Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

'Barca changed the game but Lyon was here first' - Inside OL's Women's Champions League comeback

goal.com, 21 May 2022, 07:00
GOAL takes a look at the biggest transfer news and rumours from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and around the world The World Cup-winning forward will be making a big call on his future when the 2021-22 campaign comes to a close at Parc des Princes The striker gave each of his co-stars a luxury gift as he said goodbye to the German club

As players sprinted onto the pitch from the Paris Saint-Germain bench, overjoyed and ecstatic, there was a striking contrast with the way in which their Lyon counterparts slowly walked through the pandemonium.

The seven-time European champions had just suffered their first Women's Champions League exit in seven years and only their fifth ever defeat to their arch-rivals.

But while setbacks of this nature often result in those on the losing side falling to the ground, unable to hold back the tears, on this occasion, there was more a steely look of acceptance in the eyes of those leaving the pitch of the empty Groupama Stadium. They knew it wasn't good enough.

Some predicted that this result would be the beginning of the end for the greatest dynasty in women's football - and one of the greatest in sporting history. With the league title also surrendered to PSG, it would be OL's first trophyless season since 2006.

But those who did write off this team certainly look foolish now.

This weekend, Lyon are back in the UWCL final and in search of a victory that would extend their record as the continent's most successful women's team.

Yes, last season didn't go to plan, but it'll take more than that to take down a club like this.

Getty/GOAL

When GOAL asks Janice Cayman, the Lyon full-back who spent eight years playing for rival teams in France, what it was like to play against the club before she joined, her response is telling: "We called them a machine."

"They were so good with the passing, positioning, and it was just wave after wave coming," she adds.

"At some point, you know you're going to mess up somewhere and they're going to score and then it's even harder to stop them.

"I was really looking forward to having that feeling being in Lyon, to be kind of invincible."

Invincible - that's the reputation this club and these players have. Captain Wendie Renard has won seven Champions League titles and made more appearances in the competition than any other player.

Sarah Bouhaddi, Eugenie Le Sommer and Amel Majri all have seven winners' medals too, with Delphine Cascarino, Ada Hegerberg and Amandine Henry not far behind on five.

They're not used to being the team watching another celebrate, that's for sure.

"It was rough," Cayman remembers. "We asked ourselves a lot of questions. We know we have the quality and the good players, but for some reason it didn't match 100 per cent on the field."

"I think, if anything, it served as extra fuel for us this year," Catarina Macario, the U.S. women's national team forward who arrived early last year, tells GOAL.

"It was like, 'Alright, we were nowhere close to where we wanted to be, or what OL is used to in their history', and so we knew that we really needed to take it up a few notches.

"But not only that, it showed that other teams are catching up. We're no longer the only team to be beat. There are a lot of other teams that are really putting in investment and have really talented players in their squad.

"It just means that we have to be even better than ever before. We took that almost like with a grain of salt, like, 'Alright, now the fight is back on'. That's what's been cool about this year, because we're fighting for something, you know?

"It's been really cool to be a part of and to be in this new transitional period of the team and of trying to regain our European title."

The use of the possessive perfectly sums up the dominance Lyon has enjoyed in Europe over the past decade - but last season they would have to watch another team, Barcelona, lift the trophy.

The last time they did that, in 2015, it was motivating. Two years in a row, they went out in the last 16 and, two years in a row, they had to watch the latter rounds of the competition from the comfort of their own homes.

"I said: 'I don't want to watch it again on my TV. I want to play these games'," Le Sommer said of that barren period in an interview with GOAL back in 2020.

"It was a motivation for me, it was for the team too. This experience made us better and stronger in our mentality."

After that came five successive titles. That's telling of the mentality and resilience within these players. With that in mind, those at the club always knew that the response this season would be as good as it has been.

"No one was happy with how last season ended," Macario explains. "Even if we had won, we weren't playing good football.

