So everything’s left to play for, which will make Matchday 5 in Group E très très intéressant.

(Our new mascot?)

November 24th, 2009
Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
2:45 PM ET (20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT)

Match Background:

This is our fourth game against Fiorentina within the span of a single year, so I probably don’t need to go into detail about them (you can read the preview from match day one, which offers a bit more background). Instead, let’s get up to speed about what’s happened in the three months since the teams last met.

Currently, Fiorentina are 6th in the Serie A table. So far this season, they have accrued 21 points, with six wins, three draws, and four losses. They’ve scored 15 goals and conceded 12. Their top scorer is Alberto Gilardino, who’s notched six goals in domestic competition. In Europe, Fiorentina are sitting in second place in the Group E table, with three wins and one loss. They are tied for first place with Real Madrid with 11 goals scored, but they have also conceded 6 goals. Their top scorer in the CL is Adrian Mutu, with three goals to his name, though both Stevan Jovetic and Alberto Gilardino have also scored two a piece.

Like Lyon, Fiorentina flopped over the weekend, losing at home to Parma 2-3. Gilardino scored both of Fiorentina’s goals, so he is in top form. He also scored all three of Fiorentina’s goals against Lyon last season. They’re also in a bit of an injury crisis, so like us, they will be crossing their fingers over fielding a weakened team.

On the other side of the Alps, Lyon have been inexplicably turning down the opportunity to take over first place. Despite Bordeaux’s string of losses and draws, Lyon can do no better. Right now, they are in 3rd place in L1, behind Bordeaux and top of the table Auxerre (!!). They have 25 points, with seven wins, four draws, and two losses. They’ve scored 23 goals and conceded 17 (!!!!!!!). Ridiculous, right? Lyon’s top scorer in domestic competition is still Bafetimbi Gomis, with five goals. In Europe, Lyon are top of their group, with three wins and one draw. They’ve scored 8 goals and conceded 2. Lyon’s top scorer in Europe is Miralem Pjanic, who has two goals. Lyon’s other 6 goals came from six different scorers. Which is pretty impressive, fyi. Or disturbing, if you are a glass half empty person.

For the Math Geeks:

I had to use several complicated equations and my engineering calculator to tell you the various possibilities of the results of tomorrow’s game. It was the most math I’ve done since college. Which is sad because I’m a scientist, but that’s a story for another day (and another blog).

If Lyon win: They top group E. Their position is unassailable no matter what happens on Match Day 6.
If Lyon draw: They can still top their group as long as they beat Debrecen at the Gerland, even if Fiorentina beat Liverpool.
If Lyon lose: This is where it gets tricky because it depends on several factors. If Fiorentina win tomorrow, then Lyon must beat Debrecen while also hoping that Liverpool beat Fiorentina on Match day 6. If Fiorentina win both of their remaining games, then Lyon will be runners up in the group. If Fiorentina win tomorrow and then draw at Liverpool, and assuming Lyon beat Debrecen, then it will come down to the head-to-head record between Lyon and Fiorentina. Which means that it depends on the the margin of Fiorentina’s victory against Lyon as well as the goal differentials of both teams.

Liverpool also have a stake in this, as a Lyon victory would still give them a chance to qualify. Puel has promised Benitez that he won’t be fielding a weakened team just because Lyon have already qualified. It’s important that Lyon win their group because in the last five years, Lyon have gone out three times to the eventual champions. Finishing group winners would ensure a better draw, which might be the difference between further progress in the CL or not.

Both teams will do everything possible in order to win.

But Fiorentina don’t care about Lyon or Liverpool – they know that a victory for them tomorrow ensures their qualification. Anything less than that, and it all comes down to their final match at Anfield. It’s pressure that Prandelli and his players want to avoid at all cost, so they’ll be gunning for the full three points against Lyon.

There is also that small matter of their trampled feelings, as their last three encounters against Lyon saw them collect only one point. Two of those games were smothered in controversy – last year it was Lyon scoring when a Fiorentina player was down injured on the pitch, and this year it was Gilardino’s harsh red card for elbowing Toulalan in the face. So there might be some vengeful feelings on their parts. Maybe.

Team News:

Fiorentina have several injuries to contend with. The most notable ones are Adrian Mutu and Alessandro Gamberini, who will be watching from the stands. Stevan Jovetic has been declared fit enough to travel, but according to Prandelli, he will most likely be starting from the bench.

Le groupe de la Fiorentina: Avramov, Castillo, Comotto, Dainelli, De Silvestri, Donadel, Frey, Gilardino, Gobbi, Jorgensen, Jovetic, Kroldrup, Marchionni, Masi, Montolivo, Pasqual, Santana, Vargas, Zanetti.

Lyon’s injury situation is unsurprisingly more woeful. Jeremy Toulalan will be missing his first Champions League game since early last year due to groin problems. Mathieu Bodmer and Cleber Anderson are still out, and Maxime Gonalons, the latest sensation from the youth academy, is still recovering from a knock he picked up while on duty with the France U21 team. Worse yet, both Anthony Reveillere and Francois Clerc picked up injuries, so Lyon will be without any senior RB.

