Olympique Lyonnais faces Sparta Prague with the weight of past summer disappointments

After a tough away defeat against Sparta Prague in the Champions League third qualifying round, Lyon hosts the Czech side tonight at 21:00. The spectre of three previous summer stumbles in European competitions looms large over the Groupama Stadium.

August 1999: a painful debut in the Champions League

Lyon’s maiden Champions League adventure began with a costly lesson. Fresh off a third-place finish in Ligue 1 and boasting the headline-grabbing signing of Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson from Barcelona for 18 million euros—a record fee at the time—the club was brimming with ambition. However, the modest Slovenian side NK Maribor shattered their dreams. A late goal from Filipovic (89th minute) sealed a 0-1 home defeat on August 10, despite Lyon’s dominance. The return leg in Slovenia on August 25 proved even more disastrous, with Simundza (24th) and Balajic (45th) scoring as Lyon collapsed 0-2. The next day’s headlines in the press described the humiliation as “Lyon, the summer flop.”

Vikash Dhorasoo playing for Lyon against Maribor in 1999

Vikash Dhorasoo in action for Lyon against Maribor in 1999.

Sent to the UEFA Cup, Lyon was eliminated in the round of 16 by Werder Bremen (3-0, 0-4) after overcoming HJK Helsinki (5-1, 1-0) and Celtic Glasgow (1-0, 1-0). The club finished third in Ligue 1 again in May 2000 and exited both domestic cups in the quarterfinals.

August 2013: Griezmann’s revenge

By 2013, Lyon had grown into a French powerhouse, having secured seven Ligue 1 titles between 2002 and 2008 and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2010. Yet August brought another setback. After dismissing Grasshopper Zurich (1-0, 1-0) in the third qualifying round, Lyon faced Real Sociedad in the playoffs. The Basques exacted revenge for rejecting Antoine Griezmann years earlier when he was deemed too slight for their youth academy. Griezmann, now a star, opened the scoring in Lyon’s 0-2 first-leg defeat on August 20 with a stunning acrobatic volley, while Seferovic added another goal. The return leg on August 28 saw Lyon crushed again, losing 0-2 to a Carlos Vela brace (67th, 90+1st).

Antoine Griezmann scoring for Real Sociedad against Lyon in 2013

Antoine Griezmann’s goal for Real Sociedad against Lyon in August 2013.

Sent to the Europa League, Lyon reached the quarterfinals before falling to Juventus (0-1, 1-2). The club finished fifth in Ligue 1, bowed out of the Coupe de France in the round of 16, and lost the Coupe de la Ligue final to PSG (1-2).

August 2014: the ultimate humiliation in the Europa League

The nadir arrived in 2014 during the Europa League playoffs. Lyon, managed by Hubert Fournier, hosted Romania’s Astra Giurgiu. Despite an early goal from Steed Malbranque (25th), the Romanian side rallied with goals from Fatai (71st) and Budescu (81st penalty) to win 1-2 on August 21. The return leg in Romania saw Lyon salvage a 1-0 victory through Jordan Ferri (23rd), but the aggregate defeat was a crushing blow. Club legend Bernard Lacombe, then vice-president, famously remarked, “We got hammered by a bunch of nobodies we didn’t even know!”

Steed Malbranque and Maxime Gonalons after the Astra Giurgiu defeat in 2014

Steed Malbranque and Maxime Gonalons following the 1-2 defeat to Astra Giurgiu in August 2014.

Though Lyon recovered to finish second in Ligue 1 in May 2015, securing a return to the Champions League, the summer of 2014 marked the end of 18 consecutive seasons of European football. The defeat to Astra Giurgiu remains the most humiliating of the three setbacks chronicled here.