OL won the 47th derby in their history against AS Saint-Etienne thanks to a goal from Alexandre Lacazette on Sunday, at the end of the eleventh day of Ligue 1 (1-0). The sixth in seven derbies played at Groupama Stadium. A success that is worth much more than three points. RMC Sport takes you behind the scenes of this victory like no other for Les Gones.
The long communion on the pitch with the supporters. The XXL smiles in front of the locker room, where John Textor congratulates everyone. Screams of joy too. After OL's victory against Saint-Etienne, Sunday at the end of the eleventh day of Ligue 1 (1-0), everything draws this additional jubilant feeling among Les Gones. The particular exhilaration of success against a great rival. And then, there are the words of Alexandre Lacazette at the end of an incandescent atmosphere driven by the record attendance in a derby (58,082 spectators): “Frankly, I think it's going to be in the top 3 of this that I lived here”, admits the Lyon captain. “From the warm-up, they were present, so really congratulations to them. It helps, it makes you want to give everything for them too, for the support they have given us since the start of the season.”
Pierre Sage also savors this minimalist score (1-0) with enormous satisfaction. The Rhone technician thus obtains the “Lyonnais” label for his first dive into this confrontation more than seventy years old: “I was told that you had to win a derby to be adopted by the Lyonnais. I am happy to leave the waiting room after twenty-six years of patience”, breathes the OL coach at a press conference. It is rumored that it is the former striker Bafétimbi Gomis, who played the derby in both camps, from his training with the Greens (2000-2009) to his five-year term in Lyon (2009-2014), who made this remark. , between two post-match interviews. “I’m happy for the players and the public,” adds Pierre Sage.
“The match of the year”
This success is all the more appreciable for OL as no incident (including homophobic singing) is mentioned in the match delegate's report. From 5 p.m., a few “old-fashioned” formulas still burst out on the square in front of the stadium. More than four hours before kick-off, the supporters (more numerous than for an ordinary match) gather there for a rise in temperature with fireworks, smoke pots and smoke bombs. The wait has dragged on so much that we must appreciate the event at its true value: “A stadium on fire, a rare collective atmosphere, a suspended moment, the match of the year”, actors tell RMC Sport of this 125th derby.
There are even some who share, via internal messaging, the gesture of Gauthier Larsonneur, the ASSE goalkeeper, to ask for more atmosphere and hostile chants against him in front of the Kop Virage Nord, stronghold of the Bad Gones. A “chambering which corresponds to the values of old-fashioned derbies, where such opposition is based on jokes and not violence”. Less than five seconds later, the Greens goalkeeper missed his restart and “offered” a goal to Ernest Nuamah, finally canceled for a handball from Georges Mikautadze on the action.
Lucas Perri lets loose in French
While the native Lyonnais, trained at clubs like Lacazette and Tolisso, experience the frenzy of a derby, the “newbies” discover the extra soul that inhabits the entire club facing its neighbor sixty-five kilometers away . Lucas Perri, the Brazilian goalkeeper of OL, as if carried by the popular momentum, tries his hand at the question-and-answer game in the mixed zone with journalists in… French. The look of pride at his one-night audacity: “It’s a moment that I will keep in my memory for all my life. I am very happy for my first derby with the victory. This communion between a city is incomparable , a staff, an audience, a derby is different.”
Isabelle Dias, who has been working at the club as a French teacher (among others) since the summer of 2000 and the arrival of Edmilson, helps Lucas Perri with one or two conjugations, but the Auriverde doorman is doing very well. Particularly when he recounts his 76th minute save in front of Stéphanois Ibrahim Sissoko: “It’s a moment of play, a quick counter-attack,” explains the 1.97m giant. “I did my best to create doubt and make it difficult for the attacker. I'm very happy that I was able to make the save and help the team to victory.” Perri was entitled to a stadium ovation, acquired a few weeks ago for the cause of Anthony Lopes: “He turned towards us and celebrated it like a goal. We congratulated him by giving voice in the stand”, testifies Thierry Boirivent, the boss of the red and blue supporters, located in the south stand.
Radiant textor in the corridors
And what can we say about John Textor, OL jersey with “Tex 44” flocked on his back, who displays a beaming face as he stops in the interview area, after a lap of honor, a family photo on the pitch and a cry from the heart in the locker room. “You were great.” “Yeah, I’m super happy,” exults the US owner of OL. “It's my first derby, much more intense than I expected. I'm very happy, the team was incredible. We could have scored more in the first half, but Saint-Etienne were fighting. That's what derbies are, that's how it should be.”