Le groupe lyonnais: Lloris, Vercoutre – Gassama, Cris, Boumsong, Seguin, Cissokho, Kolo – Makoun, Pjanic, Källström, Ederson, Grenier – Govou, Lisandro, Bastos, Delgado, Gomis, Tafer, Belfodil.

Lamine Gassama, Ishak Belfodil, Yannis Tafer, Nicolas Seguin, Clement Grenier, and Timothée Kolodziejczak (that’s over 20% of our team) will be making the jump from the CFAs to the senior team for this match.

Expected Lineup:

If I were Prandelli, I’d be telling my players to focus all their attacks on Lyon’s right flank, where Lamine Gassama is by far the weakest link in the defense. However, Gassama acquitted himself well against Liverpool and even in his other matches for the senior team, so I guess things aren’t quite that dire. Jean-Alain Boumsong, who’s made his return from injury just in time, will be partnering Cris in defense. Aly Cissokho will be on the left, and he should be well rested, as he didn’t play last weekend against Grenoble due to a suspension.

In midfield, I expect to see the usual triad of Jean II Makoun, Miralem Pjanic, and Kim Kallstrom, unless Puel decides to go wild and use a formation not called a 4-3-3. But I doubt it. This is Puel, after all.

Up front is the usual musical chairs. Lisandro Lopez is a definite starter, but Puel is going to have the tough task of deciding which of Sidney Govou, Bafetimbi Gomis, and Michel Bastos should be playing. And let’s not forget that Ederson and Cesar Delgado are also available.

Lloris
Gassama – Cris – Boumsong – Cissokho
Pjanic – Makoun – Kallstrom
Govou – Lisandro – Bastos

Oh, and speaking of Lisandro, he’s one yellow card away from a suspension. I imagine Puel will be asking him to pick up a harmless yellow tomorrow so that he can serve his suspension during the Debrecen game. Better he miss that game than a more dangerous one in the knockout stages.

Viewing Options:

If you’re in North America, this match will be live on Fox Soccer Channel. If you live abroad, I suggest you check your TV listings – I’m sure this game will be shown somewhere.

You can also give streaming a try. You can try to find a working here, or you can chuck out $10 and buy one from UEFA.com. Hopefully you’ll be able to find a good stream, as this is one of the bigger matches tomorrow. Remember, sharing is caring, and if you find a working stream, please share!

If you’d rather skip out on the streaming drama altogether, you can follow along on liveblog. Both Football365.fr and Lequipe.fr will have good ones, as will the OL website, where you can also follow along with free audio commentary – though be warned, it’s all in French. About an hour before the game starts, I will update post links to the actual liveblog.

ALSO, I’ve decided to do a liveblog of my own on the Lyon Offside. I enjoyed the one during the OL vs. OM game, and since I’ll be free tomorrow, I can host a liveblog without worry of workplace distractions. So expect to see another post put up tomorrow afternoon.

Expected Result:

Lyon have what it takes to get a win. But they can’t seem to do better than a draw these days. I’m going to bold and hope for a 1-0 win.

November 4th, 2009
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
2:45 PM ET (20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT)

Match Background:

There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said by every media outlet known to man. While most are focusing on Liverpool’s financial woes, Rafa Benitez’s job security, and Fernando Torres’s hernia, some other websites are thoughtfully pointing out that injuries or not, statistics are still on Liverpool’s side. While Liverpool have won their last four away games in France, Lyon haven’t beaten an English side at home since 1967 (I’m not kidding, it was against Tottenham in the European Cup Winners Cup). Furthermore, where Lyon have a history of shooting themselves in the foot when qualification should be a piece of cake, Liverpool have qualified for the Champions League from even worse positions. Then again, that’s in the past. Lyon already changed things around when they beat Liverpool at Anfield (previously they had only ever defeated Everton while on English soil). Who knows, maybe this Lyon can do some more revisions to the good ol’ history textbook.

So let’s talk about the present. Since OL’s trip to Anfield, Liverpool interrupted their shit streak by defeating Manchester United two weeks ago, but they also found the time to lose to Arsenal in Carling Cup and to Fulham in the league. They are currently sitting in 6th place in the EPL table with 16 points, having notched six wins, five losses, and zero draws. They are nine points behind league leaders Chelsea. Domestically, they’ve scored 25 goals and conceded 16. Their top scorer is Fernando Torres, who’s been on the score sheet ten times for Liverpool in the league. In the Champions League, they are still in third place, with one win and two losses. They’ve scored 2 goals and conceded 4. Their two goal scorers so far have been Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun.

Lyon have dropped back down to 2nd place in L1, thanks to two rather embarrassing losses to Sochaux and Nice. With 23 points, they have seven wins, two draws, and two losses. Lyon have scored 17 goals and conceded 11. In the league, the top scorer is Bafetimbi Gomis, who’s scored 5. In Europe, Lyon top their group with 9 points, three points ahead of Fiorentina and six ahead of Liverpool. They’ve scored six goals and conceded only one. However, what’s different about this year is that Lyon’s goals are coming from all over the pitch – there were six different scorers for Lyon’s seven goals (Miralem Pjanic was the player who scored twice). Whether that indicates strength or vulnerability, I’ll leave up to you.

