Olympique Lyonnais

Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and provisionally compete in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. The club won its first Ligue 1 championship in 2002, beginning a national record-setting streak of seven successive titles. Lyon has also won eight Trophées des Champions, five Coupes de France, and three Ligue 2 titles.

The team has participated in the UEFA Champions League seventeen times, and during the 2009–10 season reached the semi-finals of the competition for the first time after three previous quarter-final appearances. They once again reached this stage in the 2019–20 season. Olympique Lyonnais plays its home matches at the 59,186-seat Parc Olympique Lyonnais, commercially known as the Groupama Stadium, in Décines-Charpieu, a suburb of Lyon. The club's home colors are white, red and blue. Lyon was a member of the G14 group of leading European football clubs and are founder members of its successor, the European Club Association.

The club's nickname, ''Les Gones'', means "The Kids" in Lyon's regional dialect of Franco-Provençal. They have a long-standing rivalry with nearby team
Saint-Étienne, against whom they contest the Derby rhônalpin. French businessman Jean-Michel Aulas owned Lyon from June 1987 until it was purchased by American businessman John Textor in December 2022.

History

Origin (1899–1950)

In 1899, ''Olympique de Lyon'' formed a football team within the multisport club, Lyon Olympique Universitaire (LOU), which was originally formed in 1896 as ''Racing Club de Lyon''. During the early years of the club, the football section was often overshadowed by then-local rivals FC Lyon. Following numerous internal disagreements regarding the cohabitation of amateurs and professionals within the club, then-manager of the club Félix Louot and his entourage contemplated forming their own club.

Following months of meetings, Louot's plans came to fruition when a final meeting of around twenty people took place on 23 May 1950 in ''Café Neuf'' on Place Bellecour. During this meeting, the name Olympique Lyonnais was decided for the new club, as well as the club's colours of red and blue. Among the twenty people were Albert Trillat, credited with the club's name and colours, as well as Armand Groslevin who would become the club's first president. Days later on 26 May, Lyon-based newspaper, Le Progrès reported that the club had officially been formed.

Early success (1950–1987)

On 27 August 1950, the club played its first official match under manager Oscar Heisserer, defeating CA Paris-Charenton 3–0 in front of 3,000 supporters with Lyon's first goal being scored within the first forty seconds of the match. The majority of the players in Lyon's squad had previously played for LOU. In just the club's second year of existence, Lyon were crowned champions of Division 2 during the 1950–51 season, securing promotion to Division 1 for the 1951–52 season. The club maintained its place in Division 1 for the remainder of the decade, excluding a year's stint in the Division 2 for the 1953–54 season.

Lyon achieved moderate success during the 1960s and 1970s with the likes of Fleury Di Nallo, Néstor Combin, Serge Chiesa, Bernard Lacombe and Jean Djorkaeff playing major roles. Under manager Lucien Jasseron, Lyon won its first-ever Coupe de France title defeating Bordeaux 2–0 during the 1963–64 season. The club also performed respectably in the league under Jasseron's reign until the 1965–66 season, when Lyon finished 16th, which ultimately led to Jasseron's departure. His replacement was Louis Hon, who helped Lyon win their second Coupe de France title after defeating Sochaux 3–1 during the 1966–67 season.
Lyon was managed by former Lyon legend Aimé Mignot heading into the 1970s. Under Mignot's helm, Lyon won its third Coupe de France title during the 1972–73 season, beating Nantes 2–1.

Jean-Michel Aulas' presidency (1987–2023)

In June 1987, Lyon was bought by local Rhône-based businessman, Jean-Michel Aulas who took control of the club aiming to turn Lyon into an established Division 1 side. His ambitious plan, titled ''OL – Europe'', was designed to develop the club at the European level and back into the first division within a period of no more than four years. The first manager under the new hierarchy was Raymond Domenech. The aspiring chairman gave Domenech ''carte blanche'' to recruit whoever he saw fit to help the team reach the first division. They went on to accomplish this in Domenech's first season in charge, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. For the remainder of his tenure, however, the club underachieved. Domenech was replaced by former French international Jean Tigana, who led the team to an impressive second place in the 1994–95 season.

