2007–08 Olympique Lyonnais season

Lyon
2007-08 season
Chairman France Jean-Michel Aulas
Manager France Alain Perrin
Ligue 1 1st (Champions)
Trophée des champions Champions
Coupe de la Ligue Eliminated
Coupe de France Champions
UEFA Champions League Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer League:
Karim Benzema (20)
All:
Karim Benzema (31)
Highest home attendance 40,381 vs Bordeaux (9 March 2008)
Lowest home attendance 20,012 vs Sochaux (18 March 2008)
← 2006–07

The 2007–08 season was Olympique Lyonnais's 49th season in Ligue 1 and their 19th consecutive season in the top division of French football. They were the defending champions having won the title the past six consecutive seasons.

Current squad

As of 8 March 2008. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 France GK Grégory Coupet (vice-captain)
2 France DF François Clerc
3 Brazil DF Cris (vice-captain)
4 Switzerland DF Patrick Müller
5 France MF Mathieu Bodmer
6 Sweden MF Kim Källström
8 Brazil MF Juninho (captain)
9 Brazil FW Fred
10 France FW Karim Benzema
11 Italy DF Fabio Grosso
14 France MF Sidney Govou
18 France MF Hatem Ben Arfa
19 Argentina FW César Delgado
No. Position Player
20 France DF Anthony Réveillère
21 Spain MF Marc Crosas (on loan from Barcelona)
22 Brazil DF Anderson
23 Ivory Coast FW Kader Keïta
24 France MF Romain Beynié
25 France GK Joan Hartock
27 France FW Anthony Mounier
28 France MF Jérémy Toulalan
29 France DF Sébastien Squillaci
30 France GK Rémy Vercoutre
32 France DF Jean-Alain Boumsong
33 France DF Mickael Charvet
35 France GK Frédéric Roux

Transfers

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
5 France MF Mathieu Bodmer (6.5M from Lille[1])
11 Italy DF Fabio Grosso (7M from Internazionale [2][3])
21 Algeria DF Nadir Belhadj (loan return from Sedan)
22 Brazil DF Anderson (4M from Benfica)
23 Ivory Coast FW Kader Keïta (18M from Lille[1])
No. Position Player
35 France GK Frédéric Roux (free agent from Ajaccio)
19 Argentina FW César Delgado (10M from Cruz Azul)[4]
21 Spain MF Marc Crosas (on loan from Barcelona until the end of the season)
32 France DF Jean-Alain Boumsong (3M from Juventus)
-- Brazil MF Ederson (15M from Nice, official in June 2008)

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
5 Brazil DF Claudio Caçapa (Free transfer to Newcastle United)
10 France MF Florent Malouda (21M to Chelsea[5])
15 France MF Alou Diarra (7.75M to Bordeaux[6])
20 France DF Éric Abidal (15M to Barcelona[7])
21 Portugal MF Tiago (13M to Juventus[8])
23 France DF Jérémy Berthod (2M to AS Monaco[9])
No. Position Player
38 France FW Gregory Bettiol (0.33M to Troyes)
39 France DF Mourad Benhamida (Free transfer to Montpellier)
-- France GK Rémy Riou (0.8M to Auxerre)
22 France FW Sylvain Wiltord (1.5M to Rennes)
21 Algeria DF Nadir Belhadj (3.6M to Lens)

Players out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
26 Brazil MF Fábio Santos (6 month loan to São Paulo)
7 Czech Republic FW Milan Baroš (6 month loan to Portsmouth)
12 France FW Loïc Rémy (on loan to Lens until the end of the season)[10]
15 France DF Sandy Paillot (on loan to Grenoble until the end of the season)[10]

Club

Management

Position Staff
Manager France Alain Perrin
Assistant manager France Rémi Garde
Assistant manager France Christophe Galtier
Assistant manager France Bruno Genesio
Club doctor France Jean-Jacques Amprino
Goalkeeping coach France Joël Bats
Special Advisor France Bernard Lacombe

Last updated: 30 May 2007
Source: Olympique Lyonnais

Kit

Supplier: Umbro
Sponsor(s): Novotel (home), Ticket Restaurant (away), Renault Trucks (alternate)

Home
Away
Third/Euro Kit
Alternate Away

Source: OL Boutique

Other information

Chairman France Jean-Michel Aulas
Ground (capacity and dimensions) Stade Gerland (41,044 / 112x65 yards)

Source: Stade Gerland Profile

Competitions

Ligue 1

After a tough Ligue 1 season marred by injuries to key players, Lyon became champions for the seventh consecutive season holding off Bordeaux. They claimed the title after defeating Auxerre on the final day of the season.

League table

Last updated 17 May 2008

Pos
Club
Pld
W
D
L
F
A
GD
Pts
Notes
1
Lyon
38
24
7
7
74
37
+37
79
Champions League
Group Stage
2
Bordeaux
38
22
9
7
65
38
+27
75
3
Marseille
38
17
11
10
58
45
+13
62
Champions League
3rd Qualifying Round
4
Nancy
38
15
15
8
44
30
+14
60
UEFA Cup
1st Round

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 24 7 7 74 37 +37 79 14 4 1 44 16 +28 10 3 6 30 21 +9

Last updated: May 17, 2008.
Source: Olympique Lyonnais Statistics

Results by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA
Result W L L W W W W D W W W W W L W W L D D W L W D W L W W W W W W L D W D D W W

Last updated: May 17, 2008.
Source: Olympique Lyonnais Results
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Date Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance League

position

5 August 2007 Auxerre H 2 – 0 Baroš  33', Benzema  70' 35,537 3rd
11 August 2007 Toulouse A 0 – 1 24,980 7th
18 August 2007 Lorient A 1 – 2 Benzema  32' 14,612 8th
26 August 2007 Saint-Étienne H 1 – 0 Benzema  54' 38,438 7th
29 August 2007 Sochaux A 2 – 1 Benzema  20', Bodmer  57' 15,744 4th
1 September 2007 Le Mans H 3 – 2 Govou  71', Benzema  76', Baroš  78' 35,042 2nd
15 September 2007 Metz A 5 – 1 Benzema  4', 36', 38', Ben Arfa  58', Juninho  86' 21,988 1st
23 September 2007 Lille H 1 – 1 Govou  58' 32,658 2nd
29 September 2007 Lens H 3 – 0 Fábio Santos  42', Källström  81', Benzema  90' 38,420 4th
7 October 2007 Bordeaux A 3 – 1 Anderson  5', Benzema  23', Källström  59' 31,919 2nd
20 October 2007 AS Monaco H 3 – 1 Juninho  12' (pen.), Réveillère  18', Benzema  50' 36,254 1st
28 October 2007 PSG A 3 – 2 Ben Arfa  40', 43', Govou  84' 39,787 1st
3 November 2007 Valenciennes H 2 – 0 Juninho  40', Govou  87' 38,631 1st
11 November 2007 Marseille H 1 – 2 Juninho  7' 38,811 1st
24 November 2007 Rennes A 2 – 0 Juninho  5' (pen.), Ben Arfa  18' 28,596 1st
2 December 2007 Strasbourg H 5 – 0 Källström  13', 80' (pen.), Juninho  19', Benzema  64', Clerc  78' 34,595 1st
8 December 2007 Caen A 0 – 1 20,664 1st
15 December 2007 Nice H 0 – 0 37,280 1st
22 December 2007 Nancy A 1 – 1 Baroš  80' 19,898 1st
12 January 2008 Toulouse H 3 – 2 Ben Arfa  17', Juninho  56', Benzema  66' 36,587 1st
20 January 2008 Lens A 0 – 3 32,734 1st
23 January 2008 Lorient H 2 – 0 Ben Arfa  29', Benzema  74' 37,780 1st
27 January 2008 Saint-Étienne A 1 – 1 Benzema  90' 31,537 1st
9 February 2008 Sochaux H 4 – 1 Bodmer  2', 76', Govou  90', Benzema  90' 35,904 1st
16 February 2008 Le Mans A 0 – 1 14,051 1st
23 February 2008 Metz H 2 – 0 Fred  10', 69' 37,281 1st
1 March 2008 Lille A 1 – 0 Fred  32' 77,840 1st
9 March 2008 Bordeaux H 4 – 2 Bodmer  11', 24', Benzema  50', Keïta  90+3' 40,381 1st
15 March 2008 AS Monaco A 3 – 0 Keïta  20', 38', Fred  35' 12,321 1st
23 March 2008 PSG H 4 – 2 Fred  8', 36', Govou  65', Juninho  72' 37,895 1st
30 March 2008 Valenciennes A 2 – 1 Keïta  8', Govou  66' 15,313 1st
6 April 2008 Marseille A 1 – 3 Cana  45' (o.g.) 56,271 1st
13 April 2008 Rennes H 1 – 1 Cris  15' 39,900 1st
19 April 2008 RC Strasbourg A 2 – 1 Bodmer  62', Grosso  68' 26,006 1st
26 April 2008 SM Caen H 2 – 2 Benzema  33', 60' 39,068 1st
3 May 2008 Nice A 0 – 0 14,206 1st
10 May 2008 Nancy H 1 – 0 Macaluso  63' (o.g.) 38,190 1st
17 May 2008 AJ Auxerre A 3 – 1 Benzema  1', Fred  10', Källström  53' 19,799 1st

UEFA Champions League

Lyon made their 7th straight appearance in the UEFA Champions League. They were pitted in the group of death, which featured German champions Stuttgart, Spanish giants Barcelona, and Scottish giants Rangers. After two disappointing 0–3 losses to Barcelona at the Nou Camp and Rangers at home, Lyon rebounded picking up two important wins in their home-away series against Stuttgart. Following their 2-2 draw at home against Barcelona, Lyon faced a tough challenge as they needed to defeat Rangers at Ibrox in order to advance to the knockout stages. As Rangers only needed a draw, odds were against Lyon. However, after an early goal by Sidney Govou, Lyon ended Rangers hope with two late goals from Karim Benzema sending Lyon to the knockout stages for the 5th consecutive season.

Group E

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Spain Barcelona 6420123+914
France Lyon 63121110+110
Scotland Rangers 621379-27
Germany VfB Stuttgart 6105715-83
Results by Round
Date Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance Group

position

19 September 2007 Barcelona A 0 – 3 78,689 4th
2 October 2007 Rangers H 0 – 3 38,076 4th
23 October 2007 Stuttgart A 2 – 0 Fábio Santos  55', Benzema  79' 51,000 3rd
7 November 2007 Stuttgart H 4 – 2 Ben Arfa  5', 37', Källström  15', Juninho  90' 38,215 3rd
27 November 2007 Barcelona H 2 – 2 Juninho  7', 80' (pen.) 38,113 3rd
12 December 2007 Rangers A 3 – 0 Govou  16', Benzema  85', 88' 50,260 2nd

First Knockout Round

Lyon were paired against English champions Manchester United in the Round of 16. After a 1-1 draw at home, Lyon failed to respond at Old Trafford losing 0-1 on a Cristiano Ronaldo goal just before halftime.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
20 February 2008 First knockout round
First leg
Manchester United H 1 – 1 Benzema  54' 39,230
4 March 2008 First knockout round
Second leg
Manchester United A 0 – 1 75,521

Coupe de la Ligue

Lyon came into this year's Coupe de la Ligue as the defending runner-ups after losing to Bordeaux in the 2007 final. Having made it to the UEFA Champions League, Lyon were given their annual bye into the First Knockout round, where they defeated SM Caen 3-1. With that win, they were pitted against Le Mans in the quarter-finals. After an early goal by Le Mans midfielder Daisuke Matsui, Lyon could not break through there sturdy defense as they bowed out of the League Cup for the 7th straight season. Their last cup triumph coming in 2001.

Results by Round

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
31 October 2007 First Knockout Round SM Caen A 3 – 1 Keïta  14', Bodmer  76', Benzema  89' 16,336
16 January 2008 Quarter-Finals Le Mans A 0 – 1 7,934

Coupe de France

Lyon got their French Cup season off to a strong start defeating Championnat National side US Créteil 4-0, with Benzema picking up a hat trick. This match was notable as it marked the return of Lyon goalkeeper Grégory Coupet who had been out for four months with a torn medial ligament.[11] Following their Round of 32 success, they were pitted against the surprising, yet upset-minded CFA side Croix de Savoie. After a hard-fought first half, it took an 80th-minute strike from Brazilian striker Fred to pull Lyon through to the next round where they faced the defending champions FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. Following an unimpressive first half from both clubs, Karim Benzema opened the scoring for Lyon in the 56th minute. After holding the score at 1-0, Lyon failed to keep a clean sheet as Kandia Traoré equalised for Sochaux near the beginning of injury time. With extra time looming, Karim Benzema again scored for Lyon to give them the victory and the right to move to the quarterfinals, where they faced relegation-bound FC Metz. Metz, looking to create something special out of a disappointing league season, played very bravely as they tried to pull off a historic upset. However, Karim Benzema again scored for Lyon (his 28th of the season and 6th in the Coupe de France) to give them a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute. That would be the eventual scoreline as Lyon advanced to the semifinals where they faced Ligue 2 side CS Sedan. In one of the more entertaining matches of the cup with both teams displaying their attacking prowess and both goalkeepers stepping up in times of need, it took one of Juninho's vintage free kicks to finally knock out the tough Ligue 2 side and thus book Lyon's place in the final at the Stade de France, where they will faced rivals Paris Saint-Germain. The final was heavily contested and eventually headed into extra time. Lyon finally broke through with a goal from Sidney Govou. Lyon would hold on to that scoreline as they prevailed to capture their fourth Coupe de France title in their history and the first in the Aulas era. For more information on the final, click below.

Coupe de France Final 2008

Results by round

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
6 January 2008 Round of 32 US Créteil A 4 – 0 Benzema  15', 38', 80' (pen.), Juninho  44' 10,640
3 February 2008 Round of 16 Croix de Savoie A 1 – 0 Fred  80' 7,500
18 March 2008 First Knockout Round Sochaux H 2 – 1 Benzema  56', 90+1' 20,012
15 April 2008 Quarterfinals FC Metz H 1 – 0 Benzema  39' 27,015
7 May 2008 Semi-finals CS Sedan H 1 – 0 Juninho  88' 33,057
24 May 2008 Final PSG N 1 – 0 Govou  102' 79,204

Statistics

Last updated on 24 May 2008.
No. Pos Nat Player TotalLigue 1 Champions League Coupe de la Ligue Coupe de France
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK France Grégory Coupet 28 0 19 0 2 0 1 0 6 0
2 DF France François Clerc 40 1 21+7 1 4+3 0 0 0 5 0
3 DF Brazil Cris 17 1 13 1 1 0 0 0 3 0
4 DF Switzerland Patrick Müller 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 MF France Mathieu Bodmer 51 7 30+8 6 2+3 0 2 1 6 0
6 MF Sweden Kim Källström 54 6 29+9 5 7+1 1 2 0 6 0
8 MF Brazil Juninho 47 13 30+3 8 8 3 2 0 4 2
9 FW Brazil Fred 31 8 14+8 7 1+2 0 2 0 4 1
10 FW France Karim Benzema 52 31 33+4 20 7 4 2 1 6 6
11 DF Italy Fabio Grosso 44 1 31 1 7 0 1 0 5 0
14 FW France Sidney Govou 45 9 26+6 7 8 1 1 0 4 1
18 MF France Hatem Ben Arfa 43 8 18+13 6 5+3 2 1 0 3 0
19 FW Argentina César Delgado 10 0 2+6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
20 DF France Anthony Réveillère 40 1 22+6 1 6+1 0 2 0 3 0
21 MF Spain Marc Crosas 12 0 4+5 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
22 DF Brazil Anderson 19 1 11+1 1 5 0 1 0 1 0
23 FW Ivory Coast Kader Keïta 41 5 19+11 4 0+6 0 1 1 4 0
24 MF France Romain Beynié 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 GK France Joan Hartock 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 FW France Anthony Mounier 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
28 MF France Jérémy Toulalan 41 0 30+1 0 5 0 1 0 4 0
29 DF France Sébastien Squillaci 50 0 35+1 0 8 0 2 0 4 0
30 GK France Rémy Vercoutre 26 0 19 0 6 0 1 0 0 0
32 DF France Jean-Alain Boumsong 13 0 8 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
33 DF France Mickael Charvet 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 GK France Frédéric Roux 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

References