I feel compelled the mention that Lyon’s previously awesome home form in the Champions League – Fortress Gerland, if you will – hasn’t been that great for us in recent years. Of the 8 home games in the last two seasons, Lyon won only two of those, losing another 2, and drawing four. Prior to that, Lyon had 25 home wins out of 27. But again, I should remind myself that ancient history is mostly irrelevant to the players and the manager (most of who haven’t been around that long). Only fans care about stuff like that, and it’s not like I’m going to be on the pitch (well, at least not yet, but if Lyon keep losing defenders…).

If Lyon win tomorrow, they’ll have qualified for the knockout rounds, and all that will be left to play for is who the group winner will be, which would then be decided in the Fiorentina match. If Lyon draw tomorrow, they will still retain their lead in the group, but Fiorentina (assuming they win in Debrecen) will only be a point behind, and Liverpool four points behind, so things could get tricky. Claude Puel wants a win, and so do the players, if only to avoid the headache of qualification stress in the next few weeks. Also keep in mind that both Marseille and Bordeaux won their games today, so if Lyon win tomorrow, it’ll be two weeks in a two where all French clubs are victorious – and when was the last time that happened?

Team News:

Almost everyone on Rafa’s Christmas card list is battling some form of injury, though some are closer to fitness than others. Steven Gerrard will probably be getting prepped for the operating table instead of watching tomorrow’s game on television while Alberto Reira, Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio, Martin Skrtel, and Martin Kelly will be sitting outside in the waiting room. On the other hand, Fernando Torres and Alberto Aquilani passed late fitness tests and are likely to feature in tomorrow’s match. I doubt that either will be on for the full 90 minutes (especially Torres, who wouldn’t be playing if Liverpool’s situation weren’t so dire). But despite all the noise Liverpool have been making, they’re really only missing three players who started against Lyon last week, and one of them, Gerrard, didn’t play that long anyway. I stated this before, but I think Rafa’s injury fears are more intox than anything else.

Le groupe de Liverpool: Reina, Cavalieri – Carragher, Ayala, Darby, Insua, Agger, Kyrgiakos – Kuyt, Lucas, Benayoun, Aquilani, Babel, Mascherano, Spearing, Plessis – Ngog, Voronin, Torres

Across the channel, Francois Clerc has suddenly – and inexplicably – come down with a knee injury. The conspiracy theorist me in thinks it might have something to do with this, but Puel tends to be level headed about these things, and with Anthony Reveillere having issues as well (he had to pull out of the St. Etienne match), I’m hoping it’s nothing serious. Also missing are the three usual suspects – Mathieu Bodmer, Jean-Alain Boumsong, and Cleber Anderson. Honestly, I don’t care what Rafa says about his problems, but at least he has healthy CBs – Lyon don’t even have that. Cris isn’t the healthiest of players while Jeremy Toulalan is playing with a slight injury to his groin, and he really ought to be resting and healing, but Puel has no other options, unfortunately.

Lloris, Vercoutre – Cris, Réveillère, Abenzoar, Gassama, Cissokho, Kolodziejczak, Toulalan – Gonalons, Makoun, Källström, Pjanic, Bastos, Delgado, Ederson, Govou – Belfodil, Tafer, Gomis, Lisandro

Lots and lots of kiddies on this list. Timothée Kolodziejczak, Maxime Gonalons, Ishak Belfodil, and Yannis Tafer, who traveled to Anfield with the senior squad, will be joined by fellow CFA-ers Loic Abenzoar and Lamine Gassama.

Expected Lineup:

It’s mostly predictable. Our defense and midfield are pretty much a lock, so as usual the only variation is up front. Actually, Puel couldn’t even get creative if he tried. With Francois Clerc out, our entire back line has no back ups (unless you count the kids, which I don’t). And since Puel doesn’t use Michel Bastos and Ederson as midfield players, as long as Jeremy Toulalan plays in the back, our midfield has no backups either.

It’s pretty crazy, and it just goes to show that Lyon are a top-heavy team. We have far more attacking options than any other position on the pitch.

We know that Lisandro will start; the question is, will Bafetimbi Gomis start alongside of him? Puel tends to use Gomis as a second half sub, which certainly has his merits, but it’s also true that Lisandro has an easier time when there is another striker for him to play next to. Sidney Govou, captain or not, seems likely to start, but Michel Bastos is still returning from injury, and like Lisandro, has yet to regain his earlier form. Ederson started at Anfield, so he is also an option. Cesar Delgado seems to serve better as a player off the bench, so I don’t expect him to feature until the second half.

Lloris
Reveillere – Cris – Toulalan – Cissokho
Pjanic – Makoun – Kallstrom
Govou – Lisandro – Bastos

Viewing Options:

If you’re in North America, this match will be live on Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Channel Espanol, Setanta Sports Canada, ITV, and DirecTV. It will be on tape delay at 5 PM on Setanta US. If you live abroad, I suggest you check your TV listings – I’m sure this game will be shown somewhere.

You can also give streaming a try. You can try to find a working here, or you can chuck out $10 and buy one from UEFA.com. Hopefully you’ll be able to find a good stream, as this is one of the bigger matches tomorrow. Remember, sharing is caring, and if you find a working stream, please share!

If you’d rather skip out on the streaming drama altogether, you can follow along on liveblog. Both Football365.fr and Lequipe.fr will have good ones, as will the OL website, where you can also follow along with free audio commentary – though be warned, it’s all in French.