"We wanted to use that as an extra motivation for us this year. The unhappiness and dissatisfaction from last year has definitely carried over."

But it is not just because of this motivation that Lyon are back in the final, nor is it only down to the squad's insane mentality or world-class quality. It is all of this and more.

In the aftermath of last season's elimination, head coach Jean-Luc Vasseur was replaced with Sonia Bompastor.

The 41-year-old has brought a lot of qualities to the role, but her experience of playing for Lyon and winning titles at the club is particularly special.

"She's been in our situation," Cayman says of Bompastor. "She knows sometimes the pressure is high as well. She was a very good player, and a very intense player, always giving it her all - a captain."

For Damaris Egurrola, the Netherlands midfielder, Camille Abily's presence is also very important.

"Every time she talks to me and tries to correct stuff, I'm really aware of it because I think she has been one of the best midfielders here in France and Lyon also," she tells GOAL.

"She was someone that I used to look up to and now she's the assistant coach, trying to help me perform and be better every day. I just try to learn every day from them.

"They've been here a long time, also in the academies. They know how all the young girls work. They've been playing in this league for a long time, so they know all the teams, all the stadiums.

"In that sense, I think we prepared really well for the season because of their experience. That's really helpful for us."

Getty/GOAL

The integration of some of those young talents - such as Alice Sombath, the teenage defender who ranked at No.6 in this year's NXGN list - is promising for this club's future.

But it's the return of some of their most established stars that has been a particularly significant factor in this season's success.

Neither Griedge Mbock Bathy - as reliable a centre-back as one could possibly hope to find - nor Ada Hegerberg, recipient of the 2018 Ballon d'Or, played a single minute of football last season due to injury. Their comebacks have been huge.

"Those are two key players," Cayman says. "It's very sad to see them not being able to play, but then when they get back, I think it's double the pleasure to see them doing what they're good at."

For Macario, one of the most promising young forwards in the world, to finally get to build that relationship with Hegerberg is big. Their link-up has been one of the most exciting things about Lyon this year.

"She's not the greatest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League for nothing, you know? She's one of the best players in the world for a reason," Macario laughs. "Having her back helps a lot!

"It's not a one-person game - but she's Ada Hegerberg. She has a big presence on and off the pitch. In the locker room, she's almost like Wendie.

"Wendie's a big captain, she's our captain. She's a big leader but Ada is definitely there with her in giving us that hype speech, in telling us, 'Hey, this is what we need to do', making sure that we all feel confident when stepping onto the pitch.

"She is a big person that we definitely missed and it's so, so good to have her back. This is where she belongs and this is where OL belongs, too. This is what it's supposed to be like."

We are back to that familiar tale now of Lyon being in the final, but it's a little different this time around because, for some, OL is not the favourite this weekend.

It's Barcelona - the reigning European champions, the team that just completed a perfect season in Spain's domestic league, the team that has taken all of Lyon's plaudits over the past 12 months.

The French giants have long been considered the benchmark, but now Barca are being talked of as the example, of being the best. That's another thing adding fuel to Lyon's fire.

"There was women's football before Barcelona, ​​and it was played here for years," Hegerberg told L'Equipe earlier this month.

"We have to win again to regain our place in world football. We have the chance to do it this season. We have never lost against Barcelona."

It's a feeling shared within the group.

"I totally agreed when Ada said this," Egurrola says. "With all respect for Barcelona, I think they changed the game in Spain. Everyone is crazy about them and it's really something that we need to give importance [to].

"They changed all the mentality of the people, all the crowd and everyone's reporting on Barcelona and Spain and that's really cool. Also, for us, it's a big change in women's football, that they came so strong.

"But on the other side, I also think what Ada said, in the years before, Lyon was also here. They've been champions for the last 10 years and we don't have to forget that."

Barca certainly will not have forgotten as much. After all, they were on the wrong end of a 4-1 thumping in the 2019 final. They will see Saturday as a chance to get some revenge.

