2008–09 Olympique Lyonnais season

Olympique Lyonnais
Season 2008–09
Manager	Claude Puel
Chairman	Jean-Michel Aulas
Current league position	3rd
Trophée des Champions	Eliminated
Coupe de la Ligue	Eliminated
Coupe de France	Eliminated
UEFA Champions League	Eliminated
League Top Goalscorer	Benzema (17)
Season Top Goalscorer	Benzema (23)
Highest Home Attendance	40,245 vs AS Monaco (11 April 2009)
Lowest Home Attendance	23,053 vs Metz (11 November 2008)
$\leftarrow$ Previous season 2007–08
$\rightarrow$ Next season 2009–10

The 2008–09 season was Olympique Lyonnais's 50th anniversary season in Ligue 1 and was their 20th consecutive season in the top division of French football. They were the defending champions having won the title the past seven consecutive seasons. They were entering the season after achieving their first ever double after winning the Coupe de France, along with their league title.

News

Following the 2007–08 season, it was announced by Lyon Chairman Jean-Michel Aulas that manager Alain Perrin would not be returning despite being the first Lyon manager to win the double. Lyon management attributed the firing to "Perrin's several malfunctions that affected the squad daily throughout the season" and their constant failure in Europe.^[1] Following an extensive search, which linked the Lyon managerial position to several managers, including former Manchester United assistant and current Portugal national football team coach Carlos Queiroz,^[2] Brazilian manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo,^[3] and former French players and managers Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc^[4] to name a few, it was announced on 18 June 2008 that Lille manager Claude Puel would succeed Perrin.^[5]

During the managerial search, Lyon made several transfers, though even prior to the managerial search, Lyon made a significant transfer deal, signing Brazilian midfielder Ederson from Nice in January for €15 million.^[6] The summer transfers included Hugo Lloris^[7] (€8.5 million) who was brought in to replace to outgoing Grégory Coupet, Miralem Pjanić^[8] (€7.5 million), Jean Makoun^[9] (€14 million) and John Mensah^[10] (€8.4 million), who was brought in to replace the outgoing Sébastien Squillaci.

Following last year promotions of youth players Sandy Paillot, Anthony Mounier and Romain Beynié from the youth scheme to the professional squad, Lyon signed another set of youth players to professional contracts. Midfielders Pierrick Valdivia^[11] (no relation to Chilean playmaker Jorge Valdivia), Clément Grenier^[12] and Saïd Mehamha,^[13] and striker Yannis Tafer^[12] were promoted to the first-team squad, although they will still play on Lyon's second squad in the CFA. Lyon also sign young prospect Timothée Kolodziejczak from Lens. Kolodziejcak, a teammate of Tafer and Grenier on the international stage, will initially move to Lyon on a loan with a purchase clause likely to occur at a later date.^[14] Also in an effort to increase their youths' playing time, Lyon re-loaned Sandy Paillot to Grenoble for the entirety of the season^[15] and loaned out midfielder Romain Beynié to Belgian side Tubize.^[16]

Notable departures included Loïc Rémy, who moved to Nice^[17] and French wunderkind Hatem Ben Arfa, who moved to rivals Marseille.^[18] The Ben Arfa move was put into speculation after Lyon officials argued that an agreement was not made between the two clubs.^[19] However, after a meeting between the two clubs organized by the LFP, the transfer was back on.^[20] Morevor, aforementioned central defender Sébastien Squillaci moved to Sevilla of La Liga.^[21]

Other departures include Grégory Coupet, who moved to Atlético Madrid after spending 12 years with the club,^[22] Patrick Müller and Frédéric Roux, whose contracts expired on 30 June 2008,^[23] and Marc Crosas, who returned to Barcelona after spending the winter on loan with Lyon. Inconsistent striker Milan Baroš additionally moved to Turkish side Galatasaray.

This summer also saw the departure of several Lyon youth players who will attempt to ply their trade elsewhere. Lossémy Karaboué,^[24] Alexandre Bouchard,^[25] and Aurélien Badin^[26] have moved to Ligue 2 sides Sedan, Châteauroux and Troyes respectively. The Italian Francesco Migliore moved to Belgian side R.A.E.C. Mons.^[27] Young striker Stephen Ettien moved to Scottish side Hamilton Academical,^[28] while Mohamed Bedda and Mickael Charvet earned trials at Strasbourg and Nice respectively.

Transfers

Summer 2008 In

Date	Pos.	No.	Name	From	Fee	Source
2008-01-29	MF	7	Ederson	Nice	€15M	Eurosport.uk
2008-05-15	FW	34	Yannis Tafer		Promoted from Reserves	Boursica.com
2008-05-15	MF	22	Clément Grenier		Promoted from Reserves	Boursica.com
2008-05-17	DF	15	Sandy Paillot	Grenoble	return from loan
2008-06-02	GK	1	Hugo Lloris	Nice	€8.5m	OLweb.fr
2008-06-05	MF	13	Pierrick Valdivia		Promoted from Reserves	Mercato365.com
2008-06-06	MF	18	Miralem Pjanić	Metz	€7.5M	OLweb.fr
2008-06-17	MF	17	Jean Makoun	Lille	€14M	OLweb.fr
2008-07-01	MF	31	Saïd Mehamha		Promoted from Reserves	Mercato365.com
2008-07-09	MF	26	Fábio Santos	São Paulo	return from loan
2008-07-27	ST	21	Milan Baroš	Portsmouth	return from loan
2008-07-21	DF	15	John Mensah	Rennes	€8.4M	OLweb.fr
2008-07-31	FW	39	Frédéric Piquionne	AS Monaco	€4.5M	OLweb.fr
2008-08-21	DF	12	Timothée Kolodziejczak	Lens	On loan	OLweb.fr

Total spending: €57.9 million

Summer 2008 out

Date	Pos.	No.	Name	To	Fee	Source
2008-05-26	MF	--	Mohamed Bedda	Strasbourg	On trial	RacingStub.com
2008-06-02	FW	44	Lossémy Karaboué	Sedan	Free transfer	Mercato365.com
2008-06-05	FW	12	Loïc Rémy	Nice	€8M	Mercato365.com
2008-06-24	GK	--	Alexandre Bouchard	Châteauroux	Free transfer	Football365.fr
2008-06-24	DF	36	Aurélien Badin	Troyes	Free transfer	Mercato365.com
2008-06-30	GK	35	Frédéric Roux	TBA	End of contract
2008-06-30	DF	4	Patrick Müller	AS Monaco	Free transfer	Setanta.com
2008-06-30	MF	21	Marc Crosas	Barcelona	loan return
2008-07-01	MF	18	Hatem Ben Arfa	Marseille	€12M	Mercato365.com
2008-07-05	GK	1	Grégory Coupet	Atlético Madrid	€1.5M	Soccerway.com
2008-07-14	DF	47	Francesco Migliore	Mons	Free transfer	LyonCapitale.fr
2008-07-15	DF	22	Anderson	São Paulo	loan	SkySports.com
2008-07-17	DF	29	Sébastien Squillaci	Sevilla	€6.5M	UEFA.com
2008-08-20	DF	15	Sandy Paillot	Grenoble	On loan	Mercato365.com
2008-08-21	MF	24	Romain Beynié	Tubize	On loan	Mercato365.com
2008-08-26	FW	21	Milan Baroš	Galatasaray	€5.5M	Galatasaray.org
2008-08-30	FW	--	Stephen Ettien	Hamilton Academical	Free transfer	AcciesFC.co.uk

Total income: €33.5 million

Winter 2009 out

Date	Pos.	No.	Name	To	Fee	Source
2009-01-23	DF	22	Anderson	Cruzeiro	Loan	Mercato365.com
2009-01-31	DF	33	Mickaël Charvet	Ajaccio	Free transfer	Mercato365.fr
2009-03-01	FW	9	Fred	Fluminense	Free	SkySports.com

