Lyon supporters and followers who have memories know it: this celebration for sixth place, after the success on Sunday evening against Strasbourg (2-1), was infinitely more beautiful than certain OL champion titles (from 2002 to 2008), sometimes celebrated on the sly. At the time, Lyon fans were spoiled children.
This season, they were so afraid of seeing their beloved club go down to Ligue 2 that qualifying for the Europa League at the last minute of this stunning season made them overwhelmed with emotion. “In fact, we were almost dead,” slips Michel in the stands. We were in the tunnel, we saw the light at the end and then we decided to turn around. Then, we came back to the living, we decided to make the most of it.”
“This season is unspeakable: it’s a disaster that turned into a dream”
On the pitch at Groupama Stadium, Les Gones’ lap of honor was long, almost interminable, with everyone trying to savor the moment as much as possible. In the mixed zone, Alexandre Lacazette, who was “sure” of scoring the winning penalty, had his eyes shining
“We managed to stand together, never give up, believe in it until the end, this last match totally reflects our season, truly incredible. » Precisely, where does the man Lyon nicknames “the General” classify this 2023-2024 exercise in his personal collection? “In the Top 3 easily, or even in the Top 1. Because no one has done it in history. »
Olympique Lyonnais thus became the first team in the history of Ligue 1 to achieve European qualification after being bottom on the fifteenth day. “Even if we wrote this script for Netflix, we couldn’t invent it,” laughs David Friio. The sporting director continues: “This season is unspeakable: it is a disaster that has turned into a dream.”
“Of course he stays. No one ever thought of another coach”
“We experience just crazy emotions with our audience, it’s incredible,” said Maxence Caqueret. We think back to the first part of the season when everyone buried us, rightly so. We were able to reverse the trend and we were able to make history. For the moment, it is both the most beautiful and the most touching season of my career. »
OL’s incredible comeback owes a lot to the work of Pierre Sage, almost officially kept in post by John Textor in the middle of the night: “Of course he stays, he’s been staying for a long time. No one ever thought of another coach” This will undoubtedly satisfy the players, starting with Maxence Caqueret who praised “an incredible coach who brought back the pleasure of playing football to everyone”.
The main person concerned had already appeared before the press before the American owner’s statement. In any case, the OL coach’s priorities were elsewhere: to wish his wife’s birthday, present in the auditorium of the press conference, and to plan the working week in view of the Coupe de France final. Saturday in Lille against Paris Saint-Germain.
“During the fireworks, I was thinking about the final and the squad but I told myself I was crazy! » Deputy president Laurent Prud’homme can’t believe it: “I have no words, it’s absolutely crazy. There is still a Coupe de France final, do you realize? In addition, the players will go there completely liberated, I believe in that enormously. »
