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Camille Abily OL Night Systems Interview (October 24, 2023)

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; @OL Comms there's another heatwave and it's still PSL season so really whichever one you wanna chip in for is fine with me; be a stan, get banned xoxo; OL Night Systems translations is a genuine cause for sleep paralysis but it's also how you get cool insights as a team - a moral dilemma if there ever was such a thing; y'all know the speech by now.

Jules > your club's "journalist".

I know Le Sommer and Dumornay have done OL Night Systems interviews this season but I really can't emphasize enough how time consuming these are to translate, so the order for the translations of OL Night Systems is directly related to whom I feel most like doing.

In which Camille Abily takes shots at the WSL and the D1 Arkema play-offs, contemplates the roster, and contemplates the UWCL draw. Pour yourself a decent glass of wine and sit down while the adults have a good and proper football chat.

You could play stupid games and win stupid prizes. Or, in the alternative - explain why a team is the way they are. As I like to say - just tell me why your eyes change, we can talk about the rest later.

To know this team is to understand them. This is how you get to that.

CAMILLE ABILY OL NIGHT SYSTEMS INTERVIEW

[Show introduction]

Jules: We're playing Drake music because we like it. As we told you yesterday, we haven't talked a lot about women's football recently because of scheduling. But now we're going to talk about it a lot because we have a really special guest, I guess I should say a really special regular. Welcome, Michael. How are you doing, Michael?

Michael: Hi, Jules. Hello to everybody. And hello to our special guest.

Jules: Our special guest, you've obviously seen her on the social media accounts for Lyon Feminin or OLPlay. It's Camille Abily who is with us. First of all, thank you, Camille, for having accepted the invitation.

Abily: Good evening. It was a pleasure.

Jules: We see you every three, four months on OLPlay but it's always nice to see you. We do a little recap each time, a progress report on how the season is going. So we're going to look back at the start of the season.

Abily: So we're discussing hindsight.

Jules: There'll be some good things. You'll see. Here's what is coming up: we already won a trophy, but we know we want to win everything when you're Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, there was the Trophee des Championnes won on September 10; we'll be talking about the almost perfect start to the season, we'll explain to why we said "almost"; the changes within the team; changes in status; the competition between the players who are in form; and especially, the objectives for the season. But before we get into all that, I found out we have something in common, Camille. We both play paddle tennis. We also don't have something in common: you lose in paddle tennis.

Abily: It depends on who you're playing against.

Jules: Exactly.

Abily: Jeanne [Lyon Fem's social media admin] told you that, that's not very nice.

Jules: I will never disclose my sources. But indeed -

Abily: Look, we played a session of paddle tennis this morning. It was my second time playing. First of all, I had a lot of fun doing it even if I didn't win. I didn't win, I didn't say I lost. I just didn't win. It was fun. Honestly it was really cool.

Jules: It was the second time playing with the players, I imagine?

Abily: Yeah, of course. We have very few players. We only have four players at the moment because it's the international break. So some stayed behind for rehab, notably Ada [Hegerberg] and Perle [Morroni]. We played with Maro[zsan], who plays really well, and Laura [Benkarth]. They both enjoy paddle tennis, it was cool.

Jules: You were talking about it being a particular situation since it was the break. It's already the second international break after maybe a month and a half of competition. How do you handle it? Because it must be complicated. There was the first day of the league, the Trophee des Championnes, then the break right after. Then we play three, four more games, another break.

Abily: It's complicated. After, we don't have a choice. It's complicated especially because the players have to play so much. They don't really have time to recover. For us, the advantage of having the few players who stay behind, we can give them proper recovery time but also keep them focused on the field, when you have four players, that's difficult. We have to do different activities, like we did this morning. And that allows us to switch things up a bit.

Jules: This paddle tennis activity, you couldn't have done it with the usual team and all of the players.

Abily: It would have been more complicated. But we could do it for team bonding, for example. But there's work involved as well. It's true that when we play, there's a lot of running involved, and that's nice. And it does allow us to do a different activity, change things up a bit.

Jules: As soon as you've had it a bit more practice at tennis paddle, we'll play against each other.

Abily: We'll see what happens. But you'll see, I'll get my revenge. Play against me, we'll see if you win.

Jules: Okay. We'll set something up.

Abily: Are we talking about football, Jules?

Jules: Paddle tennis, paddle tennis. I'm going to launch PaddlePlay. It's much easier for me. We were talking about the international break. There are a lot of them who left the Groupama Training Center, Michael. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it's between - I'm going to say between 10 and 15, I'm not going to take any risks.

Michael: Yeah, a lot of players were called up to their national teams. So as Camille [Abily] said, there were only four players at the Groupama Training Center for this international break. I imagine it's a little bit difficult to get into the rhythm of things, especially as we know there is a big, big game coming up after the international break.

Abily: Yeah, it's difficult. For the last international break, we had the U-17 boys come train with us. But as it's also school break, they were on break as well, so we couldn't have them this week. That's why we decided to do other activities. And tomorrow - tomorrow, Thursday, Friday, we'll do work on the pitch, try to work per position.

Jules: And last year, the international breaks were cursed for you with the injuries to Griedge M'Bock and Ada Hegerberg. Here things went well for you during the first international break, we hope that the same will happen this time.

Abily: Yeah, we almost have the whole team available. Obviously there's still the longterm injuries like with Delphine Cascarino, but otherwise we have the whole team available. And we hope they will be in - they're back - I hope they will return in good physical health. I finally managed to get that out. In good physical health. Especially since we're playing Paris FC right after, as