Squad information

Last updated May 30, 2009

N	P	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK		Lloris	29	EU	2008	45	0	2013	€8.5M
2	DF		Clerc	33	EU	2002	103	1	2010	Youth system
3	DF		Cris (VC)	38	Non-EU	2004	193	17	2011	€3.5M
4	DF		Boumsong	36	EU	2008	60	2	2011	€3M
5	MF		Bodmer	33	EU	2007	70	7	2011	€6.5M
6	MF		Källström	33	EU	2006	134	12	2010	€8M
7	MF		Ederson	30	Non-EU	2008	45	5	2013	€15M
8	MF		Juninho (captain)	41	EU	2001	303	100	2010	Free
10	FW		Benzema	28	EU	2004	141	63	2013	Youth system
11	DF		Grosso	38	EU	2007	76	2	2011	€7.5M
12	DF		Kolodziejczak	24	EU	2008	1	0	Undisclosed	Loan
13	MF		Valdivia	28	EU	2008	0	0	2009	Youth system
14	FW		Govou (VC)	36	EU	1999	317	55	2010	Youth system
15	DF		Mensah	33	Non-EU	2008	17	0	2013	€8.4M
17	MF		Makoun	32	EU	2008	46	9	2012	€14M
18	MF		Pjanić	26	EU	2008	23	0	2013	€8M
19	MF		Delgado	34	Non-EU	2008	35	3	2011	€11M
20	DF		Réveillère	36	EU	2003	200	6	2011	Free
22	MF		Grenier	25	EU	2008	0	0	2011	Youth system
23	FW		Keïta	34	Non-EU	2007	70	8	2011	€18M
25	GK		Hartock	29	EU	2005	0	0	2009	Youth system
26	MF		Fábio Santos	35	Non-EU	2006	25	0	2010	€4.2M
27	FW		Mounier	28	EU	2007	27	5	2010	Youth system
28	MF		Toulalan	32	EU	2006	125	0	2013	€7M
29	FW		Tafer	25	EU	2008	4	0	2011	Youth system
30	GK		Vercoutre	35	EU	2002	47	0	2010	Free
31	MF		Mehamha	25	EU	2008	0	0	2011	Youth system
32	DF		Gassama	26	EU	2008	10	0	2011	Youth system
34	FW		Pied	27	EU	2008	0	0	2011	Youth system
35	DF		Fontaine	24	EU	2008	0	0	Undisclosed	Youth system
36	MF		Faure	25	EU	2008	1	0	Undisclosed	Youth system
38	FW		Lacazette	25	EU	2008	0	0	Undisclosed	Youth system
39	FW		Piquionne	37	EU	2008	26	4	2012	€4.5M

• Last updated: 30 May
• Source: Olympique Lyonnais and ESPN.com

Club

Coaching staff

Claude Puel, first season with Lyon.

Position	Staff
Manager	Claude Puel
Assistant manager	Patrick Collot
Assistant manager	Bruno Genesio
First team coach	Rémi Garde
Striker coach	Sonny Anderson
Goalkeeping coach	Joël Bats
Team doctor	Jean-Jacques Amprino
Team doctor	Emmanuel Ohrant
Fitness coach	Robert Duverne

Last updated: 31 July
Source: OLweb.fr

Stade de Gerland, current stadia of Lyon.

Other information

Chairman	Jean-Michel Aulas
Special Advisor	Bernard Lacombe
Club Ambassador	Sonny Anderson
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Stade de Gerland (41,044 / 112x65 meters)

Last updated: 7 March
Source: OLweb.fr

Team kits

Umbro will provide the kits for Olympique Lyonnais. Umbro have been the official kit provider of Lyon since 2003 and just last year signed an extension with Lyon until 2013.^[29] This season, Lyon will have brand new home, away, and Champions League kits. The kits were presented on June 30, 2008.^[30] The new home kit is original white with the red and blue vertical strip, along with single blue stripes along the shoulders. The new away kit is all blue with single black stripes along the shoulders and the new Champions League away kit is electric yellow with the red and blue vertical stripe, along with single red and blue stripes on the shoulders.^[31] The team's alternate away kit consists of the home shirt with red shorts and white socks. It is only worn when Lyon are unable to wear their white shorts in an away tie due to the designated home team wearing white shorts.^[32]

Supplier: Umbro
Sponsor(s): Novotel (home) and Ticket Restaurant (away)

Home Kit

Away Kit

Euro Kit

Alternate Away Kit

Goalkeeper Kit

Goalkeeper Away Kit

Pre-season friendlies

Lyon played a total of six friendly matches. Lyon opened up their pre-season on 12 July with a 3–2 victory over Nîmes in Albertville, near Tignes, the location of Lyon's pre-season camp. A week later, on 19 July, they traveled away to Bucharest to face Rapid București, which resulted in a 2–1 loss. They then took a trip to Belgrade to play against Partizan on 23 July. Lyon came out with a positive result, beating the Serbian side 3–1 with goals from Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou. They followed that victory up with another as they cruised to a 3–0 victory over Ligue 1 side Nancy in nearby Villefranche-sur-Saône. Their last friendly in the month of July would in turn be a 0–1 defeat to AS Monaco on July 29 in Annecy.^[33] Their final friendly match was the annual Trophée des Champions match. Since Lyon won both the league and the Coupe de France, they faced the club that finished in second place in Ligue 1 this past season, Bordeaux. The match was played on 2 August at Bordeaux's ground, the Stade Chaban-Delmas.^[34] After 90 minutes without a goal, Bordeaux defeated Lyon 5–4 on penalties to earn their first Trophée des Champions title, ending Lyon's streak of six-straight Trophée des Champions titles.

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance
July 12, 2008	Nîmes Olympique	H	3 – 2	Juninho  6', Tafer  40', Mounier  63'
July 19, 2008	Rapid București	A	1 – 2	Tafer  57'
July 23, 2008	Partizan	A	3 – 1	Sikimić  16' (o.g.), Govou  22', Benzema  64'
July 24, 2008	Nancy	H	3 – 0	Juninho  6', Pied  68', Tafer  77'	3,000
July 29, 2008	AS Monaco	H	0 – 1		3,500
August 2, 2008	Bordeaux	A	4 – 5 (P)		27,167

Competitions

Lyon opened up their Ligue 1 season in a positive fashion, defeating Toulouse 3–0 with a brace from Karim Benzema and a rare goal from Jean Makoun. Following a 0–0 draw away to Lorient, which dropped them to third in the league standings, Lyon rebounded with back-to-back wins over Rhône-Alpes rivals Grenoble and Saint-Étienne respectively. Following that, Lyon picked up their third-straight victory with a 3–2 win over Nice. The match was, however, marred with controversy—after trailing 0–2, Lyon got back into the match with two spectacular free-kicks from Juninho. With the match in injury time and looking to end in a draw, referee Jean-Charles Cailleux and one of his assistant referees ruled a handball infraction had been committed by Nice defender Vincent Hognon in the box, giving Lyon a penalty which was converted by Benzema. Looking at the replay, it could have easily been determined that the handball infraction had been without malice and that the penalty should have not been given. However, Lyon escaped with a victory, which moved them into first place. They followed this win up with back to back one goal wins over newly promoted side Le Havre and Nancy giving them five-straight league victories.

