Lyon won 7th consecutive league title
Last year was similar to all those before as Lyon continued to dominate French football, and won 7th consecutive league title. In some of the weaker European leagues this maybe would not be such a big success, but in the competition as strong as Ligue 1, the achievement is remarkable. At the start of the season the club sold a big part of the squad, as Malouda, Abidal, Diarra, Cacapa and Wiltord all left the club. But ambitious president Aulas continued to splash a lot of money on new players, and bought Grosso, Keita, Bodmer, Boumsong and some others. The team was again the dominant force in the Championship toping the table whole year, and finally winning it. They also won the French Cup and reached quarterfinals of the Champions League. However, they were forced to work hard for the league title, as Bordeaux pushed them until the last round, but Lyon finished first with four points more than Bordeaux.
They are even stronger than last year
The club was again very active in the transfer window, just like over the last few years. One of the most promising players Ben Arfa was sold to Marseille, while Coupet, Squillaci, Muller and Remy all left the club. But the list of players who joined the club is very impressive. One of the most talented keepers in Europe, Lloris came from Nice, John Mensah was brought to reinforce the defense. Midfield will be stronger because of the arrivals of Makoun, Ederson and 18 year old Pjanic, while Piquionne came from Monaco to help things in attack. The team is stronger than last year, as some of the worn out players were replaced by excellent prospects, which will breathe a new air into the team. The prospects of Pjanic and Lloris are certainly to excite Lyon fans for years to come. Let's not forget that former Lille coach Claude Puel took over at Lyon, and is said to have already won the players over despite his iron fist.
In
Puel (coach, from Lille)
Piquionne (Monaco)
John Mensah (Rennes)
Jean Il Makoun (Lille)
Hugo Lloris (Nice)
Miralem Pjanic (Metz)
Ederson (returned from loan at Nice)
Milan Baros (returned from loan at Portsmouth)
Fabio Santos (returned from loan at Sao Paulo)
Paillot (returned from loan at Grenoble)
Out
Gregory Coupet (Atletico Madrid)
Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille)
Sebastian Squillaci (FC Séville)
Loic Remy (Nice)
Anderson (on loan at Sao Paulo)
Karaboue (Sedan)
Badin (Troyes)
Patric Muller (f.c.)
In search for the eight
After seven successive league titles everybody will look to overturn Lyon from the throne, mainly Marseille and Bordeaux. But ambitious president, Jean Michelle Aulas want to continue dominating French football, which he has proven by spending a lot of money on new players. Veteran keeper Coupet was replaced by talented Lloris, defense is pretty much the same, but with the addition of John Mensah. Ederson is considered a replacement for Juninho, while Pjanic will look to learn from older players, and is regarded as a future prospect. With the likes of Benzema, Juninho and Keita, Lyon will again be among the title favourites. Karim Benzema is one to watch this year, as he will continue to score goals, and will probably be top scorer of the league. Despite all new signings we think that this year Lyon might get overthrown by Marseille.
CL
CLQ
UEFA
RELEG