And where some might think that he is overplaying a little, the American John Textor demonstrates that he now knows the club he manages. The Missouri native learned its history and codes as soon as he took office, through a dive into the museum. “Yes, he is steeped in this culture,” reveals a member of his entourage. “He wants to know everything about the club and he knows the derby is part of that.” Textor had checked this date of November 10 as soon as the season calendar was released last June. And on D-Day, he took full advantage of it: U19 match in the afternoon with Mathieu Louis-Jean (head of recruitment for a year and a half), observation of the warm-up at the edge of the pitch, discussion with the young wards of the nation who give the kick-off… In the presidential platform, he finds his predecessor Jean-Michel Aulas but also artists like Zazie, Pierre Garnier, Gauvin Sers, who repeated their show organized for the benefit of a charity operation, planned for the next day at the LDLC Arena (which adjoins the OL stadium).
Pierre Sage had anticipated things
A derby is prepared carefully in advance. From Sunday October 27, during the draw against Auxerre at Groupama Stadium (2-2), Pierre Sage protects three of his executives from a possible warning synonymous with suspension against ASSE: Mata, Tolisso and Cherki. Only the latter returns just a quarter of an hour from the end. Same formalin put in the executives during the draw at Hoffenheim in the Europa League (2-2), three days before the big meeting: Perri, Maintland Niles, Niakhaté, Tagliafico, Tolisso, Vérétout, Cherki, Lacazette and Fofana are on the bench. Matic is left in Lyon. Only Duje Caleta-Car continues the two matches.
And then, there is the calendar ahead, in “derby” mode, these final 48 hours of preparation for D-Day. Pierre Sage details them for RMC Sport: “We knew that the supporters were going to come to training, but we have orchestrated the general schedule of the players and the arrangement of the session accordingly. Slightly shifted, the warm-up begins, with over the course of a few minutes, the stand gradually filling up. public around the field, I adjusted the rest of the session with the 'real' training part, when there were a maximum of supporters And a maximum of noise. With a “wow” effect. “Ah yes, still, that’s it,” admits Moussa Niakhaté to his coach when returning to the locker room.
A great operation in the ranking
What’s next? This is Pierre Sage's talk, with the support of a video. “Not tactics or play,” specifies the Lyon coach. “It was centered on goals, symbolic actions, the joys of other derbies. I wanted to show them that it was football, but… special. I wanted to install this derby flame in their heads. We were a few hours of the match because after returning from Germany, we had very little time to prepare the motivation aspect. And finally, the last phase of preparation, shortly after 7 p.m.: “When the players arrived at the stadium, they also understood the importance of this type of match,” testifies Pierre Sage. “There was a lot of excitement around the team and this match, and we are happy to have won it, at least for that.”
Nice and Lille which neutralize each other (2-2), Marseille which stumbles against Auxerre (1-3), Reims and Lens victorious, just like Monaco. When they kick off the derby, the Lyonnais know that they must not miss each other to get a little closer to European places at the end of the weekend. The equation for a great operation is easily written: you have to win. “A form of accounting obligation, in addition to a question of honor and regional supremacy,” summarizes a person close to the staff. This success ultimately allows a small rise in the rankings: sixth on the morning of the 11th day, five points from the podium, OL enters the Top 5. Enough to dust off the recent statistics: we have to go back to the fall of 2022 to see an appearance in the Top 5 of Ligue 1 and even in the 2018-2019 season for OL to have 18 points in 11 days. Last year, in the doldrums, OL only collected 4 points out of 33 possible, with a place at the bottom for the first time in their history.
Expected progress in the game
There remains one observation: we will have to do more in the other matches of the season to achieve the high objectives of the president and owner, who are aiming at least for the podium: “Our team knew how to play with the ball during the first half”, explains Lucas Perri. “We could have scored more. In the second, we suffered more and we gave Saint-Étienne opportunities. But I am very happy with the victory.” Karim Mokeddem, who knows Pierre Sage well having had him as an assistant at Lyon-La Duchère, explains in the Kop Gones show on BFM Lyon: “At the end of the match, there is a close-up on him. And I see his tight smile, I know what that means,” summarizes the current Sochaux coach.
Cold, Pierre Sage confirms: “Yes, despite everything, I am not very satisfied with our second period. We left some opportunities to our opponent, notably on errors, a bit like the equalizers that we had conceded in our previous matches So, we are happy to have won, but we also remain vigilant in analyzing the performance. While waiting for possible progress, these three additional points are timely. Enough to offer a more comfortable international break. And “three days off with a return on Thursday morning”, adds Pierre Sage, who wishes to point out that these holidays had been scheduled in advance.