At the start of the new millennium, Lyon began to achieve greater success in French football. The club established itself as the premiere club in France, becoming France's richest club. Lyon also became known for developing promising talent who went on to achieve greatness not only in France, but also abroad and internationally. Notable examples include Michael Essien, Florent Malouda, Sidney Govou, Juninho, Cris, Eric Abidal, Mahamadou Diarra, Patrick Müller and Karim Benzema.

Lyon won its first ever Ligue 1 title in 2002, starting a national record-breaking streak of seven successive titles. During that run the club also won one Coupe de France title, its first Coupe de la Ligue title and a record six Trophée des Champions. The club also performed well in UEFA competitions, reaching as far as the quarter-finals on three occasions and the semi-finals in 2010 in the UEFA Champions League. Lyon's streak and consistent dominance of French football came to an end during the 2008–09 season, when it lost the title to Bordeaux. Several years later, during the 2011–12 season, Lyon won their 5th and most recent Coupe de France trophy in a 1–0 victory against Quevilly.

Lyon began investment in sports outside of football, operating an esports team in China, and in 2019 purchased a minority stake in the local ASVEL basketball club, specifically purchasing a 25% interest in ASVEL's men's side and a 10% interest in the women's side. The club later announced in December of the same year that it would buy an 89.5% stake in the U.S. National Women's Soccer League team known at the time as Reign FC. The purchase closed in January 2020 following approval of the NWSL board. Several weeks later, the rebranding of Reign FC as OL Reign was announced.

In the 2019–20 season, Lyon suffered a poor start to the season, and ended the season in seventh place, as the league was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. Lyon also reached the final of the Coupe de la Ligue, however, they eventually lost to Paris Saint-Germain 6–5 on penalties. Ultimately, this meant that Lyon failed to qualify for European competition for the first time in 24 years. In the Champions League, Lyon were more successful, defeating Juventus in the round of 16 and Manchester City in the quarter-final to reach the semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. However, they eventually lost 3–0 in the semi-final to Bayern Munich, eliminating Lyon from the competition. Two seasons later, Lyon competed in the 2021–22 Europa League season, eventually being knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals by West Ham 4–1 on aggregate.

On 8 May 2023, after 36 years of presidency, Aulas announced he would be stepping down as president of Olympique Lyonnais, having sold the club to American businessman John Textor in December 2022.

John Textor's presidency (2023–present)

In December 2022, following months of delays and negotiation, Textor's Eagle Group became majority stakeholders of Lyon, acquiring a 77.49% stake in the club. Textor also currently owns 100% of both Brazilian club Botafogo and Belgian club RWD Molenbeek, as well as a 45% stake in English club Crystal Palace.

On 16 September 2023, Italian coach Fabio Grosso, who is also a former player of the club, was appointed head of the first team. Eventually, with the club last in the Ligue 1 table, the team's management announced at the end of November 2023 that Grosso was fired after being in charge for just seven games. Academy coach Pierre Sage was named as the team's interim coach who led the team to finish in sixth place, qualifying Lyon to compete in the 2024–25 Europa League season having spent the two previous seasons out of European tournaments. In July 2024, Sage's interim status was removed and he was named the new permanent coach. On 27 January 2025, Sage was sacked as Lyon manager and replaced by Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca days later on 31 January 2025. Fonseca eventually led Lyon to a 6th place finish, qualifying Lyon to play in the 2025–26 Europa League season.

Ownership and finances

Olympique Lyonnais was owned by Rhône businessman Jean-Michel Aulas, who acquired the club on 15 June 1987. He serves as the founder and chief operating officer of CEGID (Compagnie Européenne de Gestion par l'Informatique Décentralisée). After ridding the club of its debt, Aulas restructured the club's management and reorganised the finances and, in a span of two decades, transformed the club from a second division team into one of the richest football clubs in the world. However, Aulas has been lambasted by critics for running the club as if it were a business. During this period, the club's holding company operated on the European Stock Exchange under the name OL Groupe, initialled OLG. Aulas currently serves on the board for the European Club Association, a sports organisation representing football clubs in Europe. He was also the last president of the now-defunct G-14 organisation.

