However busy Gerland gardeners may have been to ensure this game would not be cancelled due to the current cold wave striking in Europe, the French football authorities tried to get a few more degrees in anticipating it to 4.15 PM instead of 9PM, in the hope that a few sunrays would heat up the atmosphere.

2012, after 2001?
Today is a crucial day as we'll know whether we continue our currently successful run in 4 competitions. Since the last victory against Dijon, OL players and staff didn't focus on the all important incoming clash at the Velodrome against Marseille, which could condition the path of the two clubs in L1.

So we're back to yet another Cup game. Not the Coupe de la Ligue, that was last week. Not the Coupe de France either, that was the week before. No, wait, that's the Coupe de France again, but the next round. I'm getting confused... The good thing is that Lisandro isn't. He repeated this week that he WANTS to get a trophy with OL this year, and a French Cup, whichever it is, is a good and (normally) not too difficult way to get one.

Stay cool, it may feel like deja vu but you're not in the Matrix. It's just this French invention of adding to the venerable Coupe de France a modern nemesis called Coupe de la Ligue, and programming them at the same period.

This cup is the least respected of the two and many presidents already said it should be abandoned, but it has at least two advantages : First, it is the shortest route to a title, meaning it's an opportunity to salvage your season when you've missed the top spot of the championship (thinking of anyone?

An ocean of luck, that's what Lyon have been bathing in for the last month or so. Even last saturday, OL have won their last home game of the year, for the first time in ten years: another sign of the success of Lyonnais in December. A miracle in the Champions League, followed by other very favorable news (Nicosia, for C1, the neighbor La Duchère for La Coupe de France, a string of referee decisions that got us to win) four straight wins in the Championship .

How does one go from a miracle to synthetic grass? This sums up the problem faced by the Lyon squad just a few days after an heroic and historical game that took everyone by surprise.

For that's the big question mark tonight : in what condition will the heroes of Zagreb be in Lorient : back down to earth (or rather to the synthetic pitch with artificial grass of le Moustoir stadium), or still floating somewhere with their minds still in Zagreb, with a heavy hangover after days of partying night and day?

Dinamo Zagreb vs. Olympique Lyonnais

Matchday 6, UEFA Champions League Group Stages 2011/12.

The equation is simple really. Make mincemeat out of Dinamo Zagreb in Zagreb, and bribe Madrid to make fruit punch out of Ajax in Amsterdam. Seven strikers, one defender (Lovren, of course) and three goalkeepers ought to be enough, one would think?

4 months. 4 months since we couldn't count on a full squad. And boy, was it felt. But could our initial fortunes be coming back to us? All of a sudden, no more injured (except Tafer and substitute keepers Vercoutre and Lopes), no more suspended (Dabo has served his three matches after being sent off against Saint-Etienne).

Auxerre vs. Olympique Lyonnais,

Matchday 15, Ligue 1

"If you're going to do things differently, you might as well be bad at them. "

This message is what team Lyonnais seems to be reading every morning for the past two months. Of course, nobody would have expected them to continue their fine form of the first twelve games throughout the rest of the season.

Bad luck. Just about to start the biggest game of this fall, and possibly of this season, Olympique Lyonnais is in disarray. After a promising start to the season, both in the game and in the mindset, OL is so far in a series of three defeats, regardless of the competition. Rémi Garde's men are ineffective upfront and fragile behind.

The international break being over, in Lyon, it's recovery time, after losing ground, both in the Championnat and in the Champions League, to an unexpected extent : four away defeats in a row.

It is not sure yet whether it's time to announce the OL nouveau, like people celebrated the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau, but one thing is likely: it should be stronger, more mature and probably more sparkling.

6 games, 6 wins. 20 goals scored, 1 conceded. That was the month of October for Real, very probably the best European team right now.

They beat Lyon in Bernabeu 4-0 two weeks ago, and we haven't changed that much since then: Lisandro is still missing, as are Grenier and Pied.

Beaten fair and square in Madrid on Tuesday (0-4), the Olympique Lyonnais faces its toughest resilience test today. In order not to lose confidence in itself and sink into pessimism, the club must avoid a defeat in the stadium where the Champion of France, Lille, is waiting for it. And even if the LOSC also suffered a big setback against Inter Milan this week, this encounter is the clash of the 11th L1 matchday.