Expected Result:

WIN! WIN! WIN! (I’m banking on Lyon, obviously!). Allez Lyonnais!

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)

Kongo Kim sees Rafa sneaking into the Lyon training session.

October 20th, 2009
Anfield, Liverpool
2:45 PM ET (20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT)

Match Background:

I don’t care what EPL fans say about how winning their league is more important than progressing in Europe, it’s crucial for Liverpool to at least qualify for the knockout rounds, or else he’ll be short 20 million euros during the next summer transfer window. So even though Liverpool have a massive game against Manchester United next weekend, you can bet that all of Rafa Benitez’s attention will be on tomorrow’s game. Unfortunately, that puts OL in a tougher position – instead of facing a somewhat complacent team, they’ll have to face extra determined players. For Liverpool, it’s imperative that they win all their games at home if they want to keep their dreams of qualifying alive.

Lyon, obviously, have different plans. Claude Puel has his own tough schedule to contend with, with matches against St. Etienne, Marseille, and Liverpool again within the next month, so for OL, the sooner they can earn those 11 points (which is about what we’d need to safely qualify for the knockout stages), the better. But before we get into all that, let’s talk about those Reds.

Their season so far has been lukewarm at best, and having lost their last three matches (to Fiorentina, Chelsea, and Sunderland, respectively), Liverpool have fallen seven points behind league leaders Manchester United. Rafa is desperate to get things back on track, and he’ll be hoping that tomorrow’s game, which is at home for them, will be the place to start. I’m not going to talk too much about them, since as a club, they are fairly well known, but for those who are like me and therefore completely ignorant of football outside of France, I’ll just touch on some of their key players.

Team captain Steven Gerrard is probably the one to watch out. A Liverpool youth product (crazy, I know), he has a ton of European experience and even a CL trophy under his belt. For a midfielder, he gets quite a few goals, both from in the box and from a distance. Javier Mascherano, who was out for a while due to injury, is back to full fitness. And let’s not forget their goalkeeper Pepe Reina, as well as Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel (whom Lyon almost bought a few years ago), who can be potent goal threats. Also of note is the presence of Damien Plessis, a Lyon youth product who left France two summers ago in search of more playing time. As for their coach, Rafa is no slouch in the tactics department, having maneuvered Liverpool to two CL finals, one of them which he won. He’s known for extensively researching opposition teams down to the last detail (and perhaps too strong of an attachment to the concept of squad rotation…).

Currently, they’re in 8th place in their domestic championship, having accumulated 15 points. They’ve notched five wins and four losses, having scored 22 goals and conceded 13. In the Champions League so far, they won their first match against Debrecen thanks to a single goal from Dirk Kuyt, and they lost their second game to Fiorentina thanks to the crazy powers of Steven Jovetic.

Going back to Lyon, Puel will also be hoping that the weekend defeat to Sochaux – the first loss of the season – won’t put a damper on the momentum Lyon have gained over the last two months. Juggling with injuries has made things tough in recent weeks, but thankfully, Lyon’s main rivals have been having problems of their own, so the L1 title race is still wide open. Right now, Lyon are tied in 1st place with surprise package Montpellier. Bordeaux are a point behind in second while Marseille are three points behind (but in 5th place). OL have won six games, drawn two, and lost one, having scored 15 goals and conceded 7. Their performance in the CL has been good so far, with two wins out of two, six goals scored and none conceded.

Tomorrow will no doubt be a tense match for both sides – Liverpool fearing their chances of qualification and Lyon needing to convincingly win against a big team abroad. The two clubs have never played each other (not even in a friendly!), but instead of being nervous, OL players are excited because they’re visiting a stadium they’ve never played in before. The Champions League is all about magic, so let’s hope we’ll see some tomorrow night!

Team Info:

The big question mark leading up to this match has naturally involved Liverpool. Both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres picked up groin injuries during international week, but while Gerrard was able to shake his off, Torres will be missing tomorrow’s match. Sotiris Kyrgiakos and Alberto Aquilani will also be watching from the sidelines as they recuperate from knee and ankle injuries.

Le groupe de Liverpool: Reina, Cavalieri – Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Insua, Aurelio, Dossena – Benayoun, Riera, Gerrard, Mascherano, Lucas, Darby, Plessis, Spearing – Babel, Voronin, Kuyt, Ngog

So there is some good news and bad news if you are a Lyon fan. The good news is that Lisandro Lopez and Michel Bastos are back. Cris has also shaken off last week’s injury scare, and Jeremy Toulalan is still healthy and as-of-yet unsuspended. The bad news is that Mathieu Bodmer, Jean-Alain Boumsong, and Cleber Anderson - three of Lyon’s four CBs – are still out. To make things even more unbelievable, the usual defenders whom Puel calls up from the CFA team are also injured. Sebastien Faure, Nicolas Seguin, and Thomas Fontaine are also out.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the real reason Lyon never sign any defenders because that position on our team is cursed.

