7 December 2011 - Lyon Beats The Odds

On 7 December 2011, Lyon advanced in the Champions League despite starting the day from what seemed to be an impossible position.

It was the last day of the group stage and Lyon were in third, behind leaders Real Madrid and second-place Ajax. Lyon were three points behind the Dutch and needed both an Ajax loss and a win of their own over Dinamo Zagreb in order to draw level on points. But the challenge did not stop there. They also needed to make up a 7-goal gap in differential, which was a tough ask given that Lyon had scored only twice in their other five group stage matches (both against Zagreb).

Playing at Dinamo's Stadion Maksimir, the hill grew even steeper after Zagreb took the lead with a 40th-minute goal from midfielder Mateo Kovačić (despite losing midfielder Jerko Leko to a 28th-minute red card). But Bafétimbi Gomis equalized for Lyon just before the break.

The second half belonged to Lyon. By the 70th minute, they were up 1-6 with a goal from Maxime Gonalons (47'), one from Lisandro López (64'), and three more from Gomis (48', 52', 70'). At the same time, Real Madrid were on top of Ajax 0-2, bringing Lyon level with the Dutch on goal differential. Then Jimmy Briand pushed Lyon ahead with a final goal against Zagreb in the 75th minute and Real Madrid added another against Ajax in stoppage time to put Ajax's differential at zero and Lyon's at +2.

Lyon's reward for the improbable result was a trip to the Round of 16, where they were eliminated on penalties by APOEL.

27 November 1941 - France's Friend In Need

On 27 November 1941, World Cup-winning French manager Aimé Jacquet was born in the commune of Sail-sous-Couzan.

He enjoyed a long a successful playing career as a defensive midfielder, spending thirteen seasons at Saint-Étienne from 1960 to 1973. While there, he won five league titles and lifted the Coupe de France three times (and in 1968, he made his only two appearances for France). He moved to Lyon for his last two seasons before retiring in 1976, then took charge of the club as manager that year.

After four seasons in charge of Lyon, he switched to Bordeaux and guided the Girondins to the league title in 1984 and 1985, the Coupe de France in 1986, and a league and cup double in 1987. Despite that success, he fell out with the club president and left in 1989. Brief spells with Montpellier (1989-90) and Nancy (1990-91) followed before he took the reins of the national team in 1993.

When he took over, France had just failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup and shortly afterward suffered the loss of captain Eric Cantona to a year-long suspension. But he rebuilt the team around midfielder Zinedine Zidane and led them to the quarterfinals of Euro '96.

He adopted a 4-2-1-3 formation and frequently experimented with his line-up, which drew heavy criticism from French commentators. But his work led France to victory in the 1998 World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Brazil in the Stade de France.

Jacquet stepped down as manager immediately after the tournament, but served as technical director for the national team until his retirement 2006.

3 August 1950 - Lyon Takes A Leap

On 3 August 1950, a group led by Dr. Albert Trillat founded Olympique Lyonnais, one of France's most successful clubs.

They were originally part of Lyon Olympique Universitaire, a multi-sports club who established a football section in 1899 and went on to win the French title in 1910. But by the late 1940s, rifts appeared in the club over the question of whether to allow professional players. Unable to come to a resolution, a group led by Dr. Trillat left LOU to form a separate club, which they named Olympique Lyonnais.

Starting in the French second division, Lyon played their first official match on 26 August 1950, beating CA Paris 3-0. They won promotion to the top flight in 1951, but dropped back down one year later.

They won their first major honor in 1964, beating Bordeaux in the Coupe de France final, then repeated as champions in 1967 and 1973. After a lengthy lull that included another spell in Ligue 2, they roared back in 2002, winning the first of seven consecutive league titles (and another Coupe de France in 2008).

Since that historic run, they have yet to win another league title, most recently finishing in fourth, but they added another Coupe de France in 2012.

21 April 2007 - Lyon Was Lying In Wait

On 21 April 2007, Lyon clinched their sixth consecutive Ligue 1 title, even though they didn't play that day.

The critical match was at Rennes, who were hosting second-place Toulouse. Going into the match, Toulouse were eighteen points back with six matches left to play. So in order to steal the title away from Lyon, Toulouse needed to win all six of their matches, have Lyon fail to take a point from their remaining six matches, and make up a 27-goal gap in differential between the two teams.

It was unlikely task, but Toulouse got off to a good start when they took a first half lead with a goal from midfielder Achille Emana (30'). Rennes drew level, however, with a 63rd-minute penalty kick from Jimmy Briand (pictured), then claimed the advantage with a goal from Sylvain Marveaux (75'). An own goal from Briand in the 77th minute extended a lifeline to Toulouse, but as the visitors pressed forward, Rennes midfielder Bruno Cheyrou sealed the day for the hosts with a goal three minutes from time.

As it turned out, Lyon would have taken the title anyway, as they won three and drew two of their remaining matches to finish seventeen points clear of Marseille (Toulouse finished in third).

The result made Lyon champions for a record sixth straight season, the first time any team from the "Big 5" European leagues had managed such a feat. They then extended the record to seven the following season.