Olympique Lyon

[Mighty T.A.L.]

A number of French clubs have registered their firm interest in River Plate's highly-rated starlet Gonzalo Higuain.

The 19-year-old is currently one of world football's most talked about youngsters, with his future for club and country hotly debated.

Whilst Higuain continues to deliberate whether to commit himself to Argentina or France - the country of his birth - the striker will also have to make a decision about his club future sooner rather than later.

Higuain has been linked with a whole host of clubs but a move to Le Championnat looks most likely at present for the teenager who has scored six goals in 11 games for River so far this season.

Marseille, Lyon, Paris Saint Germain and St Etienne have all been linked with the player, and Higuain's father Jorge - who played in France when his son was born - admits he has been in contact with a number of unnamed Ligue 1 sides.

"He is learning French, it is good for him to adapt," Higuain senior told But.

"I talked with French clubs.

"I don't want to say more about those contacts as nothing is settled.

"But things are going well."

Higuain is expected to cost upwards of €10 million (£6.7 million) for any club serious about securing his signature in the winter window, with super-agent Pini Zahavi - who owns 50 percent of the player's rights - keen on moving the player to England.

His international future is also far from clear cut with both Argentina and France desperate to recruit the striker.

Les Bleus coach Raymond Domenech has already made public his interest in the River star, and Higuain says he is taking his time to make the right decision.

"Since Raymond Domenech talked about me, everybody asks about France selection," Higuain told AFP.

"It has become a big affair in Argentina.

"I am at the centre of many solicitations these days, I have to think about it because it is a big decision to make."

Source: http://home.skysports.com

Domenech is eager to get Higuain to play for France since after figured out he was born in France.Higuain has now received a pre-call to the France squad for their next friendly against Greece.Which international team he wants to commit to will be cleared out until then I think.

[TO DEVILS]

Ligue 1: Lyon out to stretch lead at Sedan

PARIS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Leaders Olympique Lyon have the opportunity to widen the gap at the top of the Ligue 1 when they travel to bottom-of-the-table Sedan while second-placed Lille face a tricky game at Sochaux on Saturday.


'We are going there to win. We expect this match to be very tough,' said Brazilian defender Claudio Cacapa, who is returning after a two-month injury layoff.


'Even if it is the leaders against the bottom club, it is difficult. We will have to be ready mentally,' he added.

Lyon, who have won all their away games but one this season, have little to fear from promoted Sedan, who have nine points from 13 matches and lie 25 points adrift of the five-times champions.

Lille, second in the standings 10 points off the pace, travel to fifth-placed Sochaux.

'We will have to fight against every team if we want to remain in the top three as everything is still very tight behind Lyon,' Lille defender Nicolas Plestan told the club's website.

'Our second place is something ephemeral, we have to keep working to keep it. And we must play a good match at Sochaux.'

Sixth-placed St Etienne, who host lowly Nice, are only three points adrift of Lille.

Monaco, who moved out of the relegation zone last weekend, will be eager to build on their 4-0 thrashing of Troyes when they entertain promoted Lorient.

On Sunday, Olympique Marseille will be out to end a four match losing streak against Valenciennes, who have yet to win away from their Nungesser Stadium.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...392124&cc=5901

[Magical20]

i remember working out in the gym, walking past the tv's and i just STOPPED AND STARED at this team.. you have an AWESOME team, you're incredibly strong.. i would love Lyon to meet Barça somehwere further along in the CL .. that would be such a great game..

bonne chance, lyon !

[TO DEVILS]

Ligue 1: Leaders Lyon open up 12-point lead

PARIS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Olympique Lyon, who have shown signs of wear recently, stretched their lead to 12 points in Ligue 1 with a lucky 1-0 win at bottom club Sedan on Saturday.


The five-times champions, now on 37 points from 14 matches, benefited from an own goal by Sedan defender Nadjim Abdou 10 minutes from time.


In Saturday's early kickoff, second-placed Lille, whose trip to Sochaux ended in a 0-0 stalemate, dropped two points.

RC Lens moved up to third level on points with arch-rivals Lille after a 2-0 win over struggling Nantes, courtesy of a 47th-second goal by defender Adama Coulibaly and a second-half free kick by midfielder Seydou Keita.

Despite their win, Lyon were a shadow of their dominant selves. They were without injured forwards Fred and Karim Benzema and had winger Sylvain Wiltord sidelined with gastroenteritis.

Striker John Carew proved too clumsy in front of goal and Lyon eventually cracked the most porous defence in the league when Juninho pulled the ball back from the left into the middle of the box and it was deflected into his own net by Abdou.

'We never give up. Despite so many objectives, we are still there,' Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet told Canal Plus.

'We knew they would put a lot of pressure on us and we struggled to approach their goal,' added Coupet, whose team will travel to Real Madrid for a Champions League showdown next week.

A second half goal by Sebastien Puygrenier earned Nancy a 1-0 victory over Troyes as the Easterners climbed up to fourth level on points with Lille and Lens.

St Etienne are fifth after first-half goals by strikers Frederic Piquionne and Pascal Feindouno gave Les Verts a 2-1 home win against Nice.

Paris St Germain were booed off their Parc des Princes pitch after an embarrassing 2-0 defeat by Girondins Bordeaux.

Brazilian midfielder Wendell and striker Lilian Laslandes scored Bordeaux's goals against a pitiful PSG side.

Jeremy Menez salvaged a 2-2 draw for struggling Monaco at home against Lorient when he scored the equaliser 10 minutes into the second half.

On Sunday, Olympique Marseille will be out to end a four-match losing streak when they host Valenciennes for the first time since they were involved in a match-rigging scandal 13 years ago.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...392713&cc=5901

[Magical20]

too bad they tied vs real.. would've loved to see them win.. !

[SOMOSBENFICA]

Originally Posted by Magical20

too bad they tied vs real.. would've loved to see them win.. !

Lyon are an amazing team to watch...The first goal by Carew was a classic..Hopefully, these guys can come big and win the European Cup one day.

[Magical20]

Originally Posted by SOMOSBENFICA

Lyon are an amazing team to watch...The first goal by Carew was a classic..Hopefully, these guys can come big and win the European Cup one day.

yeah they are pretty damn good.. but i dont want them to win anything unless barça, porto, man united, and all the portuguese teams are out !

[SOMOSBENFICA]

This team keeps winning even when they are playing bad..This might be the year they break through and win the Champions league.

[SOMOSBENFICA]

Another dominate performance by Lyon beating a very strong squad (Le Man)..

[jec1]

Lyon is playing bad but Good teams Find ways to win.

[Magical20]

wahaha id love to see barça vs lyon.. if barça's out.. i guess they'll win the cl..

[SOMOSBENFICA]

Originally Posted by Magical20

wahaha id love to see barça vs lyon.. if barça's out.. i guess they'll win the cl..

Not so fast my Dutch friend...Porto looks real strong and will be interesting to see how they fair against Arsenal..Lyon are a great club, but I feel will end up short once again...

[jec1]

Porto will Faulter, Somos. I Just dont see them Getting Far.

Team Effort wins Games and Quaresma needs to play at a High level if they have a chance.

[SOMOSBENFICA]

I still think that Porto have a better chance than Lyon...

[Frank Cunha]

what was the final score?

any news on Tiago?