Derby du Rhône

The Derby du Rhône (French pronunciation: ​[døbi du ʁon], Rhône Derby; also referred to as the Derby des Rhône-Alpes or simply Le Derby) is a football match contested between French clubs Olympique Lyonnais and AS Saint-Étienne.^[1] Both clubs are located in the region of Rhône-Alpes. Saint Etienne, though, does not stand near the Rhône river nore belongs to the Rhône département. It rather belongs to the Loire département, taking its name from another famous French river, the Loire. Saint Etienne fans thus insist that the Derby's and rivalry's name is incorrect, although it is widely used in French media.

The two clubs first met in 1951 and, due to the each club's close proximity towards each other being separated by only 50 kilometres (31 mi), a hotly contested rivalry developed.^[2] The Derby du Rhône is cited as one of the high-points of the Ligue 1 season and, like other major rivalries, extends outside of the pitch. The rivalry is locally considered a symbolic challenge between the two cities, as the city of Lyon is considered white collar while its counterpart Saint-Étienne is viewed by the locals as more blue collar.^[1]

The derby also pits the recently most successful French club (Lyon) against the formerly biggest French club (Saint-Étienne). During the 20th century, Saint-Étienne was the most successful club in French football winning ten league titles between 1957–1981, a record that still stands today. During that span, the club also won six Coupe de France titles and performed well at European level.^[1] However, following the club's relegation to the second division in 1984, Saint-Étienne's stranglehold on the football scene in France began to dwindle. Lyon began a similar ascension into French football at the beginning of the new millennium when the club won their first-ever Ligue 1 championship in 2002. The initial title started a national record-breaking streak of seven successive titles, a streak unmatched in French football history. Lyon have also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, a feat that hasn't been matched by a French club since 2004 when AS Monaco reached the final.

Head-to-head record

As of 9 December 2012

Switching clubs

Due to the clubs' ongoing rivalry, few players have played for both Lyon and Saint-Étienne. Since the two clubs first contested each other in 1951, only 27 players have played for both Lyon and Saint-Étienne and only 13 players have transferred directly from Lyon to Saint-Étienne and vice-versa. The first player to "commit" the offense was Antoine Rodriguez in 1951, when after having a nine-year spell at Saint-Étienne, he moved to Lyon, where he spent only one season. Other notable players who made the switch were Aimé Jacquet who, after having a successful 13-year career with Saint-Étienne, departed the club for Lyon, where he spent three seasons. Jacquet later went on to manage Lyon and coached the team to the 1973 Coupe de France Final. Similarly, striker Bernard Lacombe established himself as one of Lyon's all-time leading goalscorers before leaving the club for Saint-Étienne in 1978 where he was often booed and jeered, which led to the player departing the club for Bordeaux after one season. The other players who transferred directly between clubs are François Lemasson, Alain Moizan, Andre Calligaris, Romarin Billong, Jean-Luc Sassus, Christopher Deguerville, Grégory Coupet, Franck Priou, Lamine Diatta, and Bafétimbi Gomis.

OL, then ASSE

David Hellebuyck started his career at Lyon before making over 100 appearances with Saint-Étienne.

Name	Pos	Lyon			Saint-Étienne
		Career	Apps	Goals	Career	Apps	Goals
Bernard Lacombe	FW	1969–78	230	128	1978–79	32	14
Alain Moizan	MF	1980–82	–	–	1982–84	–	–
Franck Priou	MF	1980–88	–	–	1988–90	–	–
Laurent Fournier	MF	1986–88	53	15	1995	10	3
Romarin Billong	DF	1988–95	111	5	1995–2000	102	5
Patrice Ferri	DF	1992–93	–	–	1995–96	–	–
Jean-Luc Sassus	MF	1994–97	–	–	1997–98	–	–
David Hellebuyck	MF	1996–2000	3	0	2001–06	167	14
Laurent Morestin	DF	1997–98	3	0	2003–04	24	0
Patrice Carteron	DF	1997–2000	101	6	2001–05	100	16
Lamine Diatta	DF	2004–06	40	0	2006–08	27	1
Sylvain Monsoreau	DF	2005–06	19	0	2012–06	30	0

ASSE, then OL

Bafétimbi Gomis joined Lyon from Saint-Étienne in 2009.

Name	Pos	Saint-Étienne			Lyon
		Career	Apps	Goals	Career	Apps	Goals
Michel Cristobal	DF	1945–49	–	–	1950–52	–	–
Antoine Rodriguez	DF	1942–51	–	–	1951–52	–	–
Andre Calligaris	DF	1957–60	–	–	1960–61	–	–
Aimé Jacquet	MF	1960–73	176	12	1973–76	26	2
André Guy	FW	1962–65	82	52	1967–71	116	66
José Broissart	MF	1969–73	–	–	1976–80	–	–
Jean-François Larios	MF	1973–83	167	36	1984–85	27	1
Olivier Roussey	MF	1977–78	–	–	1979–80	–	–
Patrice Ferri	GK	1981–88	–	–	1992–93	–	–
François Lemasson	GK	1986–87	5	0	1987–90	101	0
Christopher Deguerville	MF	1987–95	–	–	1995–97	–	–
Grégory Coupet	GK	1993–97	88	0	1997–2008	518	0
Frédéric Piquionne	FW	2004–07	97	27	2008–09	26	4
Bafetimbi Gomis	FW	2003–09	162	49	2009–present	50	16
Pape Diakhaté	DF	2010	18	1	2010–2011	3	0

References

External links

• (French) AS Saint-Étienne Official Site
• (French) Olympique Lyonnais Official Site