Lyon in Champions League Semifinals

By: Inara | April 23rd, 2007

For the first time ever, Lyon have made it past the cursed quarterfinal stages and are now two games away from the chance to finally get the European recognition that they deserve. But only one team stands between them and the final:

Real Madrid.

Before you accuse me of living in an Ecstasy-induced world, let me explain.

Technically, Lyon exited this year’s Champions League in the Round of 16 at the hands of ~~The Devil’s Spawn~~AS Roma. However, that doesn’t mean that Lyon’s European adventure is over. At least not according to Hollywood.

Goal! Goal! 2: Living the Dream is the sequel to Goal!: The Dream Begins. I won’t bore you with the summary, but it’s basically about a talented American soccer player (yes, soccer!) who somehow ends up Newcastle United . The sequel deals with his move to Real Madrid.

I saw the first Goal! and thought it was unrealistic. But I will watch the sequel to see Lyon play in a fake match (it might be a while until Lyon is in the semifinals for real, so I gotta take my opportunities as they come). But still, props to the producers for making a movie about football. It’s getting tiring of watching feel-good movies about baseball, hockey, figure skating, tennis, American football, curling, dog sledding, rugby, skiing, eating, and just about every other sport out there.

The movie has been out since February, but those of us living in the United States will have to wait until summer before we can watch it (legally, at least). The distributors of the movie have decided to coincide the release with David Beckham’s arrival. Go figure.

I don’t want to give away spoilers for those of you who haven’t seen the movie yet, but being the resident OL snoop, I have been able to discover that the writers of Goal! 2 have enough faith in Lyon’s potential to not only place them in the movie but as semifinalists. I’m kind of proud in an embarrassed sort of way.

Obviously, the Real Madrid-Lyon game isn’t real. The producers took clips of old RM-Lyon matches (there were four to choose from - none of which Real Madrid managed to win. *snicker*) and somehow spliced it all together to make a new one, except this time including the star of Goal!, Kuno Becker. That is why you’ll see John Carew and Mahamadou Diarra in Lyon kits though they are no longer with the team. Diarra, ironically, is at Real Madrid right now.

Goal!