And so OL's day of history foundered on the rugged rock of a German team that was just too strong, too well organised and too good. When we arrived at Gerland on Tuesday 20 minutes before kickoff the mood was optimistic, the crowd in good voice. After surviving an early scare in the first two minutes, OL came on strong, ten men running, chasing, harrying. It lasted 15 minutes. The Bavarians were already back in control when they scored the goal the whole of Lyon dreaded. If it wasn't all over then, it was soon after half time, when Lyon's Brazilian captain was booked for what looked like a perfectly good tackle. Unwisely he offered some sarcastic applause to the ref, who pondered a moment and then produced a second yellow card swiftly followed by a red. No sense of humour, these arbitres.
So we woke yesterday to a sunny day but gloomy city. La bienheureuse had taken time off from a big meeting at work to go to the match and returned to the fray yesterday, while I finally won a battle with a recalcitrant online banking system despite the racket from the renovation work in the building next door. Sounds more like a complete demolition that at times threatens to take down our building as well.
In the evening, I wandered into town to watch the second semi-final at our favourite watering hole in the company of a colleague of la bienheureuse, while the lady herself was indulging in a post-work gourmet trail through Vieux Lyon, sampling food and wine before finishing the evening with more food and wine in a restaurant. Meanwhile, in the pub, we supped Irish beer and watched a demonstration of attack and defence on TV. An Italian team coached by a Portuguese master of the dark arts of defending against the Catalan kings of attacking - 75% possession, 550 odd passes against 67, 15 shots against 1, eleven men against ten: no contest. Another triumph for anti-football.
And on another anti-football theme, seven 'fans' groups in France have just been disbanded in an attempt to resolve the hooliganism issue. Five are from Paris, one from Nice, and the last is Lyonnais. Any bets on how long it takes for them to reform under another name…?
