With Lyon’s domestic and European dominance, who realistically has a chance to challenge them in 19/20 season?
Olympique Lyon fans beat drums during the Women's Champions League match between Lyon and Wolfsburg at Stade de Lyon on March 29, 2017 in Lyon, France.
(March 28, 2017 - Source: Christopher Lee/Getty Images Europe)
The UEFA Women’s Champions League is currently underway and there is one question hanging in the air when it comes to Europe’s biggest club competition. Over the years, Olympique Lyonnais has sustained its position as a dominant force in women’s football, it can easily be said that they are the most prolific team in the world today. Who would be able to match Lyon and take over the European crown? Is it even possible with the current heavyweights that constitute Lyon’s squad? What they have managed to achieve puts them amongst the greatest teams in the world. This team is arguably the most accomplished team in women football as we speak. They are the most feared and sought after team in the world, loved and revered for their game and their championship values.
Why is it difficult to beat Lyon?
Years after the UEFA Women’s Champions League was formed, there are still only a few teams that can go against this formidable squad. The world’s finest players want to play for the team, as a result, they have a talent pool of incredible players such as the Norwegian Ada Herderberg and England’s Lucy Bronze who have been key in the team. This dominance has resulted in Lyon being a team that others look up to. Some have called them the best team assembled in history and this is not to exaggerate and sensationalize the feats that Lyon have been able to achieve in France and Europe. While winning the European Cup is an accomplishment that most teams dream of, Lyon have consistently had the reigns both domestically and in Europe. Once again, few teams can claim such a record and not even teams in the males’ game. The greatest thing to watch about Lyon is the consistency, for fans, it’s satisfying to know that your team is going to be consistent.
“If we needed another example of Vivianne Miedema’s greatness and as a dominant figure on the pitch, the Netherlands’ all-time top goalscorer is this season’s UCL top goal scorer ahead of the aforementioned Ada Hegerberg, netting 10 goals in 4 matches of the competition so far. ”
Vicky Losada of FC Barcelona conducts the ball under pressure from Delphine Cascarino of Olympique Lyon during the UEFA Women's Champions League Quarter Final 2nd Leg match between FC Barcelona Women and Olympique Lyon Women at Mini Estadi on March 28, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain.
(March 27, 2018 - Source: Alex Caparros/Getty Images Europe)
Lyon Factsheet
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin was formed in 1970 in the historic city of Lyon and since then has risen in leaps and bounds with record-breaking accolades spanning both domestically and in European football. OL have an astonishing seventeen domestic French league titles to their name. Maintaining that top position can be attributed to their dominance which has attracted the best players and continues to be the place of choice for the world’s most talented players. When the Ballon D’Or award was finally set to be awarded to a woman for the first time, six women from the team were nominated namely, the brilliant Lucy Bronze Amandine Henry, Saki Kumagai, Dzsenifer Marozsan, Marta, and Ada Herderberg who eventually walked away with the prestigious award. The Norwegian has recently smashed another record by becoming the all-time top goalscorer with fifty-two goals in fifty UEFA Women’s Champions League games. Lyon have also claimed their most recent player accolade, the 2019 UEFA Women’s Best Player Award which went to defender Lucy Bronze, the fourth Lyon player in the last four years to receive this prestigious award. Award after award has helped serve as evidence to the fact that they are just the greatest team in the world right now. The facts have it that Lyon is not only highly successful in the women’s game but also in comparison to the achievements of male teams that have been around for much longer.
However, the top teams that have the potential to knock Lyon from European dominance include:
PSG
We cannot talk about any rivalry in France that is more prominent than that of PSG and Lyon. Although OL has won most of the titles in Division 1 Féminine, PSG has always been next in line. In the last 9 seasons in the domestic league, they have managed to lose only two games. In France, PSG are two-time cup winners and no strangers to the UCL, making it to the finals in 2015 and 2017 losing to Frankfurt and Lyon on the respective occasions. PSG have a team that has a wealth of experienced, captained by 41-year old veteran Formiga. Similar to their male counterparts, PSG Feminine have a young star, Marie-Antoinette Katoto who was last season’s Ligue 1 top goal scorer and with five goals in the tournament so far. A controversial decision by France head coach Corinne Diacre to leave the 20-year-old striker from the 2019 World Cup squad raised eyebrows, with Diacre explaining that the PSG striker was not meeting up to 100% of her talent. Katoto has continued to be the key in PSG’s domestic and European campaign this season.
isa Evans, Emma Mitchell and Kim Little of Arsenal Women celebrate with the trophy after the WSL Continental Cup Final between Arsenal Women and Manchester City Ladies at Adams Park on March 14, 2018 in High Wycombe, England.
