The end of the marriage between Anthony Lopes and OL is not the kind to tell to children to convince them of the magic of love. As too often in football, good stories often end badly, and the one between the 34-year-old Lyon goalkeeper and his lifelong club is no exception. After six months in the closet, the iconic Portuguese goalkeeper flew to the Atlantic coast to join FC Nantes, where he had already almost signed last summer. The Euro 2016 champion finally signed a six-month contract, with an option for an extension until 2027, on the banks of the Erdre. His end with Lyon will therefore remain spoiled, and he is not for nothing, notably by letting go in the columns of The Team last October. Despite this unfortunate epilogue, his last match under the red and blue colors took place at Groupama Stadium, last May on the final day of a completely crazy season, ending with an unexpected qualification for the Europa League.
Heart and guts
Then celebrated for a good quarter of an hour by the den of Décines-Charpieu, he had difficulty hiding his blushing peepers. Probably more because he knew it was his last at home than because he had just had a historic season. It is these images full of tears that we will prefer to remember from the exceptional adventure of Anthony Lopes at OL, the club where he spent the last 24 years of his life, and wore the jersey 489 times (fifth player more capped). The story of Gone obviously began at Tola Vologe before continuing among the professionals at Gerland, then at Groupama Stadium. From his first official match, a lost round of 16 of the Coupe de la Ligue in Nice (3-1), to his final game in the cage, Lopes will have gone through this very special era of OL as one of the faces of Lyon post-titles.
He is probably missing a title because he fell into a period where OL needed to rebuild and rely on their young players. And he benefited from it too.
His feline and acrobatic style, his supersonic – even crazy – outings and his provocative pig character have punctuated the weekends of Lyon supporters for more than a decade. He had not yet played two matches among the pros when he had already announced the color of his temperament in a portrait “ presentation » on the club website, in 2012: « In the game, I transform… I triple or quadruple my aggression. » In a small box under this portrait, Gilles Rousset, then his goalkeeping coach with the reserves, had described a boy “promising”with ” potential “before continuing: « IHe has a lot of qualities like explosiveness… He's a competitor, a player. He does not suffer and he is enthusiastic. He stuck with it, worked a lot. »
“It corresponds well to who he is and what he did for twelve years”Rousset is ecstatic today. A child from the northern corner of Gerland, he never hid his status as a supporting player, to the point of crying when he went through his first individual sporting crisis after Euro 2016 and a home defeat against Bordeaux. He never hid much of anything in the OL jersey. Just a year ago, when Lyon was struggling in the abyss of the rankings, it was regularly sent to the mixed zone after each defeat. “He is probably missing a title because he fell into a period where OL needed to rebuild and rely on their young players. And he benefited from it too”analyzes Rousset.
If he has always had the unwavering support of the ultras, and in particular the Bad Gones, Lopes has not always been unanimous within the Lyon community (at the moment, that is the least we can say ), as Alexandre Lacazette can do, for example. Deemed calculating internally by some, sometimes criticized for his atypical profile (small, average footwork) which no longer really fits the standards of modern football, the Portuguese, whose return between Rhône and Saône after his career does not seem unthinkable no more, will still have left an indelible mark within his lifelong club. Not bad for a guy who was just hoping « crunch » a few matches in the European Cup twelve years ago.
Mercato: Anthony Lopes signs for Nantes
Comments by G. Rousset collected by LT.
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