Olympique Lyonnais deserves to be named as the most successful French football club in the last fifteen years. The club won the Ligue 1 in seven consecutive seasons, a feat that will be very difficult to achieve by any club in the world of football. Not only that, Lyon also polishes a lot of young players into superstars, such as Florent Malouda, Michael Essien, Sidney Govou, Juninho Pernambucano, Karim Benzema, and many more.
In this article, I presented a list of sixteen best footballers ever to play for Lyon. Not only from the golden generation of Lyon in the first decade of the 2000s, there are also some players from the previous generations, such as Di Nallo Fleury, Raymon Domenech, Bernard Lacombe, and Serge Chiesa.
16. Raymond Domenech
Raymon Domenech a French player who joined Lyon in the 1969-1977 period. He played as a wingback and presented a Coupe de France trophy for the club in 1973. During eight years playing for Lyon, he appeared in 255 matches and scored ten goals. Throughout his career, he also represented his country in eight international matches. After his retirement, Domenech became the manager of Lyon for four years, from 1989 to 1993.
15. Michael Essien
Michael Essien's collaboration with Juninho, Mahamadou Diarra, and Edmilson in the 2003-2005 period was considered one of the strongest midfielders collaborations in the history of Ligue 1. Although he only played for this club for two seasons, Essien showed captivating and memorable performances. He helped his team win two league titles and obtained the 2005 UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year award. His brilliant career at Lyon made Chelsea sign Essien with a value of 24.4 million pounds.
14. Lisandro López
Lisandro Lopez is a Lyon striker who played from 2009 to 2013. He was signed from Porto to replace Karim Benzema who moved Real Madrid. Lopez showed good performance since his first season with Lyon, and during the three years of his career at the club, he won a Coupe de France title. Just like Michael Essien, Lopez also obtained the UNFP Player of the Year award in 2010.
13. Kim Källström
Kim Kallstrom is a playmaker who is regarded as one of the best Swedish footballers of all time. He joined Lyon in 2006 from Rennes. For six years playing for Lyon, Kallstrom won two Ligue 1 titles and two Coupe de France. Kallstrom is known as a complete central midfielder. He possesses accurate passing, remarkable creativity, vision, and outstanding team-work abilities.
12. Hugo Lloris
Hugo Lloris joined Lyon in 2008, replacing the role of the legendary goalkeeper Gregory Coupet. He performed brilliantly since his inaugural season, and three times elected as Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year while playing for Lyon. In the 2009-10 season, Lloris even recorded eight clean sheets in a row. The triumphant appearance made Tottenham Hotspur sign him in 2012 for a fee of 10 million pounds.
11. Mahamadou Diarra
Diarra was the anchor of Lyon's midfield line. He joined the club from 2002 to 2006, winning four Ligue 1 titles. His collaboration with Michael Essien is regarded as one of the best midfield combination in the history of the French league. For four years playing for Lyon, Diarra appeared in 123 matches and netted seven goals. He moved to Real Madrid in 2007 for a fee of 40 million euros.
10. Sonny Anderson
Sonny Anderson was one of the first players who pioneered the golden generation of Lyon. He played for the club in the 1999-2003 period, winning two Ligue 1 titles and became two-time top scorer of the competition. Not only possessing good dribbling skills, Sonny Anderson was also known as an efficient scorer. For four years playing for Olympique Lyonnais, Anderson scored 71 goals in 110 league games.
9. Anthony Réveillère
For ten years playing for Lyon from 2003 to 2013, the position of Anthony Reveillere as the number one right-back of the club was almost irreplaceable. He had great contribution in presenting five Ligue 1 titles and two Coupe de France trophies for the club. As a defender, Reveillere always demonstrated solid and stable performances. He possessed high stamina, remarkable attacking instinct, and good leadership qualities.
8. Florent Malouda
In addition to Franck Ribery, Florent Malouda is the most successful French midfielder in the last decade. He went through a period of scintillating career at Lyon and Chelsea, winning numerous domestic and international competitions. The agile winger joined Lyon from 2003 to 2007, winning four Ligue 1 titles. During his career at the club, Malouda scored 25 goals in 138 appearances.
7. Karim Benzema
Benzema is the most prominent strikers ever to play for Lyon in the last two decades. He is a player who was raised by Lyon Youth Academy, starting his career in 2004. The best period of his career occurred in the 2007-08 season, where he helped the club win the Ligue 1 and became the top scorer of the competition with 30 goals. Throughout his career, Benzema is known as a striker with remarkable dribbling skills, ball control, and finishing.
6. Bernard Lacombe
Bernard Lacombe is a former French striker who joined Lyon in the period 1969-1978. During nine years at the club, he netted 153 goals in 274 appearances. Not only that, Lacombe also presented a French Cup trophy in 1973. Just like Raymond Domenech, he also worked as the manager of Lyon after his retirement for four years, from 1996 to 2000.
5. Fleury Di Nallo
With a record 222 goals, Fleury Di Nallo is Lyon's top scorer of all time. The French striker played for Lyon in the period 1960-1974. His first season at the club was spectacular, where Di Nallo scored three hattrick and three quattrick in the French Cup tournament. By supporters of this club, Di Nallo was dubbed the "Little Prince of Garland." Throughout his career, Di Nallo presented three French club trophies for Lyon.
4. Serge Chiesa
Serge Chiesa is a player with the most number appearances of all-time for Lyon, playing in a total of 541 matches. The French playmaker spent his entire 14-year career as a professional footballer playing for Olympique Lyon. He is known for his extraordinary dribbling, many people even consider him as a better dribbler than Michel Platini. During his time at Lyon, Chiesa won a Coupe de France trophy in 1973.
3. Grégory Coupet
Coupet joined Lyon in 1997 from its rival club, Saint-Etienne. During 11 years playing for the club, his position as the number one team goalkeeper was almost irreplaceable. Coupet contributed greatly in helping Lyon win seven Ligue 1 titles in a row. He also twice was awarded the Ligue 1 Keeper of the Year in 2004 and 2005. In total, Coupet played 518 games for Lyon in Ligue 1.
2. Sidney Govou
In terms of loyalty and individual skills, Sidney Govou really deserves to be included as one of the best Lyon's footballers of all time. He was raised directly by Lyon Youth Academy and started his debut for the club in 2000. During 10 years playing for Lyon, Govou presented seven Ligue 1 titles. The French winger was greatly praised by the fans for his incredible stamina and techniques.
1. Juninho Pernambucano
Juninho Pernambucano is a great artist in the world of football. Not only being known as a great playmaker Juninho also gained a reputation as the best free-kicks taker in football history. His free kick accuracy reaches 97%, a figure that has yet to be matched by any football player. For eight years playing for Lyon from 2001 to 2009, Juninho won seven Ligue 1 titles. He was also awarded the title of Ligue 1 UNFP Player of the Year in the 2005-06 season.
In my personal opinion, Juninho is indeed the best playmaker in the history of Ligue 1. It's unfortunate to realize the fact that he got very less chance to play for Brazil national football team in various international tournaments.