The following week, Lyon received their first loss in the league against Rennes that would later be described as a "thrashing" by the media.^[35] Lyon struggled in every aspect of the match and allowed Rennes striker Mickaël Pagis to score a hat-trick, the last goal being a beautiful strike from almost 30 yards out.^[36] The loss to Rennes showed as Lyon's horrible form continued drawing with both Lille and Auxerre the following two weeks. Lyon finally got back on track with shut-out wins over Sochaux, Le Mans and Monaco before heading into their showdown with imminent rivals Bordeaux. With Lyon playing at home, they proved to still be the most dominant French side in the league, defeating Bordeaux 2–1 with goals from Benzema and a beautiful goal from Kim Källström.^[37] The following week, Lyon got another test, this time in Paris. In this match, Lyon not only incurred their second defeat, but they lost their consistent right back Anthony Réveillère to injury with the player likely being out for the season, though he later returned to the squad.^[38] The following match, Lyon only managed a 0–0 draw in the downpouring rain against Valenciennes.^[39]

Lyon suffered their third defeat of the season the following week against relegation strugglers Nantes. Lyon came into the match apparently looking ahead to their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich and proceeded to underestimate the West Coast side, who defeated Lyon 1–2 with two goals from the Croat Ivan Klasnić.^[40] The loss was promptly followed by a showdown for first place with rivals Marseille the following week. Other than battling for first place, the return of Hatem Ben Arfa to the Stade Gerland was on the minds of supporters, as well as the players. However, despite the hype and build-up leading up to the match, including achieving a record television audience,^[41] both clubs failed to score a goal as the match ended in another 0–0 draw.^[42] Lyon finally ended their winless run with a 1–0 victory over Caen with Benzema scoring Lyon's lone goal, his tenth of the league campaign.^[43] With the victory, Lyon were assured first place heading into the three-week winter break.

Lyon returned from the winter break taking on Lorient. Despite getting an early goal from Ederson, Lyon failed to get a winning result leaving the match with a 1–1 draw.^[44] The following week, they rebounded with a 2–0 victory over Grenoble with Ederson getting on the scoreboard for the second-straight week.^[45] Due to Lyon's cup matches being postponed, they were forced to endure two cup matches in a span of four days before facing rivals Saint-Étienne. The match ended in another 1–1 draw.^[46] After a full week of training, Lyon again rebounded from a draw picking up a convincing 3–1 victory over Hugo Lloris' former club Nice, with Jean Makoun scoring an unexpected brace.^[47] This match also marked the league debut of youth product Yannis Tafer. The following week, they picked up another convincing 3–1 win, this time against Le Havre, with Makoun scoring again. This match also marked Lyon's third-straight match where a red card was given. The following week, Lyon again earned a victory, defeating Nancy 2–0. Lyon started the match without the majority of their regulars who were being rested for the first leg of their Champion's League showdown with Barcelona.

Returning from Champion's League play, Lyon faced Rennes, who was responsible for the champions first loss of the season. The match remained even until the 66th minute when Kim Källström scored following a gifted pass from the youngster Miralem Pjanić. The scoreline remained until injury time when Rennes striker Jimmy Briand scored after receiving a nice through-ball which caught Lyon defender Cris off guard. Briand proceeded to get a shot on the ball off balance, which got past the charging Hugo Lloris to tie the match 1–1, the eventual final scoreline. Lyon followed this draw with a defeat taking on Lille, whom they had just contested three days ago in a Coupe de France tie. With the match being played at the Stade de France and the clubs entertaining a record crowd, Lyon fielded a pretty strong, yet questionable side with players Mathieu Bodmer and François Clerc returning from a long absence and also having the task of defeating Barcelona in Spain in the second leg of their Champion's League clash. In the match, Lyon failed constantly to get on the scoreboard with the former mastiff Kader Keïta missing on numerous opportunities. Lille made sure they made good on their chances with Róbert Vittek scoring the opening goal in the 60th minute and Michel Bastos finishing off Lyon, scoring the second goal in the 88th minute to pick up a 0–2 victory.

After returning from their embarrassing defeat to Barcelona in Spain, Lyon suffered another embarrassment losing their first match at home this season to minnows Auxerre, despite both management and Claude Puel stating the club would respond positively to their elimination from the Champion's League. Fielding exactly the same lineup that lost 2–5 to Barcelona, Lyon failed for the second week in a row to get on the scoreboard losing 0–2 to Auxerre, who got goals from Ireneusz Jeleń and Thomas Kahlenberg, leaving Lyon to hope they get a positive result from the Le Classique in order to hold on to their first-place position.

They would indeed keep hold of first place as a result of Marseille's 3–1 victory over PSG. Lyon responded by picking up their first league victory in over three matches in a 2–0 win over Sochaux. They captured their second-straight league victory in a win over Le Mans with Karim Benzema securing a much-needed brace in a 3–1 win. With the likes of Marseille, Bordeaux, PSG, Lille and Toulouse on their backs, Lyon needed victories to ensure their eighth-straight league title. They proceeded to falter drawing with mid-table club Monaco 2–2. Despite being ten spots down in the table, Monaco were the stronger side forcing Lyon to come back from a goal down twice. The draw also dropped Lyon from the top spot, which they had held since the fourth week of the season. With Marseille recording a victory over Lorient hours before, Lyon needed a victory over Bordeaux to ensure they remain in the title race. Early on in the match, Lyon were denied a clear penalty chance after Ederson was taking down in the box by Bordeaux right back Matthieu Chalmé. Bordeaux proceeded to score just before half-time with a goal from the former Lyonnais Alou Diarra after Wendel hit the post on a shot off a corner kick. Chalmé would be involved in another denied penalty dispute later in the match, this time with Benzema. Despite the initial foul occurring inside the penalty box, referee Stéphane Bré ruled the foul had occurred outside the box where Benzema fell. Eventually, Lyon fell to Bordeaux dropping the defending champions to third and, instead of fighting for the title, were now fighting for the third and final Champions League place with PSG, whom they faced next week. Played on a Friday, Lyon failed to score a goal for the second straight week as the match ended in a 0–0 draw. The next week against Valenciennes, Lyon endured their seventh defeat of the season, losing 0–2. The lost effectively, but not mathematically, eliminated Lyon from winning their eight consecutive title. That occurred the following week. Despite defeating Nantes 3–0 with Jean Makoun scoring a brace, a victory by Bordeaux over Valenciennes eliminated Lyon from title contention.

Instead of reminiscing, Lyon took the opportunity to focus on qualifying for next year's UEFA Champions League with a key match against Marseille. Though they were positioned for the third qualifying round in the standings, Lyon looked to jump Marseille into second position to go directly through the group stage. In front of a record crowd for a Marseille match, Lyon cruised to a 3–1 victory, with Benzema finally ending his goal drought scoring a brace. Juninho scored the third goal. The following week, against Caen, Juninho and Benzema scored again in a 3–1 victory. For Juninho, it was his 100th career goal for Lyon. Juninho also received a standing ovation upon being substituted out, in what some knew was his final match at the Stade Gerland. Unfortunately, the victory was with malice since Marseille also won that week. Lyon were now guaranteed to finish in the third spot, meaning they would be seeded directly into the Playoff round, where they might end up facing the likes of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup champions Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting CP.