Real Madrid CF vs. Olympique Lyonnais.

UEFA Champions League Group Stages 2011/12.

On a very symbolic note, the top three French teams go head to head against the strongest forces of the top three leagues in the world. Lille up against Inter Milan, Marseille against Arsenal, and closer home, Real Madrid go head to toe and foot to mouth against Lyon.

Ding ding, the international break is over, it's time to wake up as the Ligue 1 championship resumes this weekend. All teams will have rested their players -especially those who only have a few or no internationals- and taken the time at training to work on aspects they don't usually touch upon, all this in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Ladies and gentlemen, beware today's match is no ordinary game. It's THE match. The game between an ex-outsider turned new rich and an ex-king turned poor, the highly symbolic encounter between the two teams who, after 8 matchdays, are the most often tipped for the title.

Coinciding trajectories
PSG -or QSG (Qatar Saint Germain)- had shown their ambitions with a glittering and flashy recruitment this summer, to the point of becoming the logical favorite for the French championship.

Funny how football fortunes can quickly change... Not so long ago, such a game would have been eagerly expected, for this was promising an intense and entertaining game. But shortly before Laurent Blanc announced he would be leaving the Girondins to take the reigns of the French National Team, the internal dynamics of the so far successful team started to derail.

Name them "Clash of the two Olympiques", or "Olympico", or "les sardines débarquent chez les quenelles" (can't wait to see you guys running that one on Google Translation !), these games have become milestones of the Ligue 1 season, so football lovers and broadcasters alike- love them.

But these popular encounters haven't always been so eagerly expected, much less so than an OM-PSG, for instance.

Dijon Mustard is a tricky seasoning. You put the the right dose and it enhances the taste; but if you put a little too much it ruins the dish. And burns your tongue.
So OL better watch out today as they resume the championship following an international break.

Lyon vs. Montpellier – Stade de Gerland, 27 Aug 2011.

Déj vu! Real Madrid has sought yet another appointment with Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League Group Stages. Much would needed to be done to get through the Group of Near-Death D with possibly second position at best, all the while looking for slipups by Madrid against either Ajax or Dinamo Zagreb.

Stade Brestois 29 Olympique Lyonnais Week 3

It hasn't been all sunshine and lollypops for Lyon coach Remi Garde's kick-off to the season, he still hopes to take the team out of the curse of the conceded goal. Is it just a fluke or do they really need this wake-up call?

The Title and nothing less!

Money, hope and pride. That's what is at stake today. And people thought it was about a simple football game...

Money, because between 2003 and 2010, OL's presence in Champions League allowed them to pocket 21 million Euros each year on average.

Worried. Rarely have Lyon supporters felt so worried before the start of the championship. Worried that, for the first time in over ten years, their club might not be on the podium come the last game of the season. Indeed, Ligue 1 observers now seem to predominantly place Lyon in the outsiders category, with Paris, Marseille and Lille being the favourites for the podium.

Ready, steady, go! Wait : to where?

And boy, have these few days been busy.

At last! Claude Puel having finally received his letter of dismissal, will probably move south, to Spain... or wherever. What matters now is that the club finally announce today what had been rumoured for several weeks now : Rémi Garde is our new coach.

With this nomination, the club will now be able to fully devote themselves to the reconstruction of a squad that should be amputated by some of their best elements : Jeremy Toulalan being gone, the likes of Bastos, Cissokho, possibly Kallström, Ederson and pretty much anyone who's not deemed absolutely untransferable.

Money, money, money... Is it just me, or is there a definite shift in the perceived focus of the club from the Champions League to the bankers league?
I guess that was unavoidable, as, like most European clubs, OL has been hit financially lately. And, among France's leadership to install financial fair play in football, Jean-Michel Aulas can be considered as a good money manager, as shown by his club's financial evolution under his tenure.

A step further in importance : that's how this last game compares to the emotional rollercoaster that last year's ultimate game was. Because not only will it condition our final ranking, but it will also be the end of a cycle, and possibly several.