But Lyon have that opportunity too.

After PSG got the better of them last season, they thrust a dagger in their hearts at the Parc des Princes in the semi-finals, winning 2-1 to secure their ticket to Turin in front of the biggest crowd ever to watch the Parisians.

Now, they can wrestle back their status as European champions from the team that took it from them.

"We're really happy with how the season has gone," Egurrola says, "but the best part is yet to come. We can't wait."

Top News

23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have supposedly shortlisted Sporting Lisbon and Uruguay wide man Maxi Araujo as a possible signing for 2025 to address their issues on the left-hand side. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Looking for what would be a first league win since September, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar will do battle at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel on Sunday afternoon. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk In-form sides NEC and FC Utrecht will be looking to keep their momentum going when they face off against each other at the Goffertstadion on Sunday afternoon. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fulham boss Marco Silva has revealed that Harrison Reed will have to undergo surgery to resolve a knee issue. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have reportedly identified RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba as a possible successor to William Saliba if the latter is lured to Real Madrid. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have supposedly earmarked Ipswich Town frontman Liam Delap as a possible transfer target for the summer of 2025. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will not take risks by using players who are not necessarily at full fitness against Southampton such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reds expert David Lynch has claimed. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk In a match that could affect both the relegation battle and the race for European football, Borussia Monchengladbach are set to welcome St Pauli to Borussia-Park on Sunday in their 11th Bundesliga game of the campaign. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Harry Kane continued his fine form this season to inspire Bayern Munich to victory on Friday night. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Holstein Kiel will hope to use their home crowd at Holstein-Stadion to spur them to victory against Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Sunday, as they continue their quest for survival. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Football fans will forever cherish the intense jubilation that comes with their team scoring a late winning goal. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides separated by one spot will go head-to-head in the Turkish Super Lig when Besiktas welcome Goztepe SK to Tupras Stadyumu on Sunday. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk After seeing their seven-match unbeaten run in the Turkish Super Lig end, Samsunspor will hope to pick up the pieces when they welcome Alanyaspor to the Samsun 19 May Stadium on Sunday. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Trent Alexander-Arnold is a major doubt for Liverpool's visit to face Southampton this weekend. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Arsenal hope to have Bukayo Saka available when they face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this weekend. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bournemouth will have the opportunity to set a new club record when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's Premier League contest. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Steven Gerrard has hailed the performances of Liverpool's academy graduate Curtis Jones this season. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Reece James faces an uncertain future in football due to his ongoing injury problems. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea Women will look to maintain their 100% record in all competitions when they face Manchester United Women in Sunday's Women's Super League contest at Kingsmeadow. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be looking to record their 12th La Liga victory of the 2023-24 campaign when they travel to Celta Vigo on Saturday night. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United will be bidding to make it 10 straight away league victories over promoted teams when they head to Portman Road on Sunday afternoon to tackle Ipswich Town. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has revealed that he will not make a final decision on his squad for Sunday's Premier League clash with Ipswich Town until after Saturday's training session. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has labelled Pep Guardiola the best manager in the world and "probably the best to have ever existed on Earth". 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two places separate Willem II and NAC Breda in the Eredivisie table heading into Sunday's gameweek 13 meeting at Koning Willem II Stadion. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Premier League football returns this weekend, with the final international break of 2024 now being completed. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Jack Grealish has revealed whether or not he would ever appear on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Pep Guardiola has insisted he will remain Manchester City manager even if the club are relegated over alleged breaches of financial rules. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aiming for a victory to start Patrick Vieira's tenure positively, Genoa seek maximum against a Cagliari side one place ahead of them in the Serie A table ahead of Sunday's gameweek 13 match at Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ruben Amorim takes charge of his inaugural Manchester United match on Sunday afternoon, when his Red Devils side face Ipswich Town at Portman Road in the Premier League. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is guaranteed to set a new club record in Saturday's Premier League home meeting with Nottingham Forest.