Paris St-Germain have now clinched their 13th French league titles with six games to spare and there is still a possibility that they do it by going ‘invincible’. Ligue 1 wasn’t always dominated by them however as before the Qatari investment landed at their doorstep in 2011, it was Lyon that were the foremost force of French football in the 2000s.

Lyon’s Golden Run

Heading into the turn of the century, Lyon weren’t playing about. Following a closely fought season in 2000/01 where Lyon came so close to the title, missing out by four points, Lyon made sure to get the job done next season. Get it done they did, clinching the crown on the last day of the season after beating title rivals RC Lens 3-1.

That first title of the club’s history would turn out to be the first of many as this Olympique Lyon squad would go on to win a record breaking seven consecutive titles. Jacques Santini had done his job in earning Lyon their title and vacated his role after two years as passing up on the opportunity to become the manager of the French national team would have been something he would have severely regretted.

Appointing a new manager was a difficult process as getting the wrong man in the dugout could have cost Lyon all the momentum they were starting to build up. Thankfully for all those involved with the club, bringing in Paul Le Guen was the perfect decision. Come July 1st 2002, he had signed on to become Lyon manager and in three years he helped deliver three Ligue 1 titles to the club. Leaving a part of his legacy with the French outfit, he resigned on the 9th of May 2005, allowing former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier to takeover.

Houllier had spent 307 games in charge of Liverpool during his six-year stint and was a serial winner with the Merseyside club. His knowledge of the game and proven ability to win silverware brought another two Ligue 1 titles to Lyon now making it six in a row. Similarly to Santini, once Houllier had decided to leave Lyon, he took up a role with the French national team, becoming their Director of Football.

The last man to bring a French league title to Lyon was Alain Perrin who was only at the club for just a year but still managed to make them champions in that short space of time. Sadly, that is where Lyon’s reign of terror in Ligue 1 came to an end thanks to sales of key players and not being able to find elite managers to help with securing that eight title.

Heavyweight Names

Lyon’s success didn’t just happen overnight, they knuckled down in the 1990s and began focusing on their future. Smart recruitment, youth development and financial sustainability the three tasks to be prioritised over everything else. Throughout their seven-year cruise of Ligue 1 they showcased all three essentials.

Brazilian great Juninho was one of the first big names that Lyon picked up along the way to their seven titles. He was influential to the success of the club after his free transfer from Vasco da Gama back in 2001. Over the course of his eight-year stay with Lyon he made 248 appearances, scoring 75 goals and creating 55 assists. Notorious for his fantastic free-kick efforts, Juninho found the back of the net 44 times from direct free-kick attempts across all competitions for Lyon. His efforts have seen him become the fifth all-time leading goalscorer for Lyon and will be remembered for the rest of time.

Juninho sat atop Jose Edmilson's shoulders as Lyon clinch a third league title in a row, 2004. pic.twitter.com/f43QNLCLaz

— 2000s Football (@FootballFrom00s) June 21, 2021

By the time that Lyon had won their second leg title, money was starting to come in and they had garnered enough funds to purchase midfield maestro Michael Essien from fellow Ligue 1 side SC Bastia for a fee of €11.70 million. In today’s money that would amount to around €26 million. Essien was a beast in midfield, combing his strength, dribbling and powerful shots in the two seasons he spent in Lyon to then earn himself a move to Chelsea in the Premier League for €38 million and the rest is history.

20 years ago… 'The Bison', Michael Essien joined Lyon to become a 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 🇬🇭💫 pic.twitter.com/ADVFNTXIhP

— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) July 7, 2023

The youth academy at Lyon has produced some great names, the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Alexandre Lacazette, Corentin Tolisso and Nabil Fekir to name a few from the modern era but they have produced none better than Karim Benzema. In his 148 games at Lyon, Benzema scored 66 times and provided 27 assists. The fifth leading all-time French national team goalscorer averaged 107 minutes per goal contribution and won four Ligue 1 titles with the club. Not mention he was only 17 to 21 years-old during his time at Lyon. Since then and Benzema famously moved to Real Madrid in 2009 for €35 million and is their second all-time leading goalscorer behind none other than Cristiano Ronaldo and in 2022 he was crowned with most prestigious individual accolade in world football, winning the Balon D’Or.