Ligue 1

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Bordeaux (C)	38	24	8	6	64	34	+30	80	2009–10 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2	Marseille	38	22	11	5	67	35	+32	77
3	Lyon	38	20	11	7	52	29	+23	71	2009–10 UEFA Champions League Play-off round
4	Toulouse	38	16	16	6	45	27	+18	64	2009–10 UEFA Europa League Play-off round
5	Lille	38	17	13	8	51	39	+12	64	2009–10 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round

Updated to games played on May 30, 2009.
Source: Standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	20	11	7	49	28	+21	71	10	8	1	29	14	+15	10	3	6	20	14	+6

Source: lfp.fr

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	N	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	D	D	W	W	W	W	L	D	L	D	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	D	L	L	W	W	D	L	D	L	W	W	W	D

Source: lfp.fr
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Date[48]	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Position	Referee
2008
10 August	Toulouse	H	3 – 0	Makoun  12', Benzema  58', 66'	36,448	1st	Fredy Fautrel
17 August	Lorient	A	0 – 0		14,617	3rd	Antony Gautier
23 August	Grenoble	H	2 – 0	Makoun  6', Benzema  36'	38,754	2nd	Hervé Piccirillo
31 August	Saint-Étienne	A	1 – 0	Benzema  56'	34,704	2nd	Laurent Duhamel
13 September	Nice	H	3 – 2	Juninho  40', 71', Benzema  90'	35,925	1st	Jean-Charles Cailleux
20 September	Le Havre	A	1 – 0	Ederson  44'	16,211	1st	Philippe Kalt
27 September	Nancy	H	2 – 1	Benzema  31', Fred  36'	36,895	1st	Stéphane Bré
5 October	Rennes	A	0 – 3		27,816	1st	Damien Ledentu
18 October	Lille	H	2 – 2	Chedjou  23' (o.g.), Grosso  76'	38,314	1st	Thierry Auriac
25 October	Auxerre	A	0 – 0		15,042	1st	Saïd Ennjimi
29 October	Sochaux	A	2 – 0	Benzema  66', Delgado  90+2'	17,482	1st	Antony Gautier
2 November	Le Mans	H	2 – 0	Benzema  22', Juninho  55'	36,456	1st	Lionel Jaffredo
8 November	AS Monaco	A	1 – 0	Fred  54'	10,444	1st	Hervé Piccirillo
16 November	Bordeaux	H	2 – 1	Benzema  33', Källström  38'	36,341	1st	Bertrand Layec
22 November	PSG	A	0 – 1		44,780	1st	Stéphane Lannoy
29 November	Valenciennes	H	0 – 0		35,988	1st	Bruno Coue
6 December	Nantes	A	1 – 2	Piquionne  44'	26,624	1st	Damien Ledentu
14 December	Marseille	H	0 – 0		39,638	1st	Stéphane Bré
20 December	Caen	A	1 – 0	Benzema  42'	20,613	1st	Lionel Jaffredo
2009
10 January	Lorient	H	1 – 1	Ederson  9'	34,809	1st	Hervé Piccirillo
17 January	Grenoble	A	2 – 0	Ederson  15', Delgado  77'	19,264	1st	Thierry Auriac
1 February	Saint-Étienne	H	1 – 1	Juninho  53'	38,590	1st	Stéphane Lannoy
7 February	Nice	A	3 – 1	Makoun  19', 80', Benzema  27'	12,844	1st	Bertrand Layec
14 February	Le Havre	H	3 – 1	Ederson  34', Keïta  44', Juninho  73'	37,118	1st	Alain Hamer
21 February	Nancy	A	2 – 0	Cris  19', Benzema  90'	18,953	1st	Fredy Fautrel
1 March	Rennes	H	1 – 1	Källström  66'	34,870	1st	Philippe Kalt
7 March	Lille	N	0 – 2		78,056	1st	Saïd Ennjimi
14 March	Auxerre	H	0 – 2		37,846	1st	Thierry Auriac
22 March	Sochaux	H	2 – 0	Ederson  14', Mounier  70'	37,334	1st	Olivier Thual
4 April	Le Mans	A	3 – 1	Boumsong  18', Benzema  44', 57'	13,175	1st	Philippe Malige
11 April	AS Monaco	H	2 – 2	Cris  65', Piquionne  81'	40,245	2nd	Antony Gautier
19 April	Bordeaux	A	0 – 1		32,858	3rd	Stéphane Bré
24 April	PSG	H	0 – 0		38,827	3rd	Bertrand Layec
2 May	Valenciennes	A	0 – 2			3rd	Hervé Piccirillo
12 May	Nantes	H	3 – 0	Makoun  7', 34', Mounier  77'	36,792	3rd	Lionel Jaffredo
17 May	Marseille	A	3 – 1	Benzema  31', 42', Juninho  90'	56,498	3rd	Stéphane Lannoy
23 May	Caen	H	3 – 1	Juninho  36', Govou  65', Benzema  86'	39,312	3rd	Damien Ledentu
30 May	Toulouse	A	0 – 0		33,462	3rd	Antony Gautier

UEFA Champions League

Lyon entered the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League for the eighth-straight season. Due to finishing as champions of Ligue 1 the past season, Lyon again entered directly to the group stage. The draw for the group stage was determined on August 28, 2008. Lyon were paired with the defending German champions Bayern Munich, Italian side Fiorentina and the Romanian runner-ups Steaua București.

Lyon began their Champions League quest at home taking on Fiorentina. Lyon also unveiled their fluorescent green third kit in this match. As with the Nice match, which occurred just four days before, this match had its share of controversy. Following a disappointing first half, with Fiorentina leading 0–2 after two goals from Alberto Gilardino, Lyon came out for the second half with scoring in mind. With Lyon attacking, following a cross into the box, a collision occurred just inside the field of play between Frédéric Piquionne and Fiorentina defender Luciano Zauri, which unexpectedly injured the latter. Following a clearance by the Fiorentina defence, it was expected, by Fiorentina, that the ball would be put out of play with fair play being in mind. However, with Lyon trailing 0–2 and several Lyon players not having any idea of Zauri being down, they proceeded to attack and eventually a goal was scored by Piquionne. Following this incident, Lyon still trailed 1–2, but in the 86th minute, after earning a free kick, Juninho and Benzema proceeded to display excellent and sly teamwork as Benzema equalised for his side drawing the match 2–2 and giving both clubs one point through one round.

With one point in hand, Lyon traveled to Munich to take on group leaders Bayern, who defeated Steaua București 1–0 on the opening matchday. With both teams coming off unimpressive matches a couple of days before (Lyon an unspectacular 2–1 victory over Nancy and Bayern, a 0–1 loss away to Hannover 96), the match showed why with Lyon's only goal coming off the head of Bayern defender Martín Demichelis in the 25th minute from one of Juninho's spot-kicks. Bayern later equalised through Zé Roberto in the second half. Though Lyon had decent chances, including one where Karim Benzema had a chance to capitalize on a Bayern mistake late in the second half, the match remained 1–1 with Lyon leaving Munich with just two points through two matches.

After starting off slow, Lyon rebounded picking up two victories in their home-away series with Steaua. Similar to last season matches with VfB Stuttgart, Lyon used these matches to get back into the competition defeating Steaua 5–3 in Romania. They came back from a 2–0 deficit and a 3–2 one-goal deficit before finishing off the Romanian side in the latter portion of the second half with a goal from Benzema and a brace from Fred. The second match was a positive result as well, with Lyon picking up a solid 2–0 victory with goals from Juninho and Anthony Réveillère. With the result in the other match between Bayern and Fiorentina being a draw, this moved Lyon into first place in the group (on goal differential) heading into the final two matchdays.

With the group stage drawing to an end and injuries piling up, Lyon traveled to Florence to again face Fiorentina. Despite having injury troubles at the back of the defense, Lyon performed well and only conceded one goal, again from Alberto Gilardino, though at the time of the goal, Lyon were up 2–0 after goals from Jean Makoun and Karim Benzema. Despite chances from Juninho and Ederson, in which both players hit the post in amazing fashion, the scoreline remained as Lyon booked their place in the knockout stage. In the final group stage match, which decided what team would finish first place in the group, Bayern Munich defeated Lyon 2–3, scoring all three of their goals in the first half. Lyon controlled the second half with two goals from Sidney Govou and Benzema, but could not get a third to draw the match or a fourth to win the group. With this result, Lyon went through as second.

