Olympique Lyonnais might not be the first name on your lips, but Lyon is one of European football's great underrated clubs. Seven consecutive French titles. A women's team that has dominated Europe like few others.
10 questions on Olympique Lyonnais: their record-breaking run in Ligue 1, their most iconic players, their stadium and the extraordinary success of the women's team.
Olympique Lyonnais, known as OL or simply Lyon, may not be the first club that comes to mind when you think of European football. But the facts speak for themselves. Between 2002 and 2008, Lyon won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles, a record in French football that has never been equalled. They reached three UEFA Cup semi-finals or beyond during that same era and became regulars in the Champions League knockout rounds. Their nickname, Les Gones, comes from a local Lyonnais word meaning kids or young ones.
But perhaps the most remarkable story at OL is the women's team. With more than 8 UEFA Women's Champions League titles, Lyon Feminin is the most decorated women's club in the world. That level of dominance, sustained over more than a decade, is almost without comparison in European sport. On the men's side, the academy produced Karim Benzema, and Brazilian free-kick specialist Juninho Pernambucano is still spoken about as one of the most gifted players ever to play in France. This is a club worth knowing.