Why are Cup semifinals in Lyon and not Paris?
LYON, France – When France hosted the men’s World Cup in 1998, the final was in Paris. Yet the semifinals and final of the women’s tournament are being held in Lyon. What gives?
Because while Paris might be the capital of France, Lyon is the capital of women’s soccer in France.
Olympique Lyonnais is the dominant women’s team in France. Think the New England Patriots in the AFC East, and you get the idea. OL, as its known, has won 17 French league titles, including the last 13. (It won its first four titles when it was still FC Lyon.)
It has won the past four UEFA Champions League titles, and a record six overall. And it completed the trophy treble this season by reclaiming the French Cup title, its 10th.
OL also has some of the best players in the world, including Ada Hegerberg of Norway, England’s Lucy Bronze, the Netherlands’ Shanice van de Sanden and Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsan. Seven players on France’s World Cup team, including captain Amandine Henry, Wendie Renard and Sarah Bouhaddi, play for OL.
Several Americans have played for OL in the past, including Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Hope Solo and Fox’s lead analyst for the World Cup, Aly Wagner.
“My evolution as a player grew because I was able to focus on a different style of play and was also used in different ways, both as a nine role and as a winger,” Morgan said Sunday. “And then obviously playing with some of the best players in the world, the training environment was the best it could possibly be, aside from playing with the U.S.”
So how did Lyon get to be the epicenter of women’s soccer in France? OL owner Jean-michael Aulas.
Already owner of OL’S men’s team, Aulas acquired FC Lyon’s women’s team in 2004 with an eye on making it the best in the world. He upgraded the women’s facilities and spent to lure international players, whether they joined the team permanently or spent their offseasons with OL.
To Auslas, OL’S women’s team is every bit as important as it’s men’s. “He was the one that had the vision and really took it upon himself to start to invest on the women’s side,” Wagner said.