Former OL glory, Lisandro Lopez will hang up his boots

Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez, who played for OL between 2009 and 2013, played his last match with Atlético Sarmiento this weekend and will bow out at the age of 41.

End clap for “Licha”. At 41, Lisandro Lopez played the last match of his rich career on Saturday in Atlético Sarmiento’s draw against Banfield (1-1). At the end of his contract with the Brazilian club, which he joined three years ago, the former Lyonnais was praised by El Verde de Junín. “Thank you Lisandro for your football, your professionalism, for being an example, for defending our coat of arms, for your ‘Sarmientismo’ that you had in you since you were a child. Thank you eternally Lisandro. Sarmiento is and will always be your home”, wrote the CAS on the social network

82 goals for OL

“Licha” was celebrated in the locker room by his teammates, who all imitated his famous celebration, with the finger pointed to the temple. Now in his forties, the Argentinian draws a line under more than twenty years of career. Since his professional debut with Racing Club, he has exploded in Europe, first in Porto (146 matches between 2005 and 2009) but especially at OL.

Transferred to the Rhone club for 24 million euros – a record at the time – he had the difficult task of making people forget the legends Juninho and Karim Benzema, who left in the summer of 2009. Winner of the Coupe de France in 2012, he scored the only goal in the final against Quevilly. Adored at Gerland, the striker scored 82 times for Lyon in 168 appearances and witnessed the emergence of Alexandre Lacazette.

Although he returned to his native country in 2016 after a stint in Qatar (Al-Gharafa), Lisandro Lopez has never really forgotten OL, as evidenced by his message of support in 2023 when the club was fighting against relegation.