At OL Park,
“Two rooms, two atmospheres. » Let’s be crazy, let’s try this approximate translation to stick to the expression “two rooms, two atmospheres” which had a striking example, on Sunday in the mixed zone of Parc OL, only ten minutes apart. On the one hand, a disappointed Anthony Lopes, revolted by the cataclysmic first quarter of the season for his long-time club, once again bottom of Ligue 1 after his evening defeat against Clermont (1-2). Three draws and six defeats in nine days (3 points out of 36 possible), -11 goal average, and already six points behind the first non-relegation team, and five behind the play-off…
It was enough to completely undermine the goalkeeper of the Olympique Lyonnais temple. Except that his American president John Textor succeeded him in front of the media, very relaxed, and ready to brush aside, and with a frank smile, the question of relegation to Ligue 2 which haunted the 44,000 courageous players on Sunday. having returned to Décines. We’ll let you appreciate the contrast.
- Anthony Lopes: “There is only negative. The club is in great difficulty, it hurts. We start the match badly, we are not aggressive, dilettante and we pay cash. In this situation, if everyone pulls a little on their own, we will not be able to get out of it. We’re really going to have to all be together. For most of the workforce, this is a situation that no one has experienced. »
- John Textor: “Our team is too good to have these results. We saw great quality on the pitch this evening, a great performance. We shouldn’t be in the place we are. Many of our players are improving. »
- Anthony Lopes: “We’re going to need players with character to get through this. If we start to “give up” little by little, it will be very complicated. The entire workforce must really become aware of this situation, of the history of the club, of the coat of arms to be respected. We have to pull up the guys who are a little more upside down than the others.”
- John Textor: “This team is not in danger of relegation. No relegated team in any league plays like we did tonight. You don’t see this type of quality in a team that is going downhill. No, open your eyes, our team is too good for that. Those who talk about relegation just want to talk about fear, to make a fuss. It’s a bit of a joke, nonsense, I don’t take it seriously. No one is worried in the locker room, in the staff or myself. We are not talking about relegation at all. Anyone who really follows this sport is not worried.”
“There is a lot of negativity around this club”
Like the passionate reaction of Anthony Lopes, downright in a state of trance showing to what extent he is at the end of his nerves over a simple reduction of the gap on Sunday (1-2, 52nd), is it not not John? Or that of Alexandre Lacazette, once again groggy at the final whistle, his face buried in his jersey. Or even tears difficult to hide by Corentin Tolisso after a previous defeat in Reims (2-0). The gap in manager/player discourse has rarely been so extreme in the world of professional football. But after all, across the Atlantic, this concept of relegation does not exist in professional sports leagues, all of which are closed. Would this explain it?
Present for this OL-Clermont opposing the last two of the championship, John Textor seeks above all to break the idea of a dynamic and a 100% negative context around the seven-time champion club of France, whose last season in Ligue 2 goes back to 1988-1989. “There is a lot of negativity around this club, from politicians [coucou Bruno Bernard, président EELV de la métropole de Lyon]from previous management [coucou Jean-Michel Aulas], indicates John Textor. I am very disappointed to drag the supporters into all this. » If the two corners supported their team from one end of the match to the other, despite yet another hiccup precipitated by two controversial refereeing decisions, the Bad Gones split at the final whistle of a song proving both their self-deprecation and a form of resignation: “We are in Ligue 2, we are in Ligue 2”.
“We already have the quality to be one of the best teams”
There are certainly 25 days of the championship remaining, including a heated trip to Marseille next Sunday, but the killer statistic has fallen: 14 of the last 17 teams having scored 3 points after 9 days of Ligue 1 have tumbled into Ligue 2 at the end of the season. season. Enough to undermine the thesis of the accident pleaded by John Textor, right? The American owner, also a shareholder in Botafogo, Molenbeek and Crystal Palace, does not hesitate to announce that after the management of the summer payroll, the DNCG “will be impressed”. And so OL are preparing to make a move on the winter transfer market, in particular by recruiting two Brazilians… from Botafogo (obviously), namely central defender Adryelson (25 years old) and goalkeeper Lucas Perri (25 years old). Well, it all smells like the news welcomed by Anthony Lopes in January.
“We are impatiently awaiting this transfer window,” says John Textor in any case. But we already have the quality to be one of the best teams in the championship. » OK, still 12 points behind the Champions League zone that he was openly targeting at the start of the season. But in fact, why has there not until now been the slightest semblance of shock in Lyon since the arrival of Fabio Grosso (one draw and three defeats in four games), in place of Laurent Blanc ? The Italian technician is fumbling badly, with no less than 22 players used in his first four matches, and even 25 players called up on Saturday for the reception in Clermont.
“Lyon is in danger, we must save the club”
“We didn’t find our group because we didn’t have any results,” notes Fabio Grosso. It’s unfortunate to leave people at home when we see that those who come on the field don’t give their all. We don’t have the right energy, intensity and rage. There, we were too contracted and we didn’t make much effort in the first half. » Hence a triple change from the break on Sunday, which notably aimed to sanction Rayan Cherki, and to (a little) revive the Lyon team after the break. The former Frosinone coach is clearly more in the camp of Anthony Lopes than John Textor in terms of his message to the media.
You have to feel this great responsibility to want to get through it. Lyon is in danger, and we must save the club. We can’t let go. Those who don’t believe we can go back must step aside. The ranking is very clear: we have to go up at least two teams who are ahead of us. We have no other concerns at the moment. We are in a dynamic where we did not have the qualities to win this match. »
At home against a red lantern without the slightest victory on the clock so far, this shows how sick/in crisis this OL is, despite the unfailing positivism of John Textor. He still recognizes an error on his part: “The intensity and the work were not there in preseason. I should have acted more quickly regarding the coach during the summer. I am therefore responsible for the bad start to the season.” Lolo White will appreciate it.
“Relegation doesn’t just happen to others”
The concern was in any case contagious in the wings of the Parc OL on Sunday, since two Clermont players, trained in Lyon, did not really display their joy at having finally won a match. Former OL captain, Maxime Gonalons even admits to feeling “a lot of pain” seeing his favorite club in this last place in Ligue 1: “It’s a very, very complicated situation, which was not possible. They have to hold on mentally. Relegation doesn’t just happen to others, so they have to remain vigilant, they have to show character. More than the players, it is above all the club which is not used to playing for its part.” His partner at Clermont Foot, captain Florent Ogier, entrusts 20 minutes his analysis of “this doubting team”.
“At some point, you have to put the words ‘danger’ and ‘maintenance’ on what’s happening because it’s always good to hear that,” says the central defender, who scored against his side on Sunday. Yes, it’s OL, with interesting and even very good players, with a career as long as an arm. We say of course that with the quality there is, when it will be triggered… Yes, but when? Because the more time passes, the more complicated it becomes, and you always have to be careful. The players especially become aware of all this when it comes from above. At this point, there is at least a general awareness. » Except that in Lyon, the new boss seems to be the person least aware of the real danger, which for fifteen years has punished other very big French clubs like FC Nantes, AS Monaco, the Girondins de Bordeaux and the dear neighbor from Saint-Etienne.