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OL faces Sparta Prague with three summer european failures looming

OL faces Sparta Prague with three summer european failures looming
sahelreporter Entertainment
Football
Champions League

OL faces Sparta Prague with three summer european failures looming

After falling to a 1-2 defeat against Sparta Prague in the Champions League third qualifying round first leg last Tuesday, Lyon now hosts the Czech side this Tuesday for the return leg (9 p.m.). The match carries the weight of three previous summer setbacks in European competitions.

If Lyon manages to navigate this perilous Champions League third qualifying round return against Sparta Prague tonight (9 p.m.)—despite last week’s 1-2 away loss—and then overcome the playoff hurdle against Fenerbahçe (TUR) or Sturm Graz (AUT) on August 18-19 and August 25-26, all dreams will become possible. For instance, during the 2009-2010 season—one of the two campaigns where they reached the Champions League semifinals (like in 2019-2020)—Lyon had progressed through the playoffs by sweeping Anderlecht (BEL, 5-1, 3-1) in August 2009.

For now, however, the specter of a fourth disastrous summer elimination looms over the Rhône-based club. After the failures of 1999 and 2013 in the Champions League against Maribor (SVN) and Real Sociedad (ESP), and the 2014 Europa League humiliation against Astra Giurgiu (ROU), we take a closer look at these three blunders—the second less humiliating than the first and especially the third, which can only be described as farcical!

August 1999 in the Champions League: the unexpected slap against Maribor

The club had just completed a major transfer coup by signing Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson from FC Barcelona for 125 million Francs (€18 million)—a considerable sum at the time. Finishing third in Ligue 1, Lyon approached the Champions League with appetite, making its debut in the competition. But against the modest Slovenian side NK Maribor, the reality was brutal. Lyon, coached by Bernard Lacombe, suffered a home defeat (0-1) in the first leg of the third qualifying round on August 10, 1999, stunned by a late Filipovic goal (89th minute) despite dominating play.

The return trip to Slovenia on August 25 was even worse, as Lyon lost 0-2 with goals from Simundza (24th) and Balajic (45th), displaying staggering impotence. The team that day featured, among others, Sonny Anderson, Tony Vairelles, Alain Caveglia, Vikash Dhorasoo, and Grégory Coupet. The next day’s headlines in the sports press read: “Lyon, the summer flop.”

Vikash Dhorasoo with Lyon against Maribor in 1999
Vikash Dhorasoo with Lyon against Maribor in 1999

Relegated to the UEFA Cup, Lyon was eliminated in the round of 16 by Werder Bremen (GER, 3-0, 0-4) after overcoming HJK Helsinki (FIN, 5-1, 1-0) and Celtic Glasgow (SCO, 1-0, 1-0). In Ligue 1, Lyon finished third again in May 2000 and was eliminated in the quarterfinals of both domestic cup competitions.

August 2013 in the Champions League: Griezmann’s revenge

Fourteen years later, Lyon was a club of a completely different stature, having secured seven Ligue 1 titles (2002 to 2008) and reached a Champions League semifinal in 2010 (eliminated by Bayern Munich, 0-1, 0-3). But in August 2013, the Rhône-based side—fresh off a third-place finish in Ligue 1—faced another summer European setback. After eliminating Grasshopper Zurich (SUI) in the third qualifying round (1-0, 1-0), Lyon faced Real Sociedad in the playoffs, a club they had previously deemed too frail to integrate into their youth academy years earlier.

The revenge of French striker Antoine Griezmann was emphatic. In the first leg on August 20 at Gerland, “Grizou” opened the scoring (17th minute) with a spectacular left-footed volley that made the front pages the next day. Real Sociedad won 2-0, with Seferovic adding another goal (49th). In the return leg at Anoeta on August 28, the script was the same for Lyon, then coached by Rémi Garde and featuring players like Samuel Umtiti, Yoann Gourcuff, Alexandre Lacazette, and Nabil Fekir. A 0-2 defeat followed, sealed by a Carlos Vela brace (67th, 90th+1).

Antoine Griezmann scores against Lyon on August 20
Antoine Griezmann scores against Lyon on August 20

Relegated to the Europa League, Lyon reached the quarterfinals (eliminated by Juventus Turin, 0-1, 1-2) but finished fifth in Ligue 1, was ousted in the Coupe de France round of 16, and lost the Coupe de la Ligue final to PSG (1-2).

August 2014 in the Europa League: the ultimate humiliation against Astra Giurgiu

“We got lit up by a bunch of nobodies we didn’t even know!” With his usual colorful language, the late Bernard Lacombe, then vice-president and special advisor to president Jean-Michel Aulas, perfectly summed up Lyon’s ordeal in the summer of 2014. The club suffered a crushing and humiliating elimination at the hands of Romania’s modest Astra Giurgiu in the Europa League playoffs. This despite a 1-0 victory in the return leg away on August 28, thanks to a Jordan Ferri goal (23rd).

Steed Malbranque and Maxime Gonalons against Astra Giurgiu on August 21, 2014
Steed Malbranque and Maxime Gonalons against Astra Giurgiu on August 21, 2014

In the first leg at Gerland on August 21, Lyon—then coached by Hubert Fournier—managed to lose 1-2 despite opening the scoring through Steed Malbranque (25th). They were undone by goals from Fatai (71st) and Budescu (81st, penalty).

This squad, which also featured Corentin Tolisso, Christophe Jallet, and Maxime Gonalons, recovered to finish second in Ligue 1 in May 2015, securing the club’s return to the Champions League. Yet the disastrous summer of 2014—undoubtedly the worst of the three recounted here—brought an end to eighteen consecutive seasons of uninterrupted European competition for Lyon.

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