lefutur
02 Sep 2005, 06:48 PM
I have to admit that Im a fairly new fan to Lyon so there's still alot about their history etc that I dont know. So for my benefit and perhaps others who are curious, could the "experts" out there give their opinions about the greatest OL players over the years. Some photos would be cool too! :)
matpio
02 Sep 2005, 10:08 PM
The greatest was probably Sonny Anderson. He was a very good player, but also a really great guy. He played 4 years in Lyon, during his first 2 years he was the best scorer of the french championship. Without him, there is no way to tell if Lyon would be a team that good today (probably not). I wish he will come back as a member of the OL staff when he will retire.
Here is a picture of him : http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Dossiers/Media/Anderson_Sonny_0910_equipe_op.jpg
Another one was Alain Caveglia. He was the striker before Anderson came. He was a fan-favorite because he is born in Lyon and always played at 100%.
Here is a picture :
http://www.infoceane.com/hac/actu/020424-caveglia/ol1.JPG
Before that, there were some other good players, but I did not see them play, because of my age. The most famous one was maybe Fleury Di Nallo, an offensive player born in Lyon who was top-scorer during a few years. He played during the 60s and 70s. Sorry, I do not have any pictures of him.
Another famous one was Bernard Lacombe, who is today a recruiter for the team. He was a very good striker, and was even starting for the french national team during the European Championship 1984.
Here is a picture of him :
http://www.lequipe.fr/Xml/Football/Dossiers/Media/lyon_lacombe.jpg
I forgot a lot of players, but it's hard to mention all of them, and I did not want to tell about the actual players.
We can also mention Ludovic Giuly, who now plays for Barcelona :
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/imagenes/jugadores/futbol/LudovicGiuly/200704_giuli_dif.jpg
Feel free to complete, guys ! :)
guignol
05 Sep 2005, 06:06 AM
i hope to come back to this when i have more time but off the top of my head, some players who have marked me personally as an OL fan:
already mentioned:
sonny anderson was the big name that took OL a quantum leap and brought the first trophies. his influence was more than just the goals he scored in droves. he was the boss, and was as much responsible for creating OL's winning attitude as anyone. he still calls lyon home, and intends to come back to coach when his playing days are over.
caveglia was leading scorer for the three years just before anderson, and you still see lots of caveglia jerseys today at gerland.
giuly was a big crowd favorite and his departure, due to differences of opinion with bernard lacombe, ruffled a lot of feathers (all forgiven now)
others:
florian maurice was a big goal scorer. his departure for PSG hurt a lot, even if he ended up being the one to regret it the most.
bruno n'gotty was a defensive midfielder who looked like a future great star, was a huge physical presence, but also left for PSG, and then milan, before he seemed at peak.
the loss of these two players was a huge disappointment and seemed to show a lack of ambition for the club. but looking back it's hard to blame anyone. OL was nowhere near milan or even PSG in prestige in those days...
freddie kanouté, late of west ham and spurs, now in spain, although a mali international, was born here and played for OL from a most tender age. he really didn't score that many goals, but he was an electrifying player who made a great tandem with caveglia.
florent laville, who played a few years at bolton and is now at bastia, was the captain when OL started their silverware collection, and was an out and out mister 110%. still one of my all-time favorites.
and a couple more from the old days...
jean tigana played for OL for a few years in the late 70's early 80's, and managed the club in the first seasons after promotion. he instilled class. the conviction that OL was and would always be a topflight club, and also a highly technical, crowd-pleasing, attacking style we call champagne football that until recently has been the OL trademark.
jean djorkaeff, youri's dad, was a great player in OL's history.