo: Yay! First thing we’ll do is get you a better wardrobe.
Inara: Awww. Cute. *Cuddle*
Karim: *Embarrassed* I can’t believe I have to sit next to the dorky old people. This is so totally hurting my ~hip~ image.

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And since we’re on the subject of overly dramatic strikers, Karim Benzema has softened his previous words (when he said that he would probably leave if Lyon got kicked out of the CL knockout rounds) by saying that he’s happy at Lyon, and that most likely, he’ll stay until the World Cup. But he was careful to also say that he’ll take a long look at his situation this summer, taking Lyon’s CL campaign into account. Comments from his BFF Eric Abidal might have had something to do with his recent about-face.

If Benzema does leave, there is at least one striker who wouldn’t mind coming to Lyon. Loic Remy, despite having a great season with Nice, has never lost his desire for making an impact at his childhood club, and he admitted that should an offer come, he wouldn’t be averse to it. This comes on the heels of the news that there is a buyout clause in his contract just for Lyon.

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And in somewhat good news, Mathieu Bodmer (remember him?) played with the CFAs this weekend, his first real game in months. Francois Clerc was also supposed to play, but at the last minute the club doctor decided to wait a while longer, especially since knee injuries are in danger of relapses if they are not properly healed.

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.

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.

This morning, in a rather long interview in which Jean-Michel Aulas touched upon various subjects such as Laurent Blanc, the title race, and Hatem Ben Arfa, he also spoke about his regrets at being unable to sign Yoann Gourcuff two years ago from Rennes.

Yoann Gourcuff with Alou Diarra, aka a Lyon reject.

For those of you who didn’t know, Lyon made a very concentrated effort at bringing Gourcuff to Lyon and almost had his signature on paper, but his father, Christian Gourcuff (also the manager of Lorient), advised him to sign with Milan instead – though having found himself benched and rarely allowed to play, Gourcuff junior later admitted that he should have chosen Lyon. So his recent renaissance is rather painful for OL, who are now forced to watch their rivals reap the benefits.

You know, when Yoann left Rennes, he was very close to coming to Lyon. I personally went to Rennes to see him and his father, but I wasn’t convincing enough. However, he remains one of those players that our recruiters have always wanted to sign. Laurent Blanc and Jean-Louis Triaud [Bordeaux's president] had more effective arguments since they were able to get him on loan [from Milan].

What Aulas goes on to say is far more interesting, however.

“But of course, he is still a player that interests Olympique Lyonnais, at whatever the price. He’s a very talented player who has a big future ahead of him. I don’t want to compete with Bordeaux [over Gourcuff], but any club would be interested….If the prices are acceptable, Bordeaux should offer a bid, it would be a very good deal for them. Moreover, I don’t know why Bordeaux wouldn’t exercise the purchase option given his contributions to their team. “

Ouch! What has gotta be pissing off the people at Bordeaux is that they know Lyon can easily pay the price Milan are demanding, which is rumored to be around the €20m mark. After all, they paid €18m for a useless Kader Keita – two million more for Gourcuff looks like a total steal. But for Bordeaux, whose most expensive purchase ever was the €9.1m they spent on acquiring Pauleta, €20m is a huge chunk of money that they will find it difficult to afford.

You have to chuckle at the purposeful timing of Aulas’s declarations since in two days, Yoann & Friends will be arriving at Lyon for one of the biggest matches of the season. Aulas is no stranger to mind games (last year, before Marseille were came to the Gerland, a rumor was “leaked” to the press that Aulas was pursuing Samir Nasri) and loves to use them as much as guys like Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson. And this Sunday’s game, already billed as Benzema vs. Gourcuff, pits together two of the most talented players in L1. The third, Ben Arfa, evens things out by being at Marseille.

But I don’t doubt that Aulas is being truthful in that he’d pay any amount of money to sign Gourcuff. If it had any chance of happening, he’d have his checkbook out in a flash. But Bordeaux fans can take a breather because I just don’t see this happening, as much as I’d like it to.

Probably the only time that Gourcuff and Jeremy Toulalan will ever play on the same team is for France. Which is too bad because those two would be kickass in midfield together.

First, he’s really a Milan player who is just hanging out at Bordeaux for the time being. Whether he chooses to return to Italy is up in the air, but he’s gotten the taste of a big club and may no longer consider Lyon good enough. Secondly, if he decides to remain in France, he might as well stay at Bordeaux, which has built itself into a competitive team that looks to become Champions League regulars (at least one can hope). More CL = more wealth for Bordeaux = more chances of emulating Lyon.

And thirdly, Lyon is simply packed in midfield. Juninho is playing like he’s got another two years left in him, Ederson, Jean II Makoun, and Miralem Pjanic just signed this past summer, Jeremy Toulalan and Fabio Santos aren’t going anywhere, and let’s not forget that Mathieu Bodmer can also play in that role despite his current defensive duties. The only player who looks likely to leave is Kim Kallstrom, who at times has been forced to sit in the stands because there was no room for him on the bench. Of course, Gourcuff is better than almost all of them, but moving the manpower around would be very complicated.

