The list is very long. Aouar, Caqueret, Lopes today. Benzema, Tolisso, Lacazette, Fekir, Umtiti, Maurice, Giuly, Garde yesterday. Cherki tomorrow. And so many others. And all those who play (or have played) in Ligue 1 or in the four corners of Europe. OL have been training for so many years. Well. “Lyon is seen as a benchmark. They’re dating kids all the time. Over several decades. It’s very strong, ”testifies Georges Prost, director of the OL training center between 2007 and 2010 but also of OM between 1995 and 2002. He is still recruiting young people at OM today.
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What’s the secret ? “The success of OL is quite simple in fact, decrypts Prost. There is a good breeding ground around Lyon. The recruiters do a great job on the small categories and after the educators are excellent. I have always defended the local local … The kid must have a balance of life, his parents, his friends. And then in Lyon, there is stability at the head of the club. This is the difference with other clubs. President Aulas has always focused on training. It is in the genes of the club. It is a political choice of OL. “
“There is a Lyon DNA”
From generation to generation, recruiters and trainers pass the baton. All inspired by the José Broissart method, director of the OL training center between 1979 and 2002. Recruiters, Alain Thiry and Gérard Bonneau in the lead. “There is a DNA from Lyon,” explains Bonneau, today at Servette in Geneva. In Switzerland, everyone knows Lyon and the tremendous work done for young people. I was taken here because I came from Lyon… ”And so many educators.
“There is continuity in the OL training culture, in the search for players with good cognitive and technical potential,” decrypts the current director of the training center, Jean-François Vulliez. We capitalize on OL’s DNA, on what made the strength of the training but by continuing to make methodological changes to optimize the potential of the players. We make an OL mayonnaise. “
Armand Garrido, coach of the youth teams for almost 30 years in Lyon, says: “We had more technical working criteria, and more offensive than defensive. We have often been told that we come out more from good forwards and good midfielders than from good defenders. But yes, we have always been oriented on the offensive, on the game. The idea was always to score a little more than the opponent. “
“There is a kind of guarantee of the OL model”
In summary, OL are recruiting near Lyon, recruiting young, training well, enjoying the game and training over time. Aouar, from Villeurbanne, arrived at the age of 11. Caqueret (from Vénissieux) at 11 years old. Lopes (Givors) at 10 years old. Benzema (Bron) at 10 years old. Umtiti (Lyon Ve) at 8 years old. Lacazette (Lyon VIIIe) at 12 years old. Like Tolisso, Gonalons, Maurice, Giuly, Garde, Genesio …
“Success is also all those who have been trained at OL and who wear the Lyon colors under other shirts in Europe,” continues Vulliez. They often refer to their training. There is a sort of guarantee of the OL model, an OL training label ”. Lyon is with Real and Barça the club with the most players trained in its club in the five major European leagues.
And this model continues. Because training is judged over time. “Even when OL had difficulties, Jean-Michel Aulas never cut training budgets,” Vulliez blows. Now, OL spends around 10 million euros per year on training. This Wednesday, OL are playing against Bayern among the greats. And the U19s play a quarter-final of the Youth League against Salzburg. Quite a symbol.
