Lille punch above their weight

After sparking a street party by reaching the last 16, LOSC Lille Métropole are looking forward to next Friday's UEFA Champions League draw.

Local fervour
An unexpected 2-0 win at AC Milan in their final Group H game saw Lille snatch second place in their group from AEK Athens FC and a place in the 15 December draw for the knockout rounds. Back in France, meanwhile, their fans were painting the town red and white. Not since Lille won their last French Cup in 1955 had the city been so stirred up by a footballing celebration, and while it was not exactly on a par with the euphoria that greeted France's 1998 FIFA World Cup triumph, it was pretty impressive for unfashionable Lille.

'Glad to be here'
"We want to keep the adventure alive," left-back Mathieu Chalmé told uefa.com. "We had to win in Milan and we did it so from here on, anything's possible. It doesn't matter who we play next, we're just glad to be here. The main thing is to keep playing like this." Determined to become heavyweight performers in France and Europe, Lille aimed to reach the last 16 for the first time last season but fell short of their target after scoring just one goal in six group matches. This time they managed it, becoming the first French side to beat Milan at the San Siro in the process.

'A small side'
"Doing this was one of our aims for the season," said coach Claude Puel. "It will just help us to grow faster in a sporting point of view." And while L'Equipe were hailing his side as European giants, Puel remained modest. "We're still a small side," he insisted. He has a point. The club's European standard new stadium is not expected to be ready until 2010 and with an annual budget of €20-30m, they are not even among the big spenders in Ligue 1. With their only European success coming in the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, they are not a big side in Europe either.

Powerful outsiders
However, while they are yet to match the form of Olympique Lyonnais in France, they are regularly outperforming the likes of Olympique de Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain FC, AS Monaco FC, FC Nantes Atlantique and FC Girondins de Bordeaux, finishing as league runners-up for the last three seasons. The draw in Nyon will hand them a one in six chance of playing Manchester United FC for the third time in as many seasons, but Puel is not too concerned. "We'll meet another great team," he said. "It will be another opportunity to improve and nothing else." The party is already over. Now the hard work must continue.