Group F

UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Group F

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Bayern 6 4 2 0 12 4 +8 14 Lyon 6 3 2 1 14 10 +4 11 Fiorentina 6 1 3 2 5 8 −3 6 Steaua 6 0 1 5 3 12 −6 1

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	D	D	W	W	W	L	D	L

Source: eufa.com
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Position	Referee
17 September 2008	Fiorentina	H	2 – 2	Piquionne  73', Benzema  86'	37,500	2nd	Peter Fröjdfeldt
30 September 2008	Bayern Munich	A	1 – 1	Martín Demichelis  25' (o.g.)	64,000	2nd	Kyros Vassaras
21 October 2008	Steaua Bucureşti	A	5 – 3	Keïta  23', Benzema  33', 71', Fred  69', 90+2'	20,000	2nd	Grzegorz Gilewski
5 November 2008	Steaua Bucureşti	H	2 – 0	Juninho  44', Réveillère  89'	30,243	1st	Manuel González
25 November 2008	Fiorentina	A	2 – 1	Makoun  14', Benzema  27'	35,000	1st	Viktor Kassai
10 December 2008	Bayern Munich	H	2 – 3	Govou  52', Benzema  68'	38,349	2nd	Howard Webb

First Knockout Round

For the six-straight season, Lyon reached the first knockout round. Due to finishing second, Lyon faced the danger of being paired with several big clubs that finished first in other groups. Notable clubs Lyon could have been paired with include Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus to name a few. Following the draw, Lyon indeed received a tough draw, being given La Liga side Barcelona. Lyon and Barcelona were in the same group the previous Champions League season. Lyon lost to Barcelona 0–3 at the Camp Nou, but played well enough to earn a 2–2 draw at home.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
24 February 2009	First knockout round First leg	Barcelona	H	1 – 1	Juninho  7'	39,258	Wolfgang Stark
11 March 2009	First knockout round Second leg	Barcelona	A	2 – 5	Makoun  44', Juninho  48'	93,062	Tom Øvrebø

In the opening leg at the Gerland, Lyon got off to a quick start scoring in just the seventh minute with a deceiving free kick, from an odd angle, by Juninho, which confused Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés and eventually with into the inside of the side netting. Lyon continued to perform well into the first half, with the defence constantly pressing Barcelona's attack and Lyon's offence missing on a variety of goal chances. Barcelona eventually got its equaliser from the head of Thierry Henry, drawing the match at 1–1. This was the final scoreline as Lyon headed into the second leg at the Camp Nou.

In the second leg, the exact opposite occurred, with Barcelona constantly pressurizing Lyon in the first half, leaving Barcelona to control the match with most of the possession occurring in Barça's attack. This showed as Barcelona earned first half goals from Henry twice, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o, which effectively ended Lyon's chances of advancing to the quarter-finals, despite Jean Makoun and Juninho scoring back-to-back goals in the 44th and 48th minutes respectively. The final scoreline eventually was 2–5, eliminating Lyon from the Champion's League for the seventh consecutive season and for the third consecutive season in the Round of 16.

Coupe de la Ligue

Lyon entered the Coupe de la Ligue season having last won the cup in 2001. The previous season, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Le Mans. As with all other years, Lyon entered the cup in the Round of 16 as they qualified for the UEFA Champions League, where they faced last year's relegated side Metz. However, despite being relegated last season, Metz pulled off a tremendous 1–3 victory eliminating the defending league champions from the competition for the 8th straight season. Since winning the title in 2001, Lyon have only made it to January (usually when the quarter-finals take place) four times.

Date	Round	Opponents	H/A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
11 November 2008	Round of 16	Metz	H	1 – 3	Cris  48'	23,053	Fredy Fautrel

Coupe de France

Lyon entered the 2008–2009 Coupe de France season as defending champions, having won the title the previous season in a highly contested 1–0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain. Lyon began the defense of their title heading to the West coast to take on the Brittany-based side US Concarneau. The match was postponed from its assigned 3 January date due to a frozen pitch and was rescheduled to be played on January 24, 2009. Though Lyon were the dominant side the entire match, the score at halftime was only 2–0. Lyon came out blazing in the second half scoring four goals, three of them in the final six minutes of the match to defeat Concarneau by a score of 6–0.

Lyon advanced to the Round of 32 where they faced rivals Marseille in what was the first big draw of the Cup. In the match, Lyon got off to a quick start with Karim Benzema scoring the first goal in just the second minute. The rest of the match was fairly even, though, marred with several incidents, including former Lyon player Hatem Ben Arfa receiving a barrage of boos when he entered as a substitute in the 16th minute, as well as every time he touched the ball and Lyon player Kader Keïta picking up a second yellow card for elbowing new Marseille player Brandão in the face. In the end, Benzema's goal was the only goal of the match with Lyon securing their place in the Round of 16, where they faced another secondary rival, Lille. Lille, whom Lyon were to face in a league tie three days later, opened the scoring with a goal from Michel Bastos in the 22nd minute. Lyon responded just two minutes later with a goal from Jean Makoun. Just before half-time, Lille's prolific youngster Eden Hazard scored to give Lille a 2–1 lead. Lyon again responded just two minutes later in injury time with a goal from a Lyon youngster Anthony Mounier, thus evening the match heading into halftime. With Lyon constantly responding back, Lille effectively ended Lyon's chances of defending their title by scoring at the death with a goal from Nicolas Fauvergue giving Lyon no time to respond back, eliminating the defending champions from the Coupe de France.

Date	Round	Opponents	H/A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
24 January	Round of 64	Concarneau	A	6 – 0	Boumsong  29', Mounier  36', 63', Delgado  86', Keïta  89', Piquionne  90+2'	15,000	Fredy Fautrel
28 January	Round of 32	Marseille	H	1 – 0	Benzema  2'	28,304	Laurent Duhamel
4 March	Round of 16	Lille	A	2 – 3	Makoun  24', Mounier  45'	16,000	Stéphane Bré

Start formations

Qnt	Formation	Match(es)
2	4-4-1-1	2, 13
7	4-4-2	3, 8, 11, 12, 14, 19, 20
12	4-2-3-1	1, 4, 6, 16, UCL 6, 21, CDF 2, 22, 25, CDF 3, 34, 36
27	4-3-3	5, UCL 1, 7, UCL 2, 9, UCL 3, 10, UCL 4, CDL 1, 15, UCL 5, 17, 18, CDF 1, 23, 24, UCL K1, 26, 27, UCL K2, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38

Last updated: 30 May 2009
Source: Match reports in Competitive matches
Only competitive matches.

Starting 11

Note: Formation shown indicates formation used in
club's league match against Toulouse on May 30.

No. Pos Nat Name MS Notes 1 GK Lloris 45 2 RB Clerc 10 15 CB Mensah 17 5 CB Bodmer 17 6 LB Källström 28 18 CM Pjanić 7 28 DM Toulalan 38 17 CM Makoun 36 14 RW Govou 17 27 LW Mounier 12 10 FW Benzema 40 } Lloris Clerc Mensah Bodmer Källström Pjanić Toulalan Makoun Mounier Govou Benzema Last updated: 30 May 2009 Source: Squad stats and Start formations. Only competitive matches. Using the most used start formation. Ordered by position on pitch (from back right to front left). Squad stats Appearances and goals Last updated on May 30, 2009. No. Pos Nat Player Total Ligue 1 Champions League Coupe de la Ligue Coupe de France Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals 1 GK Hugo Lloris 45 0 35 0 8 0 0 0 2 0 2 DF François Clerc 10 0 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 DF Cris 44 3 34 2 6 0 1 1 3 0 4 DF Jean-Alain Boumsong 43 2 32 1 8 0 0 0 3 1 5 MF Mathieu Bodmer 20 0 17 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 MF Kim Källström 41 2 32 2 6 0 1 0 2 0 7 MF Ederson 45 5 35 5 8 0 1 0 1 0 8 MF Juninho 38 10 29 7 7 3 1 0 1 0 10 FW Karim Benzema 46 23 36 17 8 5 0 0 2 1 11 DF Fabio Grosso 32 1 22 1 6 0 1 0 3 0 12 DF Timothée Kolodziejczak 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 MF Pierrick Valdivia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 FW Sidney Govou 19 2 15 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 15 DF John Mensah 17 0 12 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 17 MF Jean Makoun 46 9 35 7 8 1 1 0 2 1 18 MF Miralem Pjanić 23 0 20 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 19 FW César Delgado 27 3 20 2 4 0 0 0 3 1 20 DF Anthony Réveillère 23 1 19 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 22 MF Clément Grenier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 FW Kader Keïta 29 3 21 1 5 1 1 0 2 1 25 GK Joan Hartock 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 MF Fábio Santos 9 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 27 FW Anthony Mounier 26 5 18 2 4 0 1 0 3 3 28 MF Jérémy Toulalan 43 0 33 0 8 0 0 0 2 0 29 FW Yannis Tafer 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 30 GK Rémy Vercoutre 5 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 31 MF Saïd Mehamha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 DF Lamine Gassama 10 0 7 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 34 FW Jérémy Pied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 DF Thomas Fontaine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 DF Sébastien Faure 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 38 FW Alexandre Lacazette 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39 FW Frédéric Piquionne 26 4 19 2 3 1 1 0 3 1 Players sold/retired after the start of the season: 9 FW Fred 20 4 15 2 4 2 1 0 0 0

Other statistics

Last updated May 30, 2009

Note: For all competitive competitions

No.	Pos.	Nationality	Player	Assists	Minutes Played
1	GK	France	Lloris, HugoHugo Lloris	0	4070	1	0	0
2	DF	France	Clerc, FrançoisFrançois Clerc	0	805	0	0	0
3	DF	Brazil	, CrisCris	1	3898	10	0	0
4	DF	France	Boumsong, Jean-AlainJean-Alain Boumsong	1	3411	3	0	0
5	MF	France	Bodmer, MathieuMathieu Bodmer	0	1472	0	0	0
6	MF	Sweden	Källström, KimKim Källström	5	2710	4	0	0
7	MF	Brazil	, EdersonEderson	2	2823	4	0	0
8	MF	Brazil	, JuninhoJuninho	6	2679	8	1	1
9	FW	Brazil	, FredFred	1	1147	2	0	0
10	FW	France	Benzema, KarimKarim Benzema	4	3435	2	0	0
11	DF	Italy	Grosso, FabioFabio Grosso	2	2748	11	0	0
12	DF	France	Kolodziejczak, TimothéeTimothée Kolodziejczak	0	79	1	0	0
13	MF	France	Valdivia, PierrickPierrick Valdivia	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW	France	Govou, SidneySidney Govou	1	1284	5	1	0
15	DF	Ghana	Mensah, JohnJohn Mensah	0	1345	3	2	0
17	DF	Cameroon	Makoun, JeanJean Makoun	3	3650	8	0	0
18	MF	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Pjanić, MiralemMiralem Pjanić	1	714	2	0	0
19	MF	Argentina	Delgado, CésarCésar Delgado	3	1450	4	0	0
20	DF	France	Réveillère, AnthonyAnthony Réveillère	0	1952	4	0	0
22	MF	France	Grenier, ClémentClément Grenier	0	0	0	0	0
23	FW	Ivory Coast	Keïta, KaderKader Keïta	1	1653	2	1	0
25	GK	France	Hartock, JoanJoan Hartock	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	Brazil	Santos, FábioFábio Santos	0	485	0	0	0
27	FW	France	Mounier, AnthonyAnthony Mounier	2	1006	0	0	0
28	MF	France	Toulalan, JérémyJérémy Toulalan	2	3776	9	0	0
29	FW	France	Tafer, YannisYannis Tafer	1	51	0	0	0
30	GK	France	Vercoutre, RémyRémy Vercoutre	0	450	0	0	0
31	MF	France	Mehamha, SaïdSaïd Mehamha	0	0	0	0	0
32	DF	France	Gassama, LamineLamine Gassama	0	862	4	0	0
34	FW	France	Pied, JérémyJérémy Pied	0	0	0	0	0
35	DF	France	Fontaine, ThomasThomas Fontaine	0	0	0	0	0
36	DF	France	Faure, SébastienSébastien Faure	0	90	1	0	0
38	FW	France	Lacazette, AlexandreAlexandre Lacazette	0	0	0	0	0
39	FW	France	Piquionne, FrédéricFrédéric Piquionne	1	926	3	1	0

Reserves and Academy

2008–09 season
Championnat de France Amateurs	Groupe B, 7th
Championnat de France Amateurs Playoffs	Champions
Championnat National Under-18	1st[49]
Championnat National Under-18 Final Phase	Eliminated[50]
Coupe Gambardella	Eliminated
Championnat National Under-16	1st[51]
Championnat National Under-16 2nd Phase	Eliminated[52]
Top goalscorer	League: Yannis Tafer (CFA) (4) All: Yannis Tafer (CFA) (4)

The Olympique Lyonnais Reserves and Academy teams will also participate in seasonal activities this season. The second team, Olympique Lyonnais B, will participate in the Championnat de France Amateurs. The under-18 squad will participate in their league, the Championnat National Under-18 and the Coupe Gambardella. The under-16 squad will also participate in their league, Championnat National Under-16, as well as the Coupe Nationale des 16 ans, which is a regional tournament composed of regional squads that play against other regions. Lyon players selected will participate with the Rhône-Alpes team.

Match results

Note: For the squads of the CFA, Under-18, and the Under-16, click here and here.

Reserves
Championnat de France Amateurs Date Opponents H / A Result F / A Scorers Position 2008-08-10 17:00 CET AS Monaco H 0 – 0 11th 2008-08-17 15:00 CET Sporting Toulon H 2 – 2 Mounier  21', 42' 12th 2008-08-23 18:00 CET RCO Agde A 2 – 3 Tafer  6', 81' 14th 2008-08-31 15:00 CET Villefranche H 2 – 0 Tafer  13', Mehamha  92' 11th 2008-09-13 17:00 CET Saint-Étienne H 2 – 1 Pied  30', Tafer  32' 9th 2008-09-20 20:00 CET Martigues A 1 – 0 Plessis  24' (o.g.) 5th 2008-09-28 15:00 CET ASF Andrézieux H 0 – 0 7th 2008-10-11 18:00 CET Gazélec Ajaccio A 0 – 1 9th 2008-10-15 18:00 CET Jura Sud A 0 – 1 10th 2008-10-25 15:00 CET Marignane H 2 – 0 Piquionne  70', Pied  90' 4th 2008-11-08 18:00 CET CA Bastia A 4 – 4 Pied  23', Valdivia  28', 42', 69' 7th 2008-11-16 15:00 CET Montpellier H 1 – 1 Keïta  39' 7th 2008-11-29 18:00 CET AS Saint-Priest A 1 – 1 Valdivia  68' 6th 2008-12-06 14:30 CET Hyères FC H 0 – 0 7th 2009-01-17 18:00 CET AS Lyon-La Duchère A 5 – 1 Piquionne  9', 62', Gonalons  44', Court  60', Pied  94' 7th 2009-01-31 18:00 CET Sporting Toulon H 0 – 0 8th 2009-02-08 15:00 CET RCO Agde H 1 – 0 Grenier  43' 5th 2009-02-14 18:00 CET FC Villefranche A 2 – 3 Seguin  50', Barlet  57' 7th 2009-02-21 15:00 CET Jura Sud H 0 – 1 9th 2009-03-08 15:00 CET Saint-Étienne A 3 – 0 Abenzoar  20', Kolodziejczak  60', Gonalons  62' 9th 2009-03-11 15:00 CET ES Fréjus H 1 – 1 Mehamha  51' 9th 2009-03-15 15:00 CET FC Martigues H 3 – 2 Dedola  43', Piquionne  47', Mounier  50' 7th 2009-03-21 18:00 CET ASF Andrézieux A 1 – 1 Dedola  33' 7th 2009-03-28 18:00 CET Gazélec Ajaccio H 4 – 0 N'Diaye  39', Dedola  60', Lacazette  65', 94' 7th 2009-04-04 18:00 CET US Marignane A 1 – 0 Gonalons  58' 5th 2009-04-12 15:00 CET CA Bastia H 1 – 2 Pied  23' 7th 2009-04-15 15:00 CET Gap FC A 1 – 2 Dedola  44' 5th 2009-04-22 18:00 CET Montpellier A 2 – 1 Court  30', Barlet  85' 5th 2009-04-26 15:00 CET AS Saint-Priest H 3 – 1 Valdivia  24', 42', Lacazette  42' 4th 2009-05-02 18:00 CET Hyères FC A 0 – 2 6th 2009-05-10 15:00 CET Gap FC H 4 – 1 Pied  24', 27' (pen.), Fontaine  30', Lacazette  32' 5th 2009-05-16 18:00 CET ES Fréjus A 1 – 0 Lacazette  26' 3rd 2009-05-23 18:00 CET AS Lyon-La Duchère H 1 – 2 5th 2009-05-30 18:00 CET AS Monaco A 1 – 2 7th Final stage Round Date Opponents H / A Result Scorers Semi-finals June 2, 2009 Rennes H 1 – 1 4 – 3 pen. Valdivia  5' Final June 5, 2009 Sochaux A 3 – 0 Court  8', 68', Tafer  63'

Under-18s
Championnat National Under-18 Date Opponents H / A Result Scorers Position 2008-08-31 15:00 CET SC Bastia H 2 – 1 6th 2008-09-07 15:00 CET Clermont Foot A 2 – 4 7th 2008-09-21 15:00 CET Rodez AF H 3 – 1 4th 2008-09-28 15:00 CET FC Échirolles A 2 – 1 2nd 2008-10-05 15:00 CET Montpellier HSC H 3 – 1 2nd 2008-10-12 15:00 CET Aurillac FCA H 2 – 1 1st 2008-10-26 15:00 CET Grenoble A 1 – 3 3rd 2008-11-02 15:00 CET AC Ajaccio H 4 – 0 1st 2008-11-16 15:00 CET OGC Nice H 2 – 1 1st 2008-11-22 15:00 CET Saint-Étienne A 2 – 0 Heyninck  24', Tafer  48' 1st 2008-11-30 15:00 CET AS Cannes A 1 – 1 1st 2008-12-07 15:00 CET AS Monaco H 2 – 1 1st 2008-12-14 15:00 CET Marseille A 0 – 0 1st 2009-02-08 15:00 CET FC Échirolles H 1 – 1 1st 2009-02-15 15:00 CET Montpellier HSC A 1 – 0 1st 2009-03-01 15:00 CET Aurillac FCA A 1 – 0 1st 2009-03-08 15:00 CET Grenoble H 2 – 2 Belfodil  75', Tie Bi  79' 2nd 2009-03-18 15:00 CET Clermont Foot H 6 – 1 Salamand  26', Carra  42', Reale  53', Chavalerin  64',  86', Belfodil  75' 1st 2009-03-22 15:00 CET AC Ajaccio A 2 – 3 1st 2009-03-29 15:00 CET Saint-Étienne H 1 – 0 1st 2009-04-12 15:00 CET Rodez AF A 3 – 0 1st 2009-04-26 15:00 CET AS Cannes H 3 – 1 1st 2009-04-29 15:00 CET OGC Nice A 0 – 1 1st 2009-05-03 15:00 CET AS Monaco A 1 – 2 1st 2009-05-17 15:00 CET Marseille H 2 – 0 1st 2009-05-24 15:00 CET SC Bastia A 4 – 2 1st Final stage Round Date Opponents H / A Result Scorers Semi-finals June 5, 2009 Bordeaux N 0 – 0 3 – 4 pen. Coupe Gambardella Round Date Opponents H / A Result Scorers 2nd Round January 18, 2009 Clermont Foot H 1 – 0 Grenier  29' Round of 64 February 1, 2009 ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne A 5 – 0 Belfodil  36', Fourtier  49', Carra  69' (pen.), Chavalerin  83' Round of 32 February 22, 2009 Sochaux A 1 – 0 Lacazette  19' Round of 16 March 15, 2009 FCSR Haguenau A 6 – 1 Court  30', Mehamha  35' (pen.), Grenier  56', Chavalerin  75',  88', Belfodil  83' Quarter-finals April 5, 2009 PSG H 3 – 2 Tie Bi  20' (pen.), Grenier  65', Tafer  90' Semi-finals April 19, 2009 Nantes N 1 – 1 2-4 pen. Court  16'

Under-16s
Championnat National Under-16 Date Opponents H / A Result Scorers Position 2008-09-07 15:00 CET AS Saint-Priest A 0 – 1 11th 2008-09-14 15:00 CET Jura Sud A 5 – 2 4th 2008-09-21 15:00 CET FC Sochaux H 2 – 1 5th 2008-10-05 15:00 CET AJ Auxerre A 2 – 4 7th 2008-10-12 15:00 CET Besançon RC H 6 – 0 5th 2008-10-19 15:00 CET Clermont Foot A 0 – 0 6th 2008-11-02 15:00 CET FC Bourgoin H 5 – 1 5th 2008-11-09 15:00 CET CS Louhans-Cuiseaux A 4 – 2 3rd 2008-11-16 15:00 CET Dijon FCO H 4 – 1 3rd 2008-11-23 15:00 CET Saint-Étienne A 6 – 4 1st 2008-11-30 15:00 CET Vesoul H 7 – 0 2nd 2008-12-07 15:00 CET Clermont-Ferrand A 6 – 0 1st 2008-12-14 15:00 CET Annecy-le-Vieux H 3 – 0 1st 2009-01-18 15:00 CET Jura Sud H 7 – 0 1st 2009-01-25 15:00 CET FC Sochaux A 0 – 1 1st 2009-02-08 15:00 CET Besançon RC A 5 – 1 1st 2009-02-22 15:00 CET AJ Auxerre H 0 – 1 2nd 2009-03-01 15:00 CET Clermont Foot H 3 – 1 2nd 2009-03-08 15:00 CET FC Bourgoin A 3 – 0 2nd 2009-03-15 15:00 CET CS Louhans-Cuiseaux H 11 – 1 1st 2009-03-29 15:00 CET Dijon FCO A 4 – 0 1st 2009-04-05 15:00 CET Saint-Étienne H 3 – 0 1st 2009-04-19 15:00 CET Vesoul A 5 – 0 1st 2009-04-26 15:00 CET AS Montferrand H 1 – 0 1st 2009-05-03 15:00 CET Annecy-le-Vieux A 2 – 0 1st 2009-05-17 15:00 CET AS Saint-Priest H 6 – 0 1st 2nd stage Date Opponents H / A Result Scorers Position May 27, 2009 Le Havre N 1 – 0 2nd May 28, 2009 Lens N 0 – 1 2nd May 30, 2009 Nancy N 0 – 0 2nd

Olympique Lyonnais Ladies

2008–09 season
Manager	Farid Benstiti
D1 Féminine	Champions
Challenge de France	Eliminated
UEFA Women's Cup	Eliminated
Top goalscorer	League: Kátia (22) All: Kátia (28)

The Olympique Lyonnais Ladies will also participate in their respective activities this season. The ladies, just like their male counterparts, won the double last season. They will compete in the top tier French women's division, the Division 1 Féminine, the women's version of the Coupe de France, the Challenge de France, and the UEFA Women's Cup, where they will begin from the second qualifying round.

Note: For the Olympique Lyonnais women's squad, click here.

Match results

Division 1
Division 1 Féminine Date Opponents H / A Result F / A Scorers Position 2008-08-23 16:00 CET PSG Ladies H 2 – 0 Georges  34', Renard  47' 2nd 2008-08-31 15:00 CET Toulouse Ladies A 5 – 0 Abily  15',  55', Kátia  20',  70', Bompastor  85' 2nd 2008-09-07 15:00 CET Montpellier Ladies H 2 – 1 Kátia  29',  80' 1st 2008-09-14 15:00 CET FC Vendenheim H 12 – 0 Schelin  5',  70',  81', Kátia  10',  23', Simone  26', Abily  34', Thomis  39',  63', Brétigny  67',  73', Nécib  84' 1st 2008-09-21 15:00 CET FCF Nord Allier A 4 – 1 Schelin  32', Kátia  52',  59', Thomis  75' 1st 2008-10-05 15:00 CET FCF Juvisy H 0 – 0 1st 2008-10-19 15:00 CET RC Saint-Étienne H 6 – 3 Kátia  24',  68',  84',  94', Thomis  40', Abily  58' 2nd 2008-10-26 18:00 CET ASJ Soyaux A 8 – 1 Dusang 17', Kátia  22',  40', Nécib  44', Brétigny  64',  70', Schelin  68', Abily  72' 1st 2008-11-02 15:00 CET FCF Condé-sur-Noireau A 9 – 0 Schelin  2',  20', Kátia  25',  39', Abily  31', Brétigny  57',  82', Thomis  63', Traña  85' 1st 2008-11-09 18:00 CET FCF Hénin-Beaumont H 8 – 0 Brétigny  3',  14',  42',  79',  86', Schelin  60', Kátia  69',  80' 1st 2009-01-11 15:00 CET Stade Briochin Ladies A 5 – 0 Kátia  22', Schelin  37', Nécib  51',  88', Abily  68' 1st 2009-01-18 15:00 CET Toulouse Ladies H 2 – 0 Kátia  63', Abily  88' 1st 2009-01-25 18:00 CET Montpellier Ladies A 2 – 1 Traña  14', Abily  80' 1st 2009-02-08 15:00 CET FC Vendenheim A 3 – 0 Brétigny (2), Nécib 1st 2009-03-01 15:00 CET FCF Nord Allier H 6 – 0 Thomis, Schelin, Stensland, Nécib, Kátia, Brétigny 1st 2009-03-22 15:00 CET FCF Juvisy A 4 – 1 Kátia (2), Schelin (2) 1st 2009-04-19 15:00 CET RC Saint-Étienne A 4 – 1 Thomis  13', Schelin  88', Kátia  89', Traña  93' 1st 2009-05-03 15:00 CET FCF Condé-sur-Noireau H 4 – 1 Thomis (3), Renard 1st 2009-05-09 15:00 CET FCF Hénin-Beaumont A 5 – 0 Traña  34', Nécib  39',  67', Kátia  74', Thomis  80' 1st 2009-05-17 15:00 CET ASJ Soyaux H 7 – 0 Kátia  16',  52', Thomis  33', Schelin  41',  49',  56 ', Nécib  62' 1st 2009-05-24 15:00 CET Stade Briochin Ladies H 14 – 1 1st 2009-06-07 15:00 CET PSG Ladies A –

Challenge de France
Challenge de France Date Round Opponents H / A Result F / A Scorers February 22, 2009 Round of 32 USF Le Puy A 13 – 0 Stensland  2', Georges  31', Schelin  47', Franco  51', Thomis  59',  84',  86',  89', Brétigny  63', Kátia  76',  87', Traña  80' March 15, 2009 Round of 16 Saint-Maur VGA A 8 – 0 Kátia (3), Simone, Traña, Brétigny, Henry April 12, 2009 Quarter-finals RC Saint-Étienne H 3 – 0 May 2, 2009 Semi-finals Montpellier HSC A 0 – 0 3-4 pen.

Group B3

For more information, click UEFA Women's Cup 2008-09

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Olympique Lyonnais 3 3 0 0 18 1 +17 9 Arsenal L.F.C. 3 2 0 1 13 5 +8 6 SV Neulengbach 3 1 0 2 5 17 –12 0 FC Zürich 3 0 0 3 6 19 –13 0 UEFA Women's Cup Second Qualifying Round Date Round Opponents H / A Result Scorers 9 October 2008 2nd Qualifying Round SV Neulengbach H 8 – 0 Abily  8',  77', Necib  10',  43', Schelin  12', Bompastor  19', Georges  36', Thomis  39' 11 October 2008 2nd Qualifying Round FC Zürich H 7 – 1 Brétigny  2', Kátia  28',  43',  72', Schelin  66',  70', Abily  84' 14 October 2008 2nd Qualifying Round Arsenal L.F.C. H 3 – 0 Schelin  27',  80', Abily  76' Quarter-finals Date Round Opponents H / A Result Scorers November 6, 2008 Quarter-finals ASD CF Bardolino A 5 – 0 Schelin  12',  15', Abily  33', Franco  68', Brétigny  89' November 18, 2008 Quarter-finals ASD CF Bardolino H 4 – 1 Kátia  38', Petit  56', Necib  69', Brétigny  90' Semi-finals Date Round Opponents H / A Result Scorers March 28, 2009 Semi-finals FCR 2001 Duisburg H 1 – 1 Stensland  24' April 5, 2009 Semi-finals FCR 2001 Duisburg A 1 – 3 Thomis  45'

References

1. COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE
2. Lyon: Carlos Queiroz pisté?
3. Vanderlei Luxemburgo said he is unlikely to quit
4. Puel 'Very Happy' With Lyon Move
5. Claude Puel nouvel entraîneur général
6. Eurosport.uk
7. Hugo Lloris est Lyonnais
8. Miralem Pjanic est Lyonnais
9. Jean II Makoun est lyonnais
10. John Mensah est lyonnais
11. Valdivia passe pro
12. UNFP Trophies: OL players shine - Women’s team: two-time French champions (DiR)
13. Mehamha passe pro
14. Thimothée Kolodziecziak est Lyonnais
15. Paillot prêté à Grenoble
16. Beynié prêté à Tubize
17. Nice: Arrivée de Rémy
18. OFFICIEL: ACCORD POUR LE TRANSFERT DE BEN ARFA
19. Lyon Block Ben Arfa Move
20. Ben Arfa verra bien la Canebière
21. Squillaci completes Sevilla switch
22. Atletico sign Coupet from Lyon
23. VON BERGEN TO MISS EURO 2008 WITH HAND INJURY
24. Sedan: Arrivée de Karaboué
25. Chatearoux: Bouchard signe trois ans
26. Troyes: Trois nouveaux joueurs
27. Francesco Migliore signe à Mons
28. Hamilton make late triple signing
29. Umbro strengthens ties with Lyon
30. Lancement des maillots 2008/2009
31. Les nouveaux maillots 2008/09, enfin dévoilés
32. Benzema coup franc contre Saint-Etienne
33. Les matchs amicaux de l'OL
34. Le Trophée des Champions se jouera à Bordeaux
35. French champions Lyon slump to first defeat
36. Rennes 3-0 lyon, triplé de Pagis
37. Lyon beats title rival Bordeaux 2-1 to move seven points ahead in standings
38. Lyon defender Reveillere out for season
39. Lyon held by lowly Valenciennes
40. Nantes rallies to beat Lyon 2-1 in French league
41. OL-OM : Record historique
42. Lyon held 0-0 in top-of-table clash
43. Caen v. Lyon Match Report
44. Lyon v. Lorient Match Report
45. Grenoble v. Lyon Match Report
46. Lyon v. Saint-Etienne Match Report
47. Nice v. Lyon Match Report
48. Dates may change due to LFP scheduling structure
49. CHAMPIONNAT NATIONAL 18 ANS Classement
50. CHAMPIONNAT NATIONAL 18 ANS Phase2
51. CHAMPIONNAT NATIONAL 16 ANS Classement
52. CHAMPIONNAT NATIONAL 16 ANS Phase2 GROUPE 1