August 1999 in the Champions League: The Shocking Defeat to Maribor

Fresh off a blockbuster transfer coup by signing Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson from FC Barcelona for 125 million Francs (€18M)—a staggering sum at the time—Lyon, who had finished third in Ligue 1, entered the Champions League with high hopes. Their maiden voyage into Europe’s elite competition turned into a nightmare. Under manager Bernard Lacombe, Lyon suffered a 0-1 home defeat in the first leg of the third qualifying round on August 10, 1999, stunned by a late Filipovic goal (89th minute) despite dominating play.

In Slovenia for the return leg on August 25, the situation worsened as Lyon capitulated 0-2, with goals from Simundza (24th minute) and Balajic (45th minute), revealing a baffling impotence. That day’s lineup featured Anderson alongside Tony Vairelles, Alain Caveglia, Vikash Dhorasoo, and Grégory Coupet. The following day’s headline in L’Équipe read: “Lyon, the Summer Flop.”

Relegated to the UEFA Cup, Lyon was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Werder Bremen (GER, 3-0, 0-4) after dispatching 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, bowing out in the quarterfinals of both domestic cup competitions.

August 2013 in the Champions League: Griezmann’s Revenge

Fourteen years later, Lyon was a club of entirely different stature, having secured seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles (2002 to 2008) and reached a Champions League semifinal in 2010 (eliminated by Bayern Munich, 0-1, 0-3). Yet in August 2013, the Rhône club—third in Ligue 1 that May—faced another summer disappointment in the Champions League. After dispatching Grasshopper Zurich (SUI) in the third qualifying round (1-0, 1-0), Lyon met Real Sociedad in the playoffs, the club having dismissed Antoine Griezmann as too frail for their youth academy years earlier.

The French striker exacted his revenge in spectacular fashion. In the first leg on August 20 at Gerland, “Grizou” opened the scoring (17th minute) with an acrobatic left-footed volley that dominated the next day’s L’Équipe front page. The Basque side went on to win 2-0, with Seferovic adding a second (49th minute). In the return leg at Anoeta on August 28, the pattern repeated itself for Lyon, managed by Rémi Garde and featuring Samuel Umtiti, Yoann Gourcuff, Alexandre Lacazette, and Nabil Fekir. They fell 0-2 to a Carlos Vela brace (67th, 90+1st minutes).

Relegated to the Europa League, Lyon reached the quarterfinals (eliminated by Juventus Turin, 0-1, 1-2). They finished fifth in Ligue 1, were knocked out in the Coupe de France 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 hammered by a bunch of clowns we didn’t even know!” With his customary colorful language, the late Bernard Lacombe—then vice-president and special advisor to president Jean-Michel Aulas—perfectly summed up Lyon’s ordeal in the summer of 2014. The club was humiliatingly eliminated in the Europa League playoffs by Romania’s modest Astra Giurgiu, despite a 1-0 away victory in the second leg on August 28, courtesy of Jordan Ferri’s 23rd-minute strike.

In the first leg at Gerland on August 21, Lyon—managed by Hubert Fournier—managed to lose 1-2 despite Steed Malbranque’s early strike (25th minute). They were undone by goals from Fatai (71st minute) and Budescu (81st minute, penalty).