The “Rock of Gibralter” In Lyon.

By: John | July 22nd, 2008

My second favorite signing of the season- and I’m sure Cris’ favorite- was realized on Monday. John Mensah is officially Lyon’s new left-center back. After weeks of waiting for Sebastian Squillaci’s transfer to FC Sevilla to be finalized, Mensah is Lyonnais. The ex- Stade Rennais FC and Ghana National Team captain’s deal is reported to be 5 years and worth 8,4mill Euro.

I’ve come to realize that alot of our readers don’t read French and OL’s official site didn’t offer the press conference article in English. Add to that the fact that Google Translator turns texts into “Mandarin Chinese” instead of English, I thought I’d just offer an approximate translation of what was said by the main “players” at the signing and let you guys discuss what Mensah’s arrival means to the club in the comments section.

At Monday’s press conference, club president Jean Michel Aulas, Manager Claude Puel, and club advisor Bernard Lacombe showered Mensah with there usual words of praise for new acquisitions. I’ll go form order of least important comments i.e., Lacombe, to most important, Puel.

Bernard Lacombe offered the fewest words of the conference. He said about Mensah: “I spotted him during the CAN (African Cup of Nations) in Egypt where he performed very well. He’s a player with characteristics that resemble those of Cris.“

Jean Michel Aulas lofted heavier praise on Mensah: The objective was to attain the best defense, with Cris, in the Championnat. It’s done! Michael Essien, who is also Ghanean, told us that [Mensah] is even stronger than he.”

Mensah later shared his thoughts on joining L’OL: “Signing with a big club like Lyon isn’t easy. I had offers from other clubs, but my agent convinced me to join Lyon. Playing alongside players like Cris is a big challenge. When I played against OL last season, I was impressed by the supporters and with the city.”
John also spoke about his Ghanean predecessors, Abedi Pele and Michael Essien: They were big names at Lyon, and I hope that I will accomplish more than them.”

The most interesting words of the conference were spoken by Claude Puel. Puel gave an insight into the “pecking-order” for the CBs, talked about the flexibilty of the players at the position, and of course praised John Mensah:
“He’s a real defender, physical, explosive, smart, fast, and handles his responsibilities, as he did as captain at Stade Rennais. I’m very happy to acquire him and thank the president for having granted our request.

Puel went on to talk about the chemistry of his new stable of CBs:
In central defense, with Mensah, Cris and Jean Alain Boumsong, to them I have to add Mathieu Bodmer who can happily compensate for any absences, we are done[with recruitment] for the season in this area of play. There are no “subsitutes” and no one “position holder.” They are versatile players who can play on both sides. Therefore, there is no problem with them complimenting each other. I expect that we will have many matches to play, matches that are very close, perhaps with suspensions and injuries. Three central defenders won’t be too many to be succesful throughout the season and in all competitions.”

Yikes Claude! Three should be enough? Apparently no on filled-him-in on Lyon’s CB injury curse. Five was actually the majic number last season.