Ten claims to fame: Lyon
Thursday, March 30, 2017
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One of the most reputable talent factories in modern football, Lyon is more than a club to fanatical 'Gones', with one of the finest stadiums in French football awaiting last-eight visitors Beşiktaş.
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The Lyon men's and women's teams have made it to the last eight of their UEFA club competitions this season, with Les Gones aiming to fill a notable gap in France's footballing CV. UEFA.com lists their key assets.
Formed: 1950
Nicknames: Les Gones (The Kids)
UEFA club competition honours
• none
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 7 (2008)
• French Cup: 5 (2012)
• French League Cup: 1 (2001)
• They inspire loyalty. Current captain Maxime Gonalons, 28, came through the club's academy and has already played over 300 games. Nor is he the only Lyon thoroughbred in the ranks. "Half the team are Lyon through and through, but we don't get to the first team because of our background," Gonalons explained. "It takes much more than that. Talent, team spirit: if you are a 'Gone' you know about it."
• Not everyone can be a 'Gone'. Lyon's supporters are 'Les Gones' – a local word that roughly translates as 'child' or 'son'. However, you do not get to be one by just vaguely liking the club – a 'Gone' is a genuine, fanatical follower.
• They have one of Europe's hottest striking properties in Alexandre Lacazette. The 25-year-old academy graduate is already Lyon's fourth-highest scorer of all time, ahead of Brazilian hero Juninho Pernambucano. He is also fourth in OL's European goals rankings, having overtaken Karim Benzema by bagging his 12th against Roma in the round of 16.
• They are finding the net at a phenomenal rate. Since entering this season's UEFA Europa League in the round of 32, Bruno Génésio's side have notched 16 times. Their 7-1 mauling of AZ Alkmaar was the first UEFA Europa League match (group stage to final) in which any team has struck seven times.
• They once dominated French football like no other club. Marseille (9) and Saint-Étienne (10) have won more championships than Lyon, but their run of seven successes in a row from 2002–08 is a record.
• OL boast perhaps the most famous owner in French football. A decent handball player who had once aspired to be a gym teacher, Jean-Michel Aulas made money in computing before taking charge of Lyon – then debt-ridden and floundering in Ligue 2 – in 1987. His acumen helped make them a European force; in fact, he once said his ambition was for "the club to be European champions and be so well run they do not need me any more".
• Actually, Lyon are European champions, except it is their women's team, rather than the men, who are on top, having claimed their third UEFA Women's Champions League title last summer. Lyon will also stage the 2018 women's final, and will hope to do so as the first club to simultaneously hold major men's and women's UEFA trophies; both sides are in their respective quarter-finals.
• They are involved in the biggest rivalry in French football. The balance of power between Lyon and neighbours St-Étienne has shifted since Les Verts' 1970s heyday, but Rhône-Alpes derbies remain massive. Fanatical Lyon fans never wear green, with Gonalons explaining that Ligue 1 meetings with St-Étienne "are the two most important matches of our season, whatever happens".
• OL own the third-biggest stadium in France. Pink Floyd and Michael Jackson both played at Lyon's old home, the Stade de Gerland, but the club have moved up in the world with the new 59,186-seater Stade Olympique Lyonnais. The venue staged six games at UEFA EURO 2016 and, crucially, it belongs to the club. With most French teams still playing at municipal venues, Lyon are the only side in Ligue 1 with ownership of their own home.
• Lyon are looking to complete a set for France in the UEFA Europa League. Marseille won the UEFA Champions League (1993) and Paris Saint-Germain took the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1996), but no French team have ever won the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League – even if Bastia (1978), Bordeaux (1996) and Marseille (1999 and 2004) made it to the final.