I’m afraid that the chance of having Gourcuff at Lyon has already passed. The ship has sailed. The door has shut. The paths have diverged, never to meet again. Etc. It makes me very sad, kind of like how I felt when Lyon failed to sign Franck Ribery. It’s like saying goodbye without ever having the chance to say hello.

I say that because yesterday’s game turned out to be the match from hell, and for all the wrong reasons. In one of the biggest upsets in the history of this tournament (and probably in the history of Lyon), Metz walked all over Lyon in a fairly comfortable 3-1 victory.

What follows is my post match tirade commentary. If there ever were a time for justified bitching, I think this would be it. Match highlights at the bottom of the post. Try not to laugh too hard.

First of all, it was a home game for Lyon. In the last three years, Lyon have lost at home only four times in all competitions – to Bordeaux, Marseille, Roma, and Rangers. That’s it. And those teams are hardly chumps. Amazing that the list can now include a team that’s currently hanging out in France’s second division.

Secondly, rotation aside, the lineup Puel put out last night shouldn’t have lost like that. Besides Sebastien Faure and Lamine Gassama, the other nine players are all very experienced, many of them internationals to boot. Sure, Lyon were resting Hugo Lloris, Jeremy Toulalan, Karim Benzema, and Cesar Delgado, plus some other players to injury, but still…it’s Metz, not Barcelona.

I suppose in the grand scheme of things, the Coupe de la Ligue was the lowest priority of the club, so by the end of the year, I doubt too many people will be shedding tears over this game. But the fact that Lyon was kicked out in such a fashion and in such an early stage of the competition makes it a little hard to bear. It’s also a little scary that this is the second trophy Claude Puel has missed out on – he was also the first OL coach to lose the Trophee des Champions since 2001. It’s not a big deal, I know, but I hope this isn’t some sort of ominous sign of impending change.

This picture says it all, really.

As for the players themselves, they were all really mediocre. I’m not even being harsh. If I had to give them ratings, the highest would probably be a 5. I’m not sure why the players had such a meltdown of epic proportions. Juninho was probably the best of the bunch, and he tried, but there is only so much he could do with the incompetence around him. Fabio Grosso picked the wrong day to forget his defensive duties. Cris fluctuated between good and bad. I don’t know if he was nervous playing next to the babies Faure and Gassama, or if he was revisiting his form from the earlier part of the season, though I will say that he made up for it during some moments and was responsible for Lyon’s only goal of the match. Kim Kallstrom, Ederson, Frederic Piquionne, Kader Keita, Anthony Mounier, Fred, and Jean II Makoun all had a match to forget.

And OMG, Fabio Santos was injured AGAIN. He has the worst luck ever. After receiving a nasty tackle from Metz’s Pascal Johansen, he was in so much pain that he had to be taken off immediately. Apparently it’s an ankle sprain, which means he might be out for another couple of weeks. I hope it’s not too long because he is a good player and deserves to play. It would be terrible if injuries ruin his career – which is ironic because despite all the injuries, he’s not injury prone, but he gets injured by other players on a fairly regular basis.

Jean-Michel Aulas was very pissed in his post match interview, saying that it was really annoying when high caliber players, who are fighting for playing time, decide to waste the opportunity instead of proving to the coach that they deserve a place in the starting XI. He also put additional pressure on the players by reminding them that great teams never lose twice. Puel on the other hand gave full credit to Metz for a deserved victory, and by the look on his face, it was obvious that he plans to put his players through hell for their performance today. I kind of feel sorry for Bordeaux, who are Lyon’s next opponents.

Finally, I want to end this with a word of congratulations for Metz. While Lyon were so wrapped up in their certainty of success (everyone down from Aulas to the ballboys), Metz came to the Gerland with an appropriate mixture of determination of humility. They knew they couldn’t match Lyon player for player, so they worked harder and pitched a very intelligent battle of tactics. They knew which players to shut down and which players to exploit. Before the match, I had never heard of Victor Mendy, Sebastien Renouard, and Romain Rocchi (Metz’s three goal scorers), but I won’t forget them ever again. So bravo to Metz, and I hope they continue their good run into this competition.

Highlights:

Goals: Lyon (Cris 49), Metz (Mendy 20, Renouard 28, Rocchi 66)
Warnings: Lyon (Faure 58, Gassama 59), Metz (Johansen 31, Delgado 85)

Also, Evilo is now piloting the Ligue 1 Prospects Blog at the Offside, so stop by to say hi. Given that L1 is a breeding ground of some of the world’s best players, his blog is most welcome for those who want to keep track of France’s latest talents.

“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.