In April 2008, business magazine ''Forbes'' ranked Lyon as the thirteenth most valuable football team in the world. The magazine valued the club at $408 million (€275.6M), excluding debt. In February 2009, Lyon were rated in the 12th spot in the Deloitte Football Money League, reportedly bringing in an annual revenue of €155.7 million for the 2007–08 season, which ranks among the world's best football clubs in terms of revenue.

In 2016, a Chinese private equity fund acquired 20% stake in Olympique Lyonnais Group for €100 million. The fund was managed by IDG Capital Partners.

In December 2022, American businessman John Textor completed the purchase of the club, owning 77.49% of the club's shares and thus becomes the new owner of the club. Under this arrangement, the club suggested that Aulas would continue to serve as president for at least three more seasons. However, on 8 May 2023, it was announced that Textor had replaced Aulas to become the chairman and CEO of OL Groupe, thus making him the new president of Olympique Lyonnais, ending Aulas' 36 years rule, during which more than 50 major titles have been won for both men's and women's teams. Jean-Michel Aulas was appointed honorary chairman, and ''L'Equipe'' reported that Aulas would be compensated €10 million for his exit and retain a 9% stake in the club.

On 13 July 2023, Frenchman Santiago Cucci was named to become the new interim executive president of OL Groupe, but later resigned in November.

The debts owed by the club increased by around €50 million in 2024, and on 15 November 2024, Lyon were threatened with a provisional relegation to Ligue 2 and a transfer ban if their outstanding debts are not paid off before the end of the 2024–25 season.

:''As of 13 July 2023.''

Stadium

Olympique Lyonnais used to play at the Stade de Gerland from 1950, the year the club was founded. In 1910, the mayor of Lyon, Édouard Herriot, came up with the idea to develop and build a sports stadium with an athletics track and a velodrome in the city. In 1912, the stadium was officially mandated and local architect Tony Garnier was given the reins in designing and constructing it. Construction began in 1914 with the hope that the stadium would be completed before the International Exhibition of 1914. Construction was halted due to the First World War, but construction was eventually completed in 1919. By 1920, the stadium was completely functional. In 1926, the Stade de Gerland was inaugurated by Herriot.

Olympique Lyonnais began playing at the Gerland in 1950 and remained at the stadium until 2016. The stadium originally had a cycling track, but was removed to increase the seating capacity to 50,000. In 1984, minor renovations were made to the stadium by architect Rene Gagis. This included construction of the Jean Bouin and Jean Jaurès stands. Further renovations were needed to prepare the stadium for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, as by that time FIFA had mandated that all stadiums used for international matches, including the World Cup, had to be all-seated. The north and south stands, known as the Jean Jaurès and Jean Bouin stand, respectively, were completely knocked down and rebuilt, and the athletics track that had remained, even after the cycling track had been removed, was taken out. The renovations were done by architect Albert Constantin. The new incarnation of Gerland had a maximum capacity of 40,500.

On 1 September 2008, Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas announced plans to create a new 60,000-seater stadium, tentatively called ''OL Land'', to be built on 50 hectares of land located in Décines-Charpieu, a suburb of Lyon. The stadium includes state-of-the-art sporting facilities, two hotels, a leisure center and commercial and business offices.

On 13 October 2008, the project was agreed upon by the State, the General Council of Rhône, the Grand Lyon, SYTRAL and the municipality of Décines for construction with approximately €180 million of public money being used and between €60–80 million coming from the Urban Community of Lyon. After the announcement, however, the club's efforts to get the stadium off the ground were hindered mainly due to slow administrative procedures, political interests and various opposition groups, who viewed the stadium as financially, ecologically and socially wrong for the taxpayers and community of Décines. The official name of the stadium was provisionally to be ''Le Stade des Lumières''.

On 22 September 2009, French newspaper '' L'Equipe'' reported that ''OL Land'' had been selected by the French Football Federation (FFF) as one of the 12 stadiums to be used in the country's bidding for UEFA Euro 2016. The FFF officially made their selections on 11 November 2009 and the city of Lyon was selected as a site to host matches during the tournament.