Karim Benzema at Lyon:

• 66 goals.
• 27 assists.
• 107 minutes per goal contribution.
- 4x consecutive Ligue 1 titles.

At 17-21 years of age. pic.twitter.com/4V0erSp0bm

— TC (@totalcristiano) March 23, 2022

A Few Feats

During their amazing seven consecutive title winning run, Lyon achieved some great things. Under Paul Le Guen, Lyon went undefeated at the Stade de Gerland, their then home. La Guen followed that up the next season by managing his team to the best attack in the league. That 2003/04 Lyon team scored the most goals in Ligue 1, netting a total of 71 times. In his third and final stint in charge, La Guen to home the title having lost just twice across the whole domestic campaign.

Gérard Houllier had a lot to live up to but he delivered in his two-year spell. His first season as Lyon manager ended with a title of course but his also lead his team to a 15-point gap to second placed Bordeaux. In the 2005/06 season, Lyon had earned, at the time, the most dominant Ligue 1 season having won the title whilst picking up a tally of 81 points.

Lyon’s last title also came with an added bonus as Alain Perrin not only won the Ligue 1 title that year but also the Coupe de France as well.

Joyeux anniversaire à Alain Perrin qui fête ses 65 ans 🎂 pic.twitter.com/4Z70oyz8l3

— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) October 7, 2021

Learning A Thing Or Two

On the other hand to all of this, Lyon’s women’s team is carrying on the tradition of being the best French team out there. They have won 17 titles and almost consecutively too if it were not for the efforts of Paris St-Germain in the 2020/21 season. Still, lifting the trophy for 14 years is historic.

HISTORIQUE. INCROYABLE. LÉGENDAIRE. 🔴🔵

Avec cette victoire face à @VfLWob_Frauen (3 à 1) en #UWCLFinal, nos joueuses remportent la 7ème @uwcl du club et marquent à jamais l’histoire du football avec ce cinquième sacre consécutif ! #WOLOL

CHAMP7ONNES ! 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 pic.twitter.com/wDYEVHg7Q9

— OL Féminin (@OLfeminin) August 30, 2020

It is not only domestically where Olympique Lyonnais Féminin have shown dominance. The prestigious European competition of the UEFA Women’s Champions League is something that they have won a record eight times and from the 2015/16 season to the 2020/21 season, Les Fenottes won the tournament back-to-back five times.

Fading Out

The buy low, sell high approach has worked wonders for Lyon. The investments they placed into youth prospects to nurture and move on for a profit have been a key reason for the continued success over the years. However, it seemed to have worked too well as after their seventh Ligue 1 in a row, they failed to repeat the trick for an eighth title and have not seen themselves win another title since.

Over the course of two seasons, 2008/09 and 2009/10, Lyon lost many talents, including the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Loïc Rémy, Milan Baros, Juninho and Karim Benzema. Despite the huge sums of money they received from those sales, it wasn’t enough to clinch the Ligue 1 title again.

On this day in 2009, Karim Benzema signed for Real Madrid.

They got themselves a generational great 🤍 pic.twitter.com/zvr8hRwzrH

— GOAL (@goal) July 9, 2022

Lyon have come close to winning again, coming second in the 2009/10 season and back-to-back runners-up medals in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons but alas not lifting the trophy.

Now that Paris St-Germain are such a huge club with the money they can spend, their ability to dominate Ligue 1 the way that Lyon used to as well as their continued European adventures, it seems like the days of Lyon being the powerhouses of French football are over.

Lyon in the 2000s weren’t just winners, they were trailblazers. They carved their own identity with attacking flair, tactical intelligence, and homegrown talent.

7 titles. 1 dynasty. Countless memories.