OL faces Sparta Prague: three past european summer failures loom large
After a 1-2 defeat in the Czech Republic during the third qualifying round first leg of the Champions League last week, Olympique Lyonnais will host Sparta Prague this evening at 21:00 for the return leg. The French side faces the daunting shadow of three previous summer setbacks in European competitions.
Should Olympique Lyonnais overcome this tricky third qualifying round return match against Sparta Prague tonight (21:00) — despite their 1-2 defeat in the first leg last Tuesday — and then clear the playoff hurdle against either Fenerbahçe (TUR) or Sturm Graz (AUT) on August 18-19 and 25-26, all dreams could become reality. After all, during the 2009-2010 season — one of the two campaigns where they reached the Champions League semifinals (also in 2019-2020) — Lyon had to go through the playoffs, sweeping Anderlecht (BEL) aside (5-1, 3-1) in August 2009.
Until then, the specter of a fourth crushing summer failure looms over the Rhône club. After defeats against Maribor (SVN) in the 1999 Champions League and Real Sociedad (ESP) in 2013, then Astra Giurgiu (ROU) in the 2014 Europa League, we take a closer look at these three blunders — the second less humiliating than the first, and the third, which could be described as comical in its absurdity.
August 1999 in the Champions League: the unexpected slap against Maribor
Fresh off a blockbuster transfer coup by signing Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson from FC Barcelona for 125 million francs (€18 million) — a considerable sum at the time — Lyon, who had finished third in Ligue 1, approached the Champions League with appetite, making their debut in Europe’s premier competition. However, against the modest Slovenian side NK Maribor, the awakening was brutal. Lyon, then managed by Bernard Lacombe, first suffered defeat at home (0-1) in the first leg of the third qualifying round on August 10, 1999, stunned by a late Filipovic strike (89th minute) despite dominating play without converting their chances.
In the return match in Slovenia on August 25, matters worsened as they suffered a 0-2 defeat, with goals from Simundza (24th minute) and Balajic (45th minute), displaying staggering helplessness. The team that day included, alongside Anderson, Tony Vairelles, Alain Caveglia, Vikash Dhorasoo, and Grégory Coupet. The next day’s report in the media was headlined “Lyon, the summer flop.”
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, exiting both the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue in the quarterfinals.
August 2013 in the Champions League: Griezmann’s revenge
Fourteen years later, Olympique Lyonnais had evolved into a club of entirely different stature, having secured seven French league titles (2002 to 2008) and reached the Champions League semifinals in 2010 (eliminated by Bayern Munich, 0-1, 0-3). Yet in August 2013, the Rhône club — which had finished third in Ligue 1 in May — faced another summer disappointment in the Champions League. 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 once deemed too frail to join their youth academy years earlier.
