Grand project hangs in balance in Lyon. The club that was synonymous with success before the Parisian era of big investment has had to endure fielding an average team for too long.Olympique Lyonnais last won the title in Ligue 1 in 2007/08 – it was their seventh in a row. But they only mustered three second-half finishes since. The club’s focus was on building the new stadium that broke ground in 2016. The 59,186-capacity OL Arena was meant to increase the club’s revenue and lift the entire organisation to another level. But the immense investment in Paris Saint-Germain and rejuvenation of LOSC Lille meant that the competition to get back to the top was going to be much harder than in the early 2000s.Why did you sign him?! Lyon paid over $10 million to Liverpool for the Swiss only to play him out of positionNow, the man who led them on the pitch in the glory days Juninho Pernambucano, says he must leave his director of football role due to “overwhelming fatigue”.”I hope to finish the season well, and at the end, normally, it’s over. I’ve always said that I was here for three years. I will think carefully at the end of the season. But in my head, it was for three seasons and it’s time to go. Many people think that the sporting director doesn’t do much but there is enormous mental fatigue. I don’t want to go over the limit.”Sunday, 22.45: (2.05) Olympique Lyonnais (3.60) Marseille (3.80)Juninho’s first managerial appointment turned out to be a poor one. Sylvinho, the former Lyon and Arsenal defender was appointed in May 2019 but lasted less than five months in his role. Juninho then got former Ajax boss Peter Bosz to replace his compatriot. Although they finished in a respectable fourth position last season, new signings didn’t seem to improve the team. After 13 matches of the 2021/22 season, Lyon are currently seventh in the league and miles away from fighting for the title.⚪️🔴 Juninho was one of the best strikers of a dead ball. Look at his Lyon career 😳✅ 343 Games⚽️ 100 Goals🅰️ 64 Assists🇧🇷 Just check out some of the Brazilian midfielders goals 🚀🔥pic.twitter.com/lHUSjtPvTj— Soccer Manager Games (@SoccerManager) April 7, 2020 Juninho has often said that he’d like to go into coaching one day. Many believe that his decision is in relation to his ambitions for the future.”Management is on my mind. I love football, the training and the tactics, I like discussing them. With Peter Bosz I’m learning a lot of things. But in life, you don’t get everything you want. If it’s possible and I have the opportunity, I will give it a try. I would rather try it and not succeed than to look back in ten years and say: why didn’t I give it a go? I’m scared of a lot of things, but not of trying.”Old World Champion teams up with old champions of France to compete against new moneyAlthough he has captained the club in the past, Juninho’s decision is seen as a betrayal by many disgruntled fans. Leaving midway through the project he’d started doesn’t seem right.
