Info for River Plate Match + Latest Transfer Gossip
By: Inara | July 18th, 2007
Practicing for tomorrow’s match against River Plate.
Peace Cup Info:
Lyon take on River Plate, the only team in the tournament considered to be on par with Lyon in terms of skill. I’m sure Christian at the River Plate Offside will have more on his team’s news, but on Lyon’s part, there isn’t much to report except injuries. With both Cris and Sebastien Squillaci absent, and with Fabio Grosso still out, Lyon’s defenses will be rather vulnerable. Perrin will try a 4-4-2 once again, perhaps in the hopes of having more attacking power.
Since Lyon’s only two remaining central defenders are Patrick Muller and Sandy Paillot, and since Paillot is too young and inexperienced for a game of this magnitude, Perrin is putting Mathieu Bodmer in his place. Apparently, Bodmer started out as a central defender and is now the club’s best option to play alongside Muller (raise you’re hand if your missing Claudio Cacapa).
Lyon have already announced tomorrow’s lineup:
Coupet
Clerc - Bodmer - Müller - Réveillère
Govou - Toulalan - Källström - Ben Arfa
Keita - Benzema
That is the weirdest looking lineup I have ever seen Lyon put out. Both the fullbacks are right backs, and instead of Milan Baros playing with Karim Benzema, Perrin is putting in Kader Keita, a right winger. And why no Nadir Belhadj, who has been Lyon’s best player so far?
Edit: Milan Baros is not at full fitness while Belhadj has played in all of Lyon’s games to far, averaging a match every three days. So has Muller, but there aren’t any substitutes for him. L’Equipe has more on Lyon’s injuries.
Honestly, I don’t see Lyon winning tomorrow. Maybe if they’re lucky, they’ll get a draw, but that’s all that River Plate needs to go through to the final. The club shot themselves in the foot by playing carelessly against Reading, and this is the outcome. The only positive for Lyon is that River Plate is missing some of their best players due to transfers. The pretend Frenchman Gonzalo Higuain is gone, as is my personal favorite, Ernesto Farias (I really liked that guy). Marcelo Gallardo is at PSG while Nelson Rivas has signed for Inter Milan.
It’s just a friendly tournament anyway, and for Lyon to win the Peace Cup would mean they not choke up during a final. So it was a long shot to begin with. But that’s okay because I’m more happier with Lyon playing against River Plate than I am about any possible outcome. There are precious few opportunities for Lyon to play teams outside of Europe, and for them to play one of my other favorite teams is incredible.
(Lyon has always been my number one team, but lately I’ve been trying to be less of a Euro snob and have adopted River Plate and DC United as my two teams to follow outside of Europe).
Since this is the one Peace Cup game I will get up to watch, I will post links to streams that will be showing the game, should any of you also want to get up at 7 AM on a summer day to watch it as well. If interested, check the comments section tomorrow morning.
Cheap transfer rumors:
* Spain is hot for Kim Kallstrom. Sevilla wanted Kallstrom last season, but now it looks like Valencia have entered the mix. Since they lost out on their bid to recruit Wesley Sneidjer from Ajax, they turned their eyes to another feeder league and spotted the next best thing. However, Lyon want to keep Kallstrom - in fact, Aulas will be offering him a contract extension this summer. It will be easier for Lyon to resist Valencia, though of course Valencia would be as a step up. I have high hopes for Kallstrom and hope he stays, though as I stated in his profile, I think he would do quite well at a club like Valencia.
* Claudio Cacapa hasn’t found a club yet, and with Lyon already undergoing a defensive crisis without the season even starting (Fabio Grosso, Cris, Sebastian Squillaci), it seems that Aulas isn’t adverse to resigning Cacapa.
* Can someone find Alou Diarra a club? Lyon have set his price at €8m, and so far, only Portsmouth have met that sum, though Diarra turned them down. Bordeaux want him but don’t want to go above €7m.
* New Captain Cris has made a very subtle plea that Lyon recruit Willian from Corinthians.
* JMA will offer Patrick Muller a contract extension upon returning from Korea.
* Remy Riou is now at Auxerre and happy to be away, since according to him, Lyon don’t trust young players.
* In even more weird goalkeeping news, Lyon are supposedly interested in Lens’s Charles Itandge as a successor to Gregory Coupet. Weird, right? So I guess this means that Vercoutre will leave after his contract ends…
* Perrin still wants Jerome Rothen. Rothen wants PSG to offer him a longer contract or he’s leaving. Bernard Lacombe doesn’t want Rothen. PSG don’t want to sell Rothen. Stay tuned for the next episode of As the Gerland Turns…
* Another former player Perrin wants to sign is Guirane N’Daw, but Sochaux won’t let him leave.
