Lyon’s summer european heartbreaks before facing sparta prague

With a 1-2 away loss to Sparta Prague in the Champions League third qualifying round first leg last Tuesday, Lyon hosts the Czech side tonight (9 PM) for the return. The specter of three previous summer European failures looms large over the club.

If Lyon can overcome the tricky return leg against Sparta Prague tonight (9 PM)—despite last Tuesday’s 1-2 defeat—then navigate the playoffs against Fenerbahçe or Sturm Graz on August 18-19 and 25-26, their Champions League ambitions could still flourish. After all, in the 2009-2010 season, one of their deepest Champions League runs (reaching the semifinals as in 2019-2020), Lyon overcame Anderlecht in the playoffs, sweeping them aside 5-1 and 3-1 in August 2009.

Three notable summer stumbles

Until then, the club faces the daunting prospect of a fourth summer setback in European competition. After defeats to Maribor in 1999 and Real Sociedad in 2013 in the Champions League, and Astra Giurgiu in 2014 in the Europa League, Lyon must now confront the ghosts of these three stumbles—with the second being less embarrassing than the first and third, which could only be described as comical.

August 1999 in the Champions League: the unexpected slap against Maribor

The Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson had just joined from FC Barcelona for 125 million francs (€18 million)—a record sum at the time—and Lyon, fresh off a third-place finish in Ligue 1, entered the Champions League for the first time in their history with high expectations. Yet their debut turned into a fiasco against the modest Slovenian side NK Maribor. Under the guidance of manager Bernard Lacombe, Lyon lost the first leg at home (0-1) on August 10, 1999, stunned by a late Filipovic goal (89th minute) despite dominating play without converting their chances.

The return in Slovenia on August 25 was even worse, with Lyon falling 0-2 to goals from Simundza (24th minute) and Balajic (45th minute), displaying a baffling impotence. That day, players like Sonny Anderson, Tony Vairelles, Alain Caveglia, Vikash Dhorasoo, and Grégory Coupet took to the pitch. The next day’s headlines in L’Équipe read: « Lyon, the summer flop. »

Vikash Dhorasoo playing for Lyon against Maribor in 1999.

Relegated to the UEFA Cup, Lyon were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Werder Bremen (GER, 3-0, 0-4) after overcoming HJK Helsinki (FIN, 5-1, 1-0) and Celtic Glasgow (SCO, 1-0, 1-0). In Ligue 1, Lyon finished third again in May 2000, also being eliminated in the quarterfinals of both the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue.

August 2013 in the Champions League: Griezmann’s revenge

Fourteen years later, Lyon had become a club of entirely different stature, having claimed seven Ligue 1 titles (2002-2008) and reached the Champions League semifinals in 2010 (eliminated by Bayern Munich, 0-1, 0-3). Yet in August 2013, the Rhône club—fresh off a third-place finish in Ligue 1—faced another summer disappointment in the Champions League. After eliminating Grasshopper Zurich in the third qualifying round (1-0, 1-0), Lyon faced Real Sociedad in the playoffs, a club they had once deemed too frail to integrate their youth academy years earlier.

Their former target, Antoine Griezmann, delivered a stunning revenge. In the first leg on August 20 at Gerland, « Grizou » opened the scoring (17th minute) with an acrobatic left-footed volley that made headlines the next day in L’Équipe. The Basque side won 2-0, with Seferovic adding another goal (49th minute). In the return leg at Anoeta on August 28, the story repeated itself for Lyon, then managed by Rémi Garde and featuring players like Samuel Umtiti, Yoann Gourcuff, Alexandre Lacazette, and Nabil Fekir. They fell 0-2 again, this time to a brace from Carlos Vela (67th, 90th + 1 minutes).

Antoine Griezmann scoring for Real Sociedad against Lyon on August 20.

Relegated to the Europa League, Lyon reached the quarterfinals (eliminated by Juventus, 0-1, 1-2) but finished fifth in Ligue 1, exited the Coupe de France in the Round of 16, and lost the Coupe de la Ligue final to PSG (1-2).

August 2014 in the Europa League: the ultimate humiliation against Astra Giurgiu

« We got burned by a bunch of no-hopers we didn’t even know! » With his usual colorful language, the late Bernard Lacombe, then vice-president and special advisor to president Jean-Michel Aulas, perfectly summed up the Lyon disaster in the summer of 2014. The club was eliminated in the Europa League playoffs by the modest Romanian side Astra Giurgiu, despite a 1-0 away win in the return leg on August 28, courtesy of a Jordan Ferri goal (23rd minute).

In the first leg at Gerland on August 21, Lyon—now managed by Hubert Fournier and featuring players like Corentin Tolisso, Christophe Jallet, and Maxime Gonalons—managed to lose 1-2 despite taking an early lead through Steed Malbranque (25th minute). They were undone by goals from Fatai (71st minute) and Budescu (81st minute from the penalty spot).

Steed Malbranque and Maxime Gonalons playing for Lyon against Astra Giurgiu on August 21, 2014.

This embarrassing setback ended eighteen consecutive seasons of uninterrupted European competition for Lyon. The club rallied to finish second in Ligue 1 in May 2015, securing their return to the Champions League the following season.