It's In Safe Hands....

[StuW]

Lyon appoint Grégory Coupet as new coach​

27 June 2011; 1435

Coupet amassed over 500 appearances for Lyon in an eleven year stint.​

Former French International Grégory Coupet will succeed Rémi Garde as head coach at Olympique Lyonnais, the club have confirmed today.

The club said Coupet, who currently works with Lyon's developmental squad, will be officially presented later Today, and is expected to sign a two-year deal with the club.

Coupet previously plyed his trade for Lyon, along with Saint-Étienne, Atlético Madrid, and PSG, has expressed his delight via social networking site Twitter:

I cannot believe it! Back to the club that made me! Can't wait to get started, thanks for support! #safehands

The appointment came as a surprise to many, but his standing at the club, as well as in French football means the appointment is a welcome one. Former Lyon forward Sonny Anderson, who spent four seasons playing alongside Coupet, gave his approval at the appointment, and hopes he can lead the club back to the top:

I am so pleased to see such a good friend get the dream job. Lyon are a massive part of both of our careers, and I know how Grégory feels about the club. There is no-one better than Grégory for the club. He is a Lyon man, he knows what it takes, knows what the fans want, and will be going back to a familiar place. Good Luck to him.

The seven-time French champions fired Garde earlier this week, after the former Arsenal player left due to ongoing family issues. Owner and chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has already stated that the OL – Europe plan will continue, as the club strive to challenge for the big European prizes.

We have hit a minor setback. As a club, we are strong enough to move onwards swiftly, and continue our progress to the ultimate goal. OL – Europe will still be our focus, and primary aim, and myself and the club believe Grégory is the perfect man to help us realize that dream. He brings a new perspective, new ideas, and this is what we needed at the club.

The club are heavily linked with several players, including Sochaux's Marvin Martin, Gaëtan Bong of Valenciennes, and HSV striker Marcus Berg. Aulas did state that there are funds available to Coupet, as long as the player is the right type to take the club forward.

 

[LS9193]

Good start. I'll be following. Check my Birmingham story out if you want!

 

[hellroker]

Great start StuW, just like all of your stories I'll be following.

 

[StuW]

Transfer Season Over...

Lyon Unveil Summer Signings​

28 July 2011; 1635

Former goalkeeper Coupet has been at Lyon for a month.

​

Olympique Lyonnais have today unveiled their summer signings at a press conference at the Stade de Gerland.

Grégory Coupet has only been at the French club for a month, but has been very busy, with a total of five players unveiled, and a further three youngsters who joined up with the Academy earlier in the week. Three joined on permanent deals, whilst the other two signed season long loan deals with the club:

click images to view in-game stats

Marius Alexe, Dinamo Bucharest, £2.6m

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Romanian winger Marius Alexe has joined, after enjoying a growing reputation across Europe. Already has made 4 appearances for the Romanian national team, many fans have applauded Coupet's vision to bring in this player.

Gaëtan Bong, Valenciennes, £3.7m

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Cameroon international left-back Bong was a surprise signing, but could prove to be an astute signing from Coupet, as he looks to expand his squad for the forthcoming season's Champions League.

Claudemir, F.C. København, £3m

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As Yoann Gourcuff continues to recover from his injury, Coupet moved quickly to snap up the Brazilian midfielder, who was reportedly being chased by a host of clubs, including AC Milan, Valencia and Leverkusen.

Marcus Berg, HSV, Season Loan(£700k)

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Swedish striker Marcus Berg has had indifferent form since leaving Holland two seasons ago. Subsequent loan to PSV didn't help him, but if he finds his form with Lyon, he could be a very good acquisition.

Marouane Chamakh, Arsenal, Season Loan(£1.5m)

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The former Bordeaux striker has not had much luck at the Emirates, and has been haggling for a move back to France. Lyon and Coupet came calling, and again, this could be an excellent signing should the player find the form he is capable of.

Also, Lyon learned their fate in the Best Placed Playoff Round of the Champions League, drawing Russian side Rubin Kazan. They start at home, with the 2nd and final leg taking place in Russia. Boss Grégory Coupet has said that the tie will be a test, but firnly believes that his side can overcome the Russian side.

 

[StuW]

​

Lyon Sneak Past Rubin
24 August 2011; 1205

Lisandro scored an important goal in the first leg.
​

A resilient Lyon side managed to confirm their place in the Group Stages of the Champions League with a 4-3 aggregate win over Russian side Rubin Kazan.

The French side managed to grab a 3-1 advantage in the first leg, with two goals for on-loan Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh, rounded off by a Lisandro finish, but did concede an important away goal, socred by Cesar Navas.

The second leg was a tighter affair, but Lyon, who chose to rest several first team players, found themselves 1-0 down after 25 minutes as Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins finished from close range. Lyon picked themselves back up, but after the break conceded again through Roman Eremenko's long range strike.

At this point, OL were heading out of the competition on away goals, but three changes on 70 minutes revitalized the team, and scored what proved to be the winner on 84 minutes. A Michel Bastos corner was delivered deep to the far post, where Croatian defender Dejan Lovren nodded the ball beyond the flailing goalkeeper to hand Lyon the decisive goal.

Manager Grégory Coupet admitted the teams performance in the second leg was not good enough, but commends the teams never-say-die approach which saw them sneak through. "I am not happy with how we played. We deserved to lose tonight overall, and were lucky we managed to go through. But, our players showed very good character to score the important goal, and we can hold our heads high."

Lyon await the draw, finding themselves seeded in the second pot, alongside AC Milan, Arsenal, Porto, Dortmund and CSKA Moscow.

UPDATE: Lyon have now found out their draw fate, with the following group:

Internazionale Milano
Olympique Lyonnais
Manchester City
Oțelul Galați

Stats;

1st Leg

2nd Leg

​

 

[Aannddyy]

Your photoshop-skillz are giving me a *****. Looks like you've got the "group of death" in the CL, though. Bummer.

Good luck dude.. Also Chamakh is a great loan signing.. Very classy player on FM.

 

[StuW]

Your photoshop-skillz are giving me a *****. Looks like you've got the "group of death" in the CL, though. Bummer.

Good luck dude.. Also Chamakh is a great loan signing.. Very classy player on FM.

Cheers

I have seen Chamakh score buckets of goals on FM, and my strikers after Lisandro and Gomis(who has a First Touch of I think 5) aren't good enough yet. Marcus Berg is a good player stat wise, but never performs too well TBH. Also, you will be surprised how I got on in the CL group

 

[Poppa_ChesterCityFC]

Good start, very nice layout.

Some good singings there, especially bringing in Chamakh on loan. I'll follow.