Le groupe lyonnais: Lloris, Vercoutre – Cris, Réveillère, Clerc, Cissokho, Kolodziejczak – Toulalan, Källström, Gonalons, Makoun, Pjanic, Bastos, Delgado, Ederson, Govou – Belfodil, Tafer, B.Gomis, Lisandro

Besides Timothée Kolodziejczak, Puel doesn’t even have any replacements for the missing defenders. Maxime Gonalons, Ishak Belfodil, and Yannis Tafer will also be accompanying the senior team, but don’t expect any of them to play.

Expected Lineup:

We’ll definitely be seeing Jeremy Toulalan partner Cris in central defense. On the right, I expect to see Anthony Reveillere, and on the left, Aly Cissokho, who has turned into Mr. Champions League. In the middle, Kim Kallstrom was rested over the weekend so that he would be fit for tomorrow, as was Miralem Pjanic, who only came on towards the end of Lyon’s game against Sochaux. Those two are logical starters to accompany Jean II Makoun, who will be the lone DM. There is also the possibility of utilizing Francois Clerc in right midfield, but I don’t think it would be wise to chance it, not if it means we have to sacrifice Pjanic.

Up front, it’s the deadly trio (who weren’t at all deadly last Saturday) of Lisandro Lopez, Bafetimbi Gomis, and Michel Bastos. The only change I can imagine is if Puel drops Gomis to put in Clerc at RW.

Lloris
Reveillere – Cris – Toulalan – Cissokho
Pjanic – Makoun – Kallstrom
Bastos – Gomis – Lisandro

Viewing Options:

Ironically, now that ESPN no longer has Champions League viewing rights, the usual English domination of CL broadcasting has ended, as Fox Soccer Channel makes more of an effort to show games from a variety of leagues. Which means that Lyon will not be broadcast live in the US. The only way to watch it live is if you A) live in another country with better broadcasting rights, B) subscribe to DirectTV, Sportsnet Ontario, or Skysports HD, or C) are actually going to Anfield. Otherwise, you can wait until 10 PM Eastern time for FSC to show the match on tape delay.

OR, you can foray into the unreliable world of streaming. You can try to find a working here, or you can chuck out $10 and buy one from UEFA.com. Hopefully you’ll be able to find a good stream, as this is one of the bigger matches tomorrow. Remember, sharing is caring, and if you find a working stream, please share!

If you’d rather skip out on the streaming drama altogether, you can follow along on liveblog. Both Football365.fr and Lequipe.fr will have good ones, as will the OL website, where you can also follow along with free audio commentary – though be warned, it’s all in French. (About an hour before the match, I’ll update this section with the links to the liveblogs.)

Expected Result:

Even without Torres, Liverpool are a dangerous side to face with a lot of attacking threats. And it’s not like Lyon have the optimum defensive cover. BUT…I think Lyon can manage to get at least a point out of tomorrow’s trip. The most important thing is for the players to keep their cool and not allowed themselves to get intimidated by the stakes.

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.

Last week I put up a post questioning Lyon’s sanity, and I’d like to think I am somewhat justified for my stance. Gomis is a decent player and well able to support Lisandro Lopez as a second attacker. He had a bad 2008 campaign (then again, which French player didn’t?), and he was under the radar for most of last season (St. Etienne were struggling with relegation), but he did brilliantly the season before, and his potential is widely acknowledged.

Bafetimbi’s awkward hello.

That being said, his price is a little bit steep, don’t you think? Lyon didn’t even try to haggle this time. I bet ASSE’s president, Bernard Caiazzo, is kicking himself for not asking for more.

But I’m getting off track here. Honestly, I’m not that alarmed at seeing Lyon spend left and right. I’m just wondering if the quality of the players matches the amount paid for them.

Lisandro Lopez – €24m + €4m in incentives
Michel Bastos – €18m + at least €2m incentives
Aly Cissokho – €15m + 20% of future transfer profits
Bafetimbi Gomis – €13m + €2m in incentives

I don’t need a calculator to tell you that Aulas has spent what is roughly the equivalent of the GDP of a third world country on only FOUR players. That’s €70m euros. Marseille on the other hand of purchased twice as many players for less than half that amount, and I don’t think there is that much of a difference between the two squads at the moment.

In fact, I think Marseille have a better defense. Our CBs are not that good. It is. I love my team to death, but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen any evidence of “rock solid defending.” Cris can’t decide if he wants to stay or go, and I don’t trust him to regain his form from two seasons ago. I don’t care what Claude Puel says, Mathieu Bodmer is an attacking midfielder. Referring to John Mensah as the Glass Ghanaian is more of an unalienable truth than it is as a humorous nickname. Jean-Alain Boumsong, who is more suited to be a backup CB at a club of Lyon’s stature, is the most reliable defender at the moment.

Just think about that for a moment. Boumsong. Reliable. Those are the depths Lyon have sunk to.

What I don’t understand is why Lyon aren’t looking at any CBs. I haven’t even any rumors linking them to one. That’s all the more puzzling with Puel visibly wanting to push Mensah out of the club (after making us sign him last season for €8m, the bastard) and Cris seemingly unhappy. On the other hand, Marseille signed Souleymane Diawara and Bordeaux signed Mickael Ciani for peanuts.

Dammit, I want a defender! Our goalkeeper is awesome. Our fullbacks are awesome. Our midfielders are awesome. Our attackers are awesome. But I don’t think Lyon will make it out of Champions League qualifying with the central defense they have. Because as nice as it is to have a deadly attack (and according to the press, Lyon will be adding another player or two to their attacking arsenal), it’s pointless if Lyon concede just as many goals as they score.

Come on, Puel. Just one measly CB. You can even go crazy and spend less than €10m on him (or more, I’m not picky). Pretty please?

Tomorrow, Lyon will be taking on Beşiktaş in the opening match for Group D. It’s been a long time since they’ve faced Turkish opponents, and Beşiktaş – winners of a domestic double last season – are hardly anything to scoff at. Both teams will be taking this friendly a bit more seriously than most of the other clubs in the tournament for the simple reason that their respective seasons begin sooner, so they don’t have much time to mess around before getting into tiptop order.

Let’s bring that trophy home again!

July 25, 2009
Stade Nuevo Colombino, Huelva, Spain
2:30 ET (20:30 CET, 19:30 GMT)

Beşiktaş, like OL, have been quite active in the summer transfer market and have been the biggest spenders in Turkey so far (though it’s pocket change compared to Lyon). I’m not going to lie and claim to know much about Beşiktaş, as I’ve only ever seen them play once, and that was a while ago in the Champions League, though they do have some very good players who could wreak a great deal of havoc if Lyon aren’t careful.

One name that is sure to ring a bell is Matteo Ferrari, who recently transferred to Beşiktaş from Genoa. For those of you who can’t remember, Ferrari was on the pitch the night that Lyon lost to Roma two years ago. Another name that might sound familiar is Matias Delgado (no relation to ours), who is something of a freekick expert.

Like Lyon, Beşiktaş have certain key players injured or in light training, so they also have to deal with a trimmed squad. Still, they’ll be more challenging opponents than what we’ve faced so far, and we need the practice in order to get ready for the upcoming Champions League qualifiers (how humiliating…).

On our side of things, I have to once again curse the OL website for being so sparse with details. No word on the squad selection for tomorrow’s game, though I’m cheered to see several of the kids included for the trip. Besides Yannis Tafer and Clement Grenier, Yoann Court and Maxime Gonalans have also been invited along.

Le groupe lyonnais: Lloris, Vercoutre – Bodmer, Boumsong, Cissokho, Clerc, Cris, Grosso, Mensah, Réveillère – Bastos, Court, Delgado, Ederson, Grenier, Gonalons, Källström, Mounier, Pjanic, Makoun, Toulalan – Govou, Lisandro, Piquionne, Tafer

It seems likely that both Lisandro Lopez and Cesar Delgado will be sitting this game out. They both picked up slight knocks in training, so I guess Puel wants to keep our Argentine duo cossetted as much as possible. On the other hand, I am absolutely amazed that John Mensah is fit enough to play. When was the last time that happened?

To cap off this post, I guess I should write out what formation I expect tomorrow. Problem is, I have no idea what to expect. The friendlies against Lille and Lens aren’t really informative because in those games, it was more Puel giving everyone a change to place (hence the 100% player turnover) rather than figuring out tactics. But I’ll try anyway.

Vercoutre
Clerc – Bodmer – Mensah – Cissokho
Makoun
Mounier – Pjanic – Bastos
Piquionne

So I totally made that up. But my reasoning is sound. Mostly. The reason I have so many “second” choice players is that Lyon have a game against Porto barely two days after this one, and that match should be a lot harder. So I can see Puel wanting to rest as many key players as he can without sacrificing too much quality.

Then again, I’ve seen Puel use Lyon’s best starting eleven barely three days after a grueling Champions League encounter against Bayern, so what do I know?

And that’s all I have regarding the match. I did however find some mildly amusing photos of Lyon’s arrival in Spain, so enjoy!

For some reason, I enjoyed this picture far more than I should.

Sonny Anderson was greeted very warmly in Spain.

On the other hand, I’m totally confused as to why Sidney Govou of all people would get flowers.

Govou again, this time signing autographs. It just boggles my mind.

At least the other players are getting some attention.

AWKWARD team picture.

Incoming:

Aly Cissokho: Should arrive in Lyon either today or tomorrow to take his physical and pen his deal which is said to be worth 15mill with a clause that sees FC Port recieving 20% of his future sale! JMA has found a new nemisis in Porto president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa. Let’s hope we never have to buy from them again.

Andre-Pierre Gignac: Gignac was set to have a meeting today with TFC president Olivier Sadran, who is seemingly more intent than Nice’s Maurice Cohen on keeping his star striker- or maybe he want a fatter price tag, to twist his arm until he allows him to move to OL. Regardless, the saga continues, so we’ll see what develops. OL’s last bid was said to have been 15.5mill.

Vagner Love: The Brazilian striker is seemingly a back-up plan for failed Remy/ Gignac bids, the CSKA Moscow man is supposed to be valued at 18-20mill. No contact has been made as-of-yet.

Kleber: Le Dauphiné Libéré says that Lyon alread made a bid of 8mill for the Brazilian striker and that it was turned-down by Cruzeiro and that they demanded twice the sum. Skysports claims that Cruzeiro set the price at 15mill.