Category: Team News and Rumors
Tags: Alou Diarra, Claudio Cacapa, Cris, Guirane NDaw, Jerome Rothen, Kim Kallstrom, Mathieu Bodmer, Patrick Muller, Peace Cup, PSG, Remy Riou, River Plate, Sochaux, Team News and Rumors, WillianSubscribe
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Comments
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The come back of the Rothen’s rumor… Big wave on OL french blogs: “bouh, bouh…everybody except him!!!!!!”
We know that is Perrin’s idea, and that Lacombe does not really support this idea (often injured player)So I am thinking about 3 hypos, and I would like to know if you know which one is the more probable, or even if there is something else:
1) Perrin has been able to convince everybody (even Nanard Lacombe) that Ben Harfa needs an experienced back-up, in order to smoothly adapt to his new status of starter and for the CL games, and that Rothen would be ok to play this role;
2) If a non-EU spot is quickly available, OL would try to recruit a young player like Willian, and if it doesn’t work out (the spot or the transfer): Rothen is the back up plan because Perrin prefers french players, and moreover loves to have his former players…
3) Rothen’s agent is providing these rumors in order to put under pressure the PSG, helped by Aulas happy to do a “Pauleta” bis, and getting his revenge for the Armand transfer…Please Inara let us know what is really going on in the dark undergrounds of Gerland…
Posted from
United States
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I wouldn’t mind if Lyon let Kallstrom leave and take Renato Augusto instead.
Posted from
United States -
I cannot WAIT for this game, it should be a helluva match. If you can find a way to watch it, lemme know.
Posted from
United States -
Christian, it will be broadcasted live on Olweb premium (7am est). You just need to get a premium account, which is 5€ per month (about $6.5).
http://www.olweb.fr/index.php?lng=fr&pid=301001 is the link, (French)
Just ask here if you need some help.Posted from
United States -
I think you can also get a pass for a week. But I think that’s something you have to order over the phone. I myself have Olweb premium, but I use it quite frequently. The only thing is that it’s in French, but the quality is superb - even watching from the US.
I’m sure the game will also be streamed by Pandora TV as well as Sopcast. Those links typically aren’t posted until half an hour before the match, but as soon as they are, I’ll post them here as well.
Posted from
United States -
This game is going to be amazing. I’m a Boca fan, so I never want to see River win, but I hope they don’t humliate Argentine football.
Posted from
United States -
I am really looking forward to seeing how Govou-Keita-Ben Arfa-Benzema play together. That should be fun…
Also, on the transfer rumors, L’Equipe writes this morning that Perrin might be looking for a striker to replace Fred, who should now be back in Lyon but is still AWOL in Brazil. I would very much like to see him confirm his potential at Lyon, but honestly, how much more can (and should) Aulas put up with? It is getting annoyingly embarrassing.Posted from
United Kingdom -
Links:
http://tv2.pandora.tv/peacecup/
sop://broker1.sopcast.com:3912/19959
And olweb premium, as Salieri said.
Posted from
United States -
Woo! Lyon 3-1 and in the final against Bolton.
Posted from
United States -
My first long post in awhile, here it goes:
1. Bodmer started out at Caen as a CB, so he should do alright, I just hope Paillot does not get discouraged, he has been doing well.
2. I do miss Cacapa, but if he was to resign, he would be 4th choice, and would not be considered an automatic selection. I think this may not be the best option, I want Paillot to play alot, thats how you improve and adapt. But if Cladio can find a club then maybe it could happen…
3. Kader Keita is a second striker, just like Malouda and Govou were before the tactical switch. Keita and Govou and Ben Arfa will be swapping positions frequently which is an interedting tactical move, it may work out well, I LOVE Kallstrom and Toulalan in the middle, cant wait for that. Finally…that ones for you Ged.
4. Has Diarra played poorly? I have only seen extended highlights, if he has its probably best to find him a new club and let Beynie backup Toulalan, or bring in someone else for the DM slot (I have a big long list if anyone wants to see it). NDaw would be one of them, he could be the next Djila. Kallstrom wont leave, period.
5. Willian no, Muller extension yes, and Riou two thumbs down and a fart noise
6. Itandje, yes. But Hartock is Itandje, so I dont know if that makes much sense. If we were to buy an African keepr, id buy Carlos Kameni, he probably wouldnt mind not be calling the N word and have monkey noises made at him anymore by his own teams fans, these are the luxuries that Spain has to offer…
7. Renato Augusto can come and wont have to replace Kallstrom, we have the non-Eu spots Salieri, wouldnt that be a much better solution?Posted from
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I’m writing up match commentary right now, and then I’ll respond to your comments, Corey, which are excellent as usual!
Posted from
United States -
Bodmer has proved he could play quite decently as a CB. Which makes me believes we do not need a new one, especially with Cris and Squallicci recovering soon.