(March 13, 2018 - Source: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images Europe)
Arsenal
Coming back from a five-year hiatus from Champions League football, the energy that they have been bringing to the games in the Champions League has been electric. They won last season’s Super Cup and are currently the only English team to qualify for the 2019/20 UWCL quarter-finals. Arsenal are former UCL champions themselves, lifting the cup in 2007. The current campaign has started off well for the Gunners, with a brilliant showing in the recent round of sixteen showcase against Slavia Prague whom they beat 13-2 on aggregate. Arsenal’s squad also has a good number of talents to boast of. One such major talent is the young Dutch phenomenon, Vivianne Miedema who is the heart of Arsenal’s attack with her spectacular goal-scoring abilities. She’s quickly becoming one of Europe’s most valuable players at just the age of 23. If we needed another example of Vivianne Miedema’s greatness as a dominant figure on the pitch, the Netherlands’ all-time top goalscorer is this season’s UCL top goal scorer ahead of the aforementioned Ada Hegerberg, netting 10 goals in 4 matches of the competition so far. Another Dutch player and Arsenal’s top woman is Jill Roord, the 22-year old midfielder who joined the North Londoners this summer from Bayern Munich after two years in the Bundesliga. After being drawn on the same side as Lyon in the Quarterfinals, it is likely that Arsenal will meet Lyon in the semi-finals if they go through past PSG.
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg achieved a treble in the 2012-2013 season, winning the Bundesliga title, domestic cup and going on to win the UEFA Champions League. Stephan Lerch’s team holds the second-most consecutive wins in the UEFA Champions League finals after Lyon. The Bundesliga has been dominated by Wolfsburg, having won five titles in the last six seasons. The She-wolves are unbeaten in their domestic games and could go on to meet the French champions, Lyon in the finals. The pressure will be on Wolfsburg who have an anchor in Pernille Harder, an inspirational figure in the squad to lead them to a possible second-ever UCL title.
Dzsenifer Marozsan of Olympique Lyon battles with Isabel Kerschowski of VFL Wolfsberg and Babett Peter of VFL Wolfsberg during the Women's Champions League match between Lyon and Wolfsburg at Stade de Lyon on March 29, 2017 in Lyon, France.
(March 28, 2017 - Source: Christopher Lee/Getty Images Europe
Barcelona
Last year’s runners up could potentially face Lyon in the 2020 UCL final. In last year’s meeting, Barca was overwhelmed by a strong Lyon side that put four past their goal to win a fourth UCL title in a row during last season’s competition. The Spanish giants have four domestic titles to boast of in the Primera División. Barca’s team is so solid that as many as 15 of its players were called up to their respective national teams. Star player Lieke Martens who suffered an injury during the world cup is set to return to the field for the UCL quarter-finals. Barcelona faces another tough opponent in domestic rivals and current league champions Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 8.
Conclusion
Lyon has shown the world that they are a brilliantly assembled team that consists of the best players in the world; an unstoppable force and a formula for repetitive titles. Their unmatched dominance is just another example of why they deserve to be called the best team in the world. They have also shown that the women’s game should be paid attention to as they cease not to deliver performances that continue to garner them titles and a much-coveted reputation. It’s a difficult exercise to point which team has the potential to topple Lyon but as years go by, other teams are definitely getting stronger and making it harder for Lyon to retain their European dominance.
The first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-finals will be held in March 2020 with the semi-finals happening on April 25-26 and May 2-3. Be on the lookout for more stories as the competition unfolds.