Olympique Lyonnais

Olympique Lyonnais (sometimes abbreviated to OL or Lyon) is a French football club founded in 1950. They play their home matches at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon. The club's chairman is Jean-Michel Aulas and the first-team coach is Gérard Houllier. The club is based in Lyon and has both men's and women's teams.

Early history

OL came into existence after a disagreement between the rugby and football sections of the multisports club Lyon Olympique, which has existed since 1899. The football section split from the rest of the club and chose a new name: Olympique Lyonnais. This is why supporters of OL claim that their club was founded in 1899.

Before 1950, the club enjoyed some success; after being eclipsed by FC Lyon in 1908 and 1909, they won the French Championship in 1910. By 1920, they had moved into the Stade de Gerland, a stadium seven years in the making designed by Tony Garnier.

Then called "Lyon Olympique Universitaire", the club rejoined the professional ranks in 1942, and won the southern pool of the final wartime championship by two points from Bordeaux. The national final pitted them against Rouen, who triumphed 4-0. These successes propelled them in to Division 1 at the start of the 1945/6 season, but headed by Félix Louot the club plummeted back into to Division 2 by 1946.

The return to "Ligue 1"

After several years in Division 2, Jean-Michel Aulas took control of the club in 1987 and invested in it with the ambition of European qualification within fifteen years. Under coach Robert Nouzaret, the club rose back into the top flight in 1989 with help from the coaching of Raymond Domenech, nowadays coach of the French national team. European qualification was achieved after a mere two years at the top level (only five years of Aulas' control); the following season however, the club diced with relegation back into the second tier.

In 1995, the club returned to the top, finishing second behind the "untouchable" FC Nantes, mainly thanks to a generation of players from the youth ranks - and primarily the striker Florian Maurice. The following year, the club took part in the European Cup, notably eliminating Lazio of Italy.

European football was again assured in 1997 through the backdoor of the Intertoto Cup, and has retained this participation up to 2005. The club's league positions contnued to rise - sixth in 97/98, third in 98/99 and 99/00 and finally second in 2000/01. Now they have won the league a record 5 times in a row.

The Modern Era

Lyon have dominated the top French level, Ligue 1, in the early years of the 21st century. After their second-place finish in 2001, OL have won five consecutive Ligue 1 titles (2002-2006), becoming the first club in French history to do so. Lyon's European ambitions have meanwhile never stretched beyond the quarter-finals, however.

The club has increased its budget, and become an established member of the G14, a lobbying group of the most powerful European clubs.

The club has attracted many top level coaches including Jacques Santini, Paul Le Guen and Gérard Houllier who have guided the team to the five Ligue 1 titles. The club's current playing staff includes Brazilians Juninho Pernambucano, Fred and Cris, French international strikers Sidney Govou and Sylvain Wiltord, the Norwegian forward John Carew and goalkeeper Grégory Coupet.

Honors

Ligue 1 Championship 5:

2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06

Trophée des Champions 5:

1972/73, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05

Coupe de France 3:

1963/64, 1966/67, 1972/73

Ligue 2 Championship 3:

1950/51, 1953/54, 1988/89

Coupe de la Ligue 1:

2000/01

7 participations in UEFA Champions League, from (1999-2000) to (2005-2006).

Detailed results of the games played by Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon), starting with the 1959-1960 season, in European football competitions (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Cup Winners' Cup ) and French Cups (Coupe de France (French Cup), Coupe de la Ligue (French League Cup) are given in Olympique Lyonnais in football Competitions.

Current squad

As of January 25, 2006

Former notable Players

External link

Official website

Notes

This page on their official website suggests that they consider this their foundation date rather than 1899 (translation: "1950, date of the club's creation")

French football clubs | G-14 clubs | Lyon

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