Lutz on Tour: A team of determined competitors

Lutz Pfannenstiel knows the big wide world of football better than most. After all, he did play in goal for 25 clubs in 13 different countries spread out across all six international football confederations. Nowadays, he regularly shares his vast knowledge with various European TV broadcasters. He of course knows what Olympique Lyon are all about and what it is exactly that defines today's opponents for TSG. Pfannenstiel has a special relationship with one of Lyon's true footballing icons: ''Grégory Coupet and I have known each other for about three decades now. We first met back when we were playing for the German and French national youth teams,'' says Pfannenstiel. The former France national goalkeeper, who was a mainstay in the team for all seven of Lyon's league titles, is currently the goalkeeping coach at his home town club. ''Coupet was an absolutely top keeper, a wild guy, a little bit crazy. The fans love him. He is one of the faces of Lyon's success, he played a huge role in shaping the club,'' says the TSG expert. But it's not just his relationship with Coupet - both 45 years old - that makes Lyon one of the clubs that regularly attracts Pfannenstiel's attention.

''The team are able to play some really attractive attacking football. Having Nabil Fekir means they're absolutely blessed in the creative midfield position. He's the Lyon fans' local hero, and his Algerian roots sometimes lead to comparisons with Zinedine Zidane. Though I wouldn't say he's quite at that level yet,'' says Pfannenstiel. The TSG defence will have to watch out when world cup winner Fekir looks to cut in from the right wing to have a shot at goal with his strong left foot. Pfannenstiel, who very much knows his way around the transfer market, stresses how much interest Fekir has attracted from some of Europe's biggest clubs. ''Lyon are constantly receiving offers for him, but his contract runs until 2022. As a player who rose up from the club's youth system, they want to keep him. But if he were to leave one day, then Lyon would receive a very large transfer fee.'' The club is always being surveyed by scouts given its reputation for promoting and developing young talent. This was how Lyon were able to take in 90 million euros in transfer fees this summer, while in 2017 this figure was as high as 120 million euros.

Plenty of talent at Lyon

The club already have a potential successor to Fekir lined up in the shape of the 20 year old Houssem Aouar, who also plays as an attacking midfielder. ''He represents Lyon's way of playing the game. He already has a market value of 30 million euros, and his contract has been extended until 2023. That's the club's strategy,'' says Pfannenstiel. Memphis Depay (24), a Dutch player developed at PSV Eindhoven and Bertrand Traore (23), an international for Burkina Faso, are examples of the way in which Lyon sign young ambitious players from the Premier League and help them continue their development. Depay signed from Manchester United, Traore from Chelsea. Depay, who has Ghanaian roots, often plays as a centre forward, ''But I'd say I see him more as a winger or a false nine,'' says Pfannenstiel. ''He's the kind of striker who gets involved in build-up play, he likes to drop deep to look for the ball. That's what makes it hard for opposing defences to get to grips with him.'' Traore is a bona fide winger, who usually plays on the right hand side.

''Lyon are a team made up of determined competitors, who are used to coming out on top in matches. It's completely normal for them to have to deal with a busy schedule, playing matches against top European teams midweek. The team is a proper hardened unit. That definitely plays a part in their success and gives them a certain advantage over our TSG,'' says Pfannenstiel. When it comes to tactics, head coach Genesio goes for a 4-3-3 or a 4-1-4-1 which can switch into a 4-2-3-1. The team showed what kind of performance they're capable of on Matchday 1, when they beat Group F opponents Manchester City away from home. ''Of course Lyon were lucky to face a City side that weren't at their best, but their team still played more or less the perfect match. Fekir for example was world class, and after taking the lead they really defended well as a unit.''

Against Shakhtar Dontesk at home however, a 2-2 draw, Pfannenstiel felt that Lyon exposed some of their weaknesses. This was the case once more on the first weekend of October when the side lost 5-0 away to Paris Saint-Germain. Lyon don't have the same quality in defence as they do in attack, ''If TSG give an outstanding performance again like they did against Manchester, then a home win is within reach. It will be necessary if TSG are to have a chance of progressing to the next round,'' says Pfannenstiel.

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