Richard Soumah: With the Bastos pursuit and signing, news of Lyon’s interest in Soumah’s arrival has vanished off the face of the earth. Indeed, right before the Bastos rumors began, and with “LiLo’s” drawn-out negotiations, it seemed like the Guingamp winger would be OL’s first signing of the summer. But now, RMC says that Lille are very interested in him as a replacement for Bastos, but with all that cash they now have, they probably will go after LeMan’s forward Gervinho. More disturbing is that they also claim that OM are now trying to sign him. If Mounier is leaving, we should scoop him up as a back-up to Bastos, at least to keep him out of the hands of Marseille.

Fernando Menagazzo: Huh? Yeah I know, but I’ve seen this rumor in a couple of places and more than once. Why would Lyon be interested? The guy can play anywhere in the midfield except the one place we need: LMF. I don’t know. Maybe some of you better informed could let-me-in-on-it. Anyway, Bordeaux want 5-6 mill for thier midfielder.

Outgoing:

Anthony Mounier: Hopefully with Loic Remy seemingly putting the nail in the cauffin of this deal himself, this whole ordeal will finally be over. Anthony’s potetetial move to Nice seems dead, and hopefully a loan deal can be worked-out in the future, bec I’m sure he’s not staying to play second-fiddle to Bastos.

Fabio Grosso: with Cissokho on his way to town, Grosso’s bags are surely packed and he’s ready to head to back home. Juve and Napoli are said to be vying for his signature.

Cleber Anderson: Anderson is said not be on Puel’s “must keep” list and might be put on the next plane to the first bidder.

Jeremy Pied: The CFA midfielder was loaned to FC Metz for the entire season.

First Juni, then Michael Jackson, now this!!! This is honestly too much loss for a human being to be subjected to in the span of a couple of months. In case you’ve been living on the moon these last few days, Karim Benzema has left Lyon!!! I think I’m finally starting to get over the shock of this, and the seriousness of this developement- along with the sadness- is starting to sink-in. We all new that this was Karim’s last year, and were pretty convinced that all the rumors of bids by the big clubs were either rubbish or would be rebuffed, since the player himself stated he didn’t want to move before the WC ‘10. But, it appears that the moment Real actually came calling, it would be too much for Benzema to resist. Dam you David Villa!!!

This season has indeed been a sad one for OL: not only did it see departure of our beloved captain Juninho Pernambucano, but now we say goodbye to the greatest football “product” Lyon has produced, Karim Benzema.

<
Karim burst upon the scene this year with a prolific scoring run in the CL, joining the elite strikers of Europe.

Karim is a veritabale son of Lyon. He was born in the city and is a product of OL’s youth system, signing a contract with them at the age of nine. From a young age, his precocious talent stood-out amongst his peers and for many of the staff within the youth system, there was never a sliver of doubt that Karim would one day rise to greatness. He would have the first of many impressive seasons, scoring a whopping thirty-eight goals with Lyon’s U-16 team. Karim’s inate talent and confidence would bolt him into the senior squad, at the ripe age of 17. OL personnel would recall Benzema going-up to the senior squad strikers and telling them that he would be taking their spot soon.

The ‘07-’08 season created and opening for Benzema: With the depature of OL’s most talented attackers e.g., Sylvain Wiltord, John Carew, and Florent Malouda- as well as Fred’s injury, Karim was handed the reigns of the attack by new coach Alain Perrin. Along with fellow phenom cadet Hatem Ben Arfa, they brought great hope and high expectations that OL would reach new heights one day and bring something special for many years to come. But it wasn’t to be so. We saw glimpses of tantalizing interplay between the two startlets in that season of ‘07-’08 when they would both come away with honors: Karim took L1 Player of the Year, after leading the league with twenty goals scored, and HBA would take Best Young Player of the Year award.

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The ‘08-’09 season saw that relationship shater, with HBA at the center of many locker room scandals and testimonials from other players that both of their egos had gotten out of control. Karim began the ‘08-’09 season bereft of his side-kick, as HBA made the exit during the summer mercato to Marseille. Center stage was now his alone, and it was his chance to show what he could achieve on his own, and that he did . He did not dissapoint, Benzema put OL on his back and racked up an impressive goal talley through a large part of the season, in spite of the new coach’s heavily defensive style of play.

But the young striker could only do so much of the lifting. After a prolific scoring run during a span of eleven goals in twenty-two matches, the burden became too much, and Karim hit the proverbial “wall,” only finding the back of the net three times in thirteen matches. But Karim would finally escape the drought scoring twice in a pivotal match against Marseille near the end of the season in the Velodrome, a match that few expected us to survive. Karim’s scores in that match were instrumental in the squad’s escape from a nine-game winless span that saw Bordeaux overtake them as leaders and OM take second, as well as pushing Lyon to the brink of elimination from the CL, a battle they would have to fight until the penultimate match of the season. Karim- along with Juni- helped carry the team in the last four matches of the season, Benzema scoring three key goals in the last two matches before the meaningless season finale against Toulouse, ending the season with a tally of seventeen, landing him second in scoring, tied with PSG’s Gillaume Hoarau and high scorer Andre Pierre Gignac of Toulouse. This would seal Lyon’s grip on third place and a trip back to the CL.

Despite his youth, Karim was a linchpin at OL. He had turned the outcome of matches in OL’s favor, many a time in his short career. The most important instances that come to my mind are the aforementioned Marseille match, as well at the final match of the CL group stages last year, when an OL- decimated by injury- were on the brink of elimination vs. Rangers at Ibrox, until Karim came-up with a brace, that saw us win 3-0 and through to the knock-out rounds. And who could forget the following CL match which saw Benzema score vs. one of the titans of football, Man U at Gerland. The score put us in the lead, and almost saw us pull-out a win were it not for our incompetent defense allowing a late goal that ended the game in a 1-1 draw.

Yes, despite all the allegations of swollen ego by fellow players, and ramblings about leaving his home club for greener pastures, Karim Benzema, although never a leader, was undoubtedly a large part of the engine that drove Lyon in the last couple of years. His prolific scoring led Lyon and very often carried the team during dark moments. He will be sorely missed, and no matter who is brought in, it’s highly doubtful that we will ever have someone who fills us with the hope that Karim’s prodigal talent gave us; a hope that such blossoming talent would contribute to the elevation of our club in the future, even if it was just for a short while.

Karim won four titles with OL(’05,’06,’07, and ‘08). His career stats with OL are as follows:

The transfer rumors seemed to be slowing down, after a few frantic weeks of wild speculation, most of it, pretty outrageous but in the last two days have come-back fullforce. Next week might see OL land their first Summer acquisition and “bigfish” of the mercato, let’s keep our fingers crossed. Aside from that, we have news- credible that is- of two out-going veterans, and also a few youngsters coming/going.

In:

Lisandro Lopez: The word is that the deal should be rapped-up pretty soon. Supposedly, JMA has come close to Porto’s 20mill valuation of Lisandro, having tabled an offer of 18mill plus performance bonuses. This negotiation might have been more nerve-racking if another club were involved, but since OL seem to be the only one’s after Perez, it looks like it might get done. However, Porto are known for slapping their asking price on players from the get-go and not budging. They are hard negotiators, but the situation looks positive to me. Hopefully we’ll be having a press conference unveiling our new striker soon- It better happen because I already wrote a “Lisandro-Signing” post weeks ago dammit!!!

Mauro Camoranesi: Ughhhhhh! Thankfully this rumor is fizziling-out in the papers lately. Originaly, rumor had it that OL and Juve were considering a straight swap for the two players, but thankfully the papers are reporting that Juve is either reconsidering/retracted the offer because Camoranesi will be part of Ranieri’s “plans” now. Whatever…I think I can say with a high degree of certainty that almost no one wants “Oldman Mauro” at Gerland. Maybe if he were a leftwinger, it wouldn’t be a totally bad idea, but no more rightwingers!!!!

André Clarindo dos Santos: Talk in the Brazilian papers of Dos Santos’ possible move abroad is mute, and Corinthians isn’t making any statements until after the Confederations Cup. Still, Lyon is said to be interested in the Brazilian International, but competion for the left back could get stiff, as rumors of AS Roma and AC Milan’s interest in Andre are floating around as well. Santos is supposedly valued at 6mill.

Richard Soumah: Guingamp’s midfielder has been quietly linked with OL for some weeks now, but today L’Equipe has stated that Lyon have tabled a bid of 2.5mill for the younster. Soumah is a left-footed, left-side midfielder. I don’t know if he plays at winger, but this pick-up makes sense since if/after Mounier leaves, we will officialy be without a true left flank offensive player. Whatever formation we use, we will need a true LWF/LMF, and since I’m sure Ederson will be our starting LW, Soumah would be a good back-up.

OUT:

Fabio Grosso: As mentioned above, Grosso is hotly rumored to move to Juve, and thankfully the Camoranesi trade rumor has appeared to have disapated. Grosso is said to be valued at 2mill. That’s it? I thought Italian internationals were worth a little more. Anyway, look for a move to happen soon, becuase if Lyon is really interested in snagging Santos, the Confederations Final is today, in which Brazil is playing, and I imagine the bidding war for him might start tomorrow , and get pretty hot if he has a good match.

Kader Keita: Romors of the 16-18mill Euro flop’s departure have heated-up, with his coming out in the papers lately and stating his desire to leave due to lack of playing time and the club having lost faith in him- wow, management is so unfair!!! Anyway, this is one departure that I’m glad to see happen, though I can’t imagine what OL will get for him financialy. AS Roma, Everton, and West Ham are all said to be interested.

John Mensah: Galatasaray are said to be hot for Mensah, although L’Equipe reports that the Turkish club are willing to offer around 4mill- half the purhase price- for the Ghanaian International. This bid is obviously a slap in the face and should go away as quickly as it appeared. IMO, the only way he moves is if someone pays the purchase price or very close to it. Other than that happening, I say let’s see if he has another injury plagued season this year, and reconsider next year.

Anthony Mounier: Talk of Mounier’s departure has cooled-off, except for some rumor that Nice is still negotiating for him. If true, management better be cooking something-up in order not to get nailed if they bring Remy back, probably after next season. Otherwise, I’d find it hard to believe that they are negotiating with Cohen.

P.S.

I had totally missed in the last post, the fact that Anderson Cléber Beraldo and Romain Beynié are back from their loan spells at Cruzeiro and A.F.C. Tubize respectively.