Alou Diarra just agreed to sign to Bordeaux. Which explains why he did barely play today. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3710987618964917848&hl=en
Toulalan is a great player, I hope that awful Fabio Santos won’t play too often. The 4-4-2 scheme worked fine today though.
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And even with Diarra’s departure, the midfield is still very crowded, especially if we play 4-4-2. Then I think Renato Augusto would be good to take, but a great striker would be even better. Everything depends on Perrin’s chosen scheme.
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United States -
You are never allowed to complain about Lyon’s current kits ever again. Ever.
http://www.ludovic-giuly.com/index.php?page=buts_lecteur&id=1
It looks like a Native American quilt.
Posted from
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Hahaha. Those Justine Bridou kits. Those were the days when Lyon were really cheesy. Sorry you had to see that.
Posted from
United States -
That was so long ago Chris, congrats on finding that. The bet be on by the way. Inara, as usual, i eagerly await your response.
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Mat, out of the three theories you listed, I would like to believe it’s the third because I can see Aulas fanning the flames and pissing off Cayzac. But…Perrin seems to have a 24 hour hard on for his former players (Ziani, Rothen, now N’Daw) that I can see the first choice too. Perrin himself stated that he prefers French recruits to Brazilian ones, so he’s not as thrilled to be pursuing the Willian/Renato Augusto leads as Lacombe and Marcelo are. Lyon will have two EU spots available, which would give us more flexibility, though I think only one of the will be used and the other kept in reserve in case of an emergency (like Fabio Santos). I can’t believe Lyon would recruit Rothen though. I think it’s just Perrin’s wish inflated by the press, who has linked every left winger in the world with Lyon.
Corey: 1. This is Paillot’s first year in playing in L1, so I understand why Perrin is afraid to put too much responsibility in him. Especially for a high profile match like today’s. But Perrin did give him some time, so I’m hoping he’ll gradually establish himself as #4.
2. I don’t see Cacapa coming back either. He left because of playing time - Aulas did offer him an extension until 2009. Plus I hope he has the backbone to stay away if he can find another club.
3. I am dying to see Ben Arfa play as a second striker at Lyon. I think he’d do really well at it and hope PErrin tries out the 4-3-1-2 sometime soon. I personally prefer Keita over Govou in a 4-4-2 because Keita is strong, but Govou is tricky when he wants to be, and maybe he’ll thrive in the competition. And yes, Kallstrom and Toulalan were wonderful today. They were complimentary to each other. I love to see a Bodmer - Toulalan - Kallstrom midfield too.
4. Diarra is now a Bordeaux player. But I don’t know if Beynie is in Perrin’s plans. He wasn’t brought along to the Peace Cup despite Juninho’s injury, and Perrin said that he planned to use the youth players he brought to the peace cup.
5. I feel like the club wouldn’t be after Willian if it hadn’t been for the Corinthians thing. Though word on th street is that Corinthians can sell Willian for 15m and will use part of that to pay Lyon in cash, which I prefer.
6. I don’t see Itandje being Vercoutre’s back up for a year. If Riou couldn’t take it, I don’t see him doing it either. I was reading that Aston Villa are interested in him. So we’ll see.
7. Yes yes yes to Renato Augusto and Kallstrom at the same time! If that happened, I would walk straight out of my lab and spend the day celebrating.
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Itandje to Aston Villa i have heard, but they rejected Steve Mandana, so who knows. Renato Augusto is essentially a central attacking midfielder, but the boy (he is only a year younger then me) is tall and broad. he could be adapted into a skillful central midfielder, which is why i am all for him. Ederson would be a good option as well, he wouldnt need to much adapting which is a plus. Willian is anothe Fabio Santos. How many Brazilian kids who are destined to be the next big thing? He is not one of them, he just doesnt have what we need. I believe Govou will do well this year with the competition, and I believe he will garner more responsibility seeing as how he is a senior memeber of the squad. He has the skill and quality, just lacks the concentration. Paillot will be the #4, and he will work his way up to #1, its my dream. Beynie should be used, he has more potential then Clement did, I dont know what the problem there is. Maybe its the fact that Perrin played him at RB and he obviouslydidnt do well so perrin left him behind…kinda dumb. anyways, with diarra gone beynie will have to be incorporated, although I wonder what the status of Damien Plessis, Alexnadre Chaffard and Aurielin Bruginard are, they all can play CM/DM although Brug’s is a CB by trade.
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United States -
I can’t imagine Itandje being the backup of Coupet. He could be a starter elsewhere, especially when you factor in his age. Coupet is obviously going to be around till 2008 at least, and Itandje would be 26-27 by that time. He’s not a prospect for the NT either. I hope Lyon recruit someone younger instead.
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He will probably end up at Arsenal, which makes sense
Posted from
United States
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