First cycle ending : the 2010-2011 season
There's no need to comment on this overall disappointing season, bar a respectable run of 13 unbeaten games following the derby lost in St Etienne in September.

The following article has been written by our new guest blogger Dan. Enjoy!

To use the crudest of paradoxes, if PSG were a fisherman, he would starve. Because, time after time they are given a golden opportunity through a Lyon slip-up to take and cement third place. But time and again, time and again.

In the following article, guest blogger Dan reviews the last two matchdays before introducing the next one. Enjoy!
Megame

Predictable...in lack of Predictability
Typical, typical Lyon. First, les Gones played like Titans in a brilliant Olympico. Delgado was monstrous (if only he could manage to stay fit; he has only started 19 games for OL in the last 2 years.

(The following article was entirely written and illustrated by Nikhil Apte, our new blogger)

Stunning comeback against Marseille on Sunday! Yes, there shouldn't have been a need for one in the first place, but who's complaining! Captain fantastic Cris came up with a goal that would make many a striker (or hitman for that matter) proud.

There are days like this when as a supporter you wonder what's going to happen to you ahead of a big game. Excitation, tension, explosion.. (and, for OL supporters after a no-match like against Toulouse last week, frustration and desperation).

And today is one heck of a big game.

(The following was entirely written by our new blogger Nikhil Apte, I'm just lending my admin account while we sort this out with The Offside)

Another weekend at the comfortable No. 3 spot in the league table for Olympique Lyonnais! Week 33 sees the queue for the last Champions League eligibility spot thinning by quite a margin.

A complete paradox. Rarely have we seen such a situation in which, despite the tight race in which the top 5 teams are engaged and for which every point can make a huge difference in the final ranking, one particular game is completely useless. In other terms, whether the Lyonnais decide to play at their best and win, or choose to just sit down on the pitch and have a little picnic between friends, is completely insignificant : they will still hold the third spot after the game.

PSG Lyon certainly is a crucial game, but even more important to this blogging community is the arrival of a long time follower and contributor of the Lyon Offside, Nikhil Apte, who kindly accepted (OK, I may have held him briefly at gun point) to help me with posting. So please welcome him, especially as a PSG-OL preview is not the easiest task for a blogging debut.

Pressure cooker ready to burst, or bowl of overboiled noodles?
Difficult to anticipate the spirits in which the players will face Lens today. A week after the draw against Nice (2-2), much has been leaked, distorted, or exaggerated, about the atmosphere within the squad. Yes, Hugo Lloris exploded after the match, on his way back to the locker rooms.

In a fortnight of international football in which half of the Lyonnais have gone missing, selected for their respective international duties, Claude Puel and his staff said they nonetheless managed to have interesting training sessions with the few souls remaining along the Rhône at the Tola Vologe training facility, progressively incorporating their returning colleagues.

Still groggy after the beating suffered in stadium Santiago Bernabeu against the Merengue, Lyon face one of their toughest rivals for the title, whose regularity and quiet presence on the podium since several weeks speak louder about their true potential than the low profile displayed by the club and their famous corsican coach Frédéric Antonetti.

25 or 7 ?
25% vs 7 times. That pretty much sums up the whole uncertainty around this game. Statistically, Lyon only have a 25% chance to qualify after the draw (1-1) conceded at home, three weeks ago. But this small percentage is opposed to the record of confrontations between the two teams, largely in favor of OL : 7 games against Real, 0 loss.

Where the Lionceaux (the cubs) meet Lyon... This saturday, the FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, unbeaten in three matches, hosts the Olympique Lyonnais, currently fourth before this 27th day of Ligue 1. The Lyonnais have the opportunity to overtake Marseille and reach the third step of the podium, getting closer (at 1 point distance) to the leader, Lille, until they play on sunday, and to Rennes who lost to Marseille (2-0).

Caution, trap ahead!
Moving from the high-tension, high publicity Real Madrid then Lille games to welcoming the worst team of the championship, on a late Sunday afternoon, is a wide gap, that is not without risks. Decompression is inevitable, the Lyonnais know it only too well.