The first game played in the Parc Olympique Lyonnais took place on 9 January 2016. Olympique Lyonnais beat Troyes 4–1 with goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Rachid Ghezzal, Jordan Ferri and Claudio Beauvue.

Training centre

The Centre Tola Vologe was the training centre and club headquarters of Olympique Lyonnais before the move to their new stadium in 2016. It is located in the city of Lyon, not far from the Stade de Gerland. The facility is named after Anatole Vologe, commonly called Tola Vologe, who was a Lyon sportsman and was murdered by the Gestapo during World War II. The facility is known for its high-level training and several prominent players have passed through the youth training centre. These include Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, Sidney Govou, Alexandre Lacazette, Samuel Umtiti and Ludovic Giuly. The centre used to host training sessions for the senior team and also served as the home facility for the club's reserve, youth (both male and female), and female sides, who both played their home matches at the Plaine des Jeux de Gerland. Jean-François Vulliez is the current director of the centre.

Both the men and women teams now train within a modern complex right by the new Groupama Stadium in Décines. The youth Academy also moved to the neighbouring town of Meyzieu.

Colours and kits

Since the club's foundation, the primary colours have been red, blue, and white, with the latter being the most predominant of the three. During the early years of the club's existence, Olympique Lyonnais primarily played in all-white uniforms. In 1955, Lyon officials decided to add a red and blue chevron and blue shorts to the combination. In 1961, the chevron tradition was disbanded and the two strips of red and blue were shaped horizontally. After six years, the club returned to the all-white uniforms, but kept intact the red and blue stripes, but, instead of keeping them horizontally, inserted them vertically and on the left side of the shirt. Lyon began wearing the shirt during the 1970–71 season and wore the kits up until the 1975–76 season. For the 2002–03 season, chairman Jean-Michel Aulas announced that the club would return the kits. Lyon wore them, with several different modifications every year, for six of their seven consecutive titles.

In 1976, the club endured a drastic change to their kits, ditching the all-white uniforms for an all-red style, akin to English club Liverpool. The club wore the kits up until the 1989–90 season, with the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons being excluded due to the club adding navy blue vertical stripes to the shirt that was deemed unsuccessful. Following the 1989–90 season, the club returned to the all-white kits and, at the start of the 1995–96 season, the club returned the vertical stripes, but opted to insert them in the center of the shirt, instead of to the left. The club kept this style until the 2001–02 season. For the 2009–10 season, Lyon returned the horizontal red and blue stripes. In the Champions League, Lyon has used a variety of different colours as first choice, including red, navy blue, light blue, black, silver and fluorescent yellow.

Supporters

Olympique Lyonnais has an active fanbase composed of many groups of supporters. One of the club's most notable supporters group is ''Bad Gones'' ("Bad Kids"). The ''Bad Gones'' were established in 1987 around the time of Jean-Michel Aulas's purchase of the team and used to occupy the Virage Nord area of the Stade de Gerland, and currently occupy the Virage Nord area of the Parc Olympique Lyonnais. During the 2007–08 season, the group celebrated its 20th anniversary. The ''Bad Gones'' is the biggest group of supporters in France and have a very strong reputation in Europe, due to the club's control of Ligue 1, as well as Lyon's continued appearances in the UEFA Champions League.

Another notable supporters group is the ''Cosa Nostra Lyon'', who occupy the Virage Sud area of the stadium. The group was created in 2007 as a result of a merger between two groups, the ''Lugdunums'', which had existed since 1993 and ''Nucleo Ultra'', which formed in 2000. The merger was created to achieve a sense of stability among supporters. The group is no longer recognised by the club, but continues to operate in a functional manner. Other support groups include the ''Hex@gones'', which was formed in 2000 and sit in the Virage Sud area, the ''Gastrogones'', who occupy the Jean Bouin stand, and the ''O'Elles Club'', who sit in the Jean Jaurès stand.

The club also has support groups that are based in areas outside of the city of Lyon. The ''Gones 58'' supporters come from the department of Nièvre

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases