Jeremy Toulalan Wants to Give Us Pleasure

By: Inara | May 4th, 2007

When I first read the title of this google translation, I thought that Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan was considering a career as a hustler (that would still allow him to earn money based on performance). Which is strange because he is the shyest member of the squad and has the worst sense of fashion. Hustlers are supposed to be snazzy, and dear Jeremy just…isn’t.

But upon reading further, it turns out that he simply wants to make the supporters happy when Lyon plays PSG this Saturday.

Darn. Another google translation that got my hopes up. Because let’s face it, if Toulalan quit Lyon to become a male prostitute, I would have so many more exciting things to write about. But since he isn’t, I’ll just have to post some pre-match information instead.

Lyon is playing Paris St-Germain (PSG) this afternoon at the Parc de Princes in Paris. Granted, Lyon has already won the title, but there is still a lot at stake.

Paris St-Germain vs. Olympique Lyonnais

May 5, 2007
Parc de Princes
11:10 AM Eastern Time (17:10 in France)

First of all, PSG desperately need three points to remain safe above the relegation zone. Even a point could be beneficial, so expect the PSG players to be playing like the lives of their families are on the line. But Lyon need three points too if they want to break two records within their reach: the number of away victories in a season and the number of points earned in a season.

Le Guen Secondly, PSG is coached by Paul Le Guen, the man who led Lyon to three consecutive titles and two consecutive CL quarter-final appearances. He resigned after his third title and was replaced by Houllier two years ago. Le Guen was the man who instituted Lyon’s 4-3-3, who figured out how to best utilize Juninho, who promoted Ben Arfa, Clerc, and Benzema onto the first team, and who welcomed Wiltord, Cris, and Reveilliere onto the team.

Le Guen has had a huge impact on Lyon, and his influence is apparent to this very day. I don’t want to undermine Houllier’s achievements, but I’m not far off when I saw that Le Guen built the car that Houllier is trying to improve.

PSG is also home to three former Lyon players: Peguy Luyindula, Pierre-Alain Frau, and Jeremy Clement, players who were pushed into squad roles at Lyon but now are blossoming under Le Guen at PSG.

Another reason why this match will be so explosive is that Lyon and PSG have met three times already this season, for the Trophee de Champions, the Coupe de la Ligue round of 16, and the home match in the first part of the season. PSG lost every time, and all three matches featured sketchy refereeing decisions that went in Lyon’s favor.

So you can say that PSG has something to prove.

It will be an emotional match for everyone, even the new recruits who never played under Le Guen. For Jeremy “I want to give you pleasure” Toulalan, his best friend, Mickael Landreau, will be manning the net for PSG, while this will be Milan Baros’s last match of the season (stupid suspension).

I was hoping to see Houllier experiment with a different formation, but he might not do that because there will be no Police Man manning the back line with Squillaci.

Lyon squad list: Coupet, Vercoutre – Abidal, Caçapa, Clerc, Réveillère, Squillaci, Muller – Toulalan, Juninho, Kallström, Fabio Santos, A.Diarra, F.Malouda – Baros, Govou, Fred, Benzema

PSG squad list: Landreau, Alonzo – B.Mendy, Armand, Yepes, Rozehnal, Dramé – Mulumbu, E.Cissé, Rothen, Chantôme, Clément, Baning Piètre – C.Rodriguez, Diané, Pauleta, Ngog

Benzema has recovered enough to be called up to the first team (he played with the reserves last weekend). Tiago is in Portugal because his wife is just about the give birth while Sylvain Wiltord and Jeremy Berthod were left off the team sheet. Cris and Hatem Ben Arfa are suspended for this match (Ben Arfa was red carded during last weekend’s reserve match, and apparently CFA suspensions carry over into the league).

On the PSG side of things, Luyindula is suspended, while Gallardo, Frau, and Traore are injured. Kalou is having a “a hemorrhoids crisis,” so he’s been left out too.