2007–08 Olympique Lyonnais season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 5 MF  FRA Mathieu Bodmer (€6.5M from Lille[1]) 11 DF  ITA Fabio Grosso (€7M from Internazionale [2][3]) 21 DF  ALG Nadir Belhadj (loan return from Sedan) 22 DF  BRA Anderson (€4M from Benfica) 23 FW  CIV Kader Keïta (€18M from Lille[1])

No. Pos. Nation Player 35 GK  FRA Frédéric Roux (free agent from Ajaccio) 19 FW  ARG César Delgado (€10M from Cruz Azul)[4] 21 MF  ESP Marc Crosas (on loan from Barcelona until the end of the season) 32 DF  FRA Jean-Alain Boumsong (€3M from Juventus) -- MF  BRA Ederson (€15M from Nice, official in June 2008)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 5 DF  BRA Caçapa (Free transfer to Newcastle United) 10 MF  FRA Florent Malouda (€21M to Chelsea[5]) 15 MF  FRA Alou Diarra (€7.75M to Bordeaux[6]) 20 DF  FRA Eric Abidal (€15M to Barcelona[7]) 21 MF  POR Tiago (€13M to Juventus[8]) 23 DF  FRA Jérémy Berthod (€2M to Monaco[9])

No. Pos. Nation Player 38 FW  FRA Gregory Bettiol (€0.33M to Troyes) 39 DF  FRA Mourad Benhamida (Free transfer to Montpellier) -- GK  FRA Rémy Riou (€0.8M to Auxerre) 22 FW  FRA Sylvain Wiltord (€1.5M to Rennes) 21 DF  ALG Nadir Belhadj (€3.6M to Lens)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 MF  BRA Fábio Santos (6 month loan to São Paulo) 7 FW  CZE Milan Baroš (6 month loan to Portsmouth) 12 FW  FRA Loïc Rémy (on loan to Lens until the end of the season)[10] 15 DF  FRA Sandy Paillot (on loan to Grenoble until the end of the season)[10]

Chairman	Jean-Michel Aulas
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Stade Gerland (41,044 / 112x65 yards)

Source: Stade Gerland Profile

After a tough Ligue 1 season marred by injuries to key players, Lyon became champions for the seventh consecutive season holding off Bordeaux. They claimed the title after defeating Auxerre on the final day of the season.

Lyon made their seventh-straight appearance in the UEFA Champions League. They were pitted in the so-called "group of death", which featured German champions VfB Stuttgart, Spanish giants Barcelona and Scottish giants Rangers. After two disappointing 0–3 losses to Barcelona at the Camp Nou and Rangers at home, Lyon rebounded picking up two important wins in their home-away series against Stuttgart. Following their 2–2 draw at home against Barcelona, Lyon faced a tough challenge as they needed to defeat Rangers at Ibrox in order to advance to the knockout stages. As Rangers only needed a draw, odds were against Lyon. However, after an early goal by Sidney Govou, Lyon ended Rangers hope with two late goals from Karim Benzema sending Lyon to the knockout stages for the fifth consecutive season.

Lyon were paired against English champions Manchester United in the Round of 16. After a 1–1 draw at home, Lyon failed to respond at Old Trafford, losing 0–1 on a Cristiano Ronaldo goal just before half-time.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
20 February 2008	First knockout round First leg	Manchester United	H	1 – 1	Benzema  54'	39,230
4 March 2008	First knockout round Second leg	Manchester United	A	0 – 1		75,521

Lyon entered this year's Coupe de la Ligue as the defending runners-up after losing to Bordeaux in the 2007 final. Having made it to the Champions League, Lyon were given their annual bye into the first knockout round, where they defeated Caen 3–1. With that win, they were pitted against Le Mans in the quarter-finals. After an early goal by Le Mans midfielder Daisuke Matsui, Lyon could not break through their sturdy defence as they bowed out of the League Cup for the seventh-straight season, their last cup triumph being in 2001.

Lyon got their Coupe de France season off to a strong start defeating Championnat National side Créteil 4–0, with Karim Benzema picking up a hat-trick. This match was notable as it marked the return of Lyon goalkeeper Grégory Coupet who had been out for four months with a torn medial ligament.[11] Following their Round of 32 success, they were pitted against the surprising, yet upset-minded CFA side Croix de Savoie. After a hard-fought first half, it took an 80th-minute strike from Fred to pull Lyon through to the next round where they faced the defending champions Sochaux. Following an unimpressive first half from both clubs, Benzema opened the scoring for Lyon in the 56th minute. After holding the score at 1–0, Lyon failed to keep a clean sheet as Kandia Traoré equalised for Sochaux near the beginning of injury time. With extra time looming, Benzema again scored for Lyon to give them the victory and the right to move to the quarter-finals, where they faced relegation-bound Metz.

Metz, looking to create something special out of a disappointing league season, played very bravely as they tried to pull off a historic upset. Benzema, however, again scored for Lyon (his 28th of the season and sixth in the Coupe de France) to give them a 1–0 lead in the 39th minute. That would be the eventual scoreline as Lyon advanced to the semifinals where they faced Ligue 2 side Sedan. In one of the more entertaining matches of the cup, with both teams displaying their attacking prowess and both goalkeepers stepping up in times of need, it took one of Juninho's vintage free kicks to finally knock out the tough Ligue 2 side and thus book Lyon's place in the final at the Stade de France, where they faced rivals Paris Saint-Germain. The final was heavily contested and eventually headed into extra time. Lyon finally broke through with a goal from Sidney Govou. Lyon would hold on to that scoreline as they prevailed to capture their fourth Coupe de France title in their history and the first in the Jean-Michel Aulas era. For more information on the final, click below.

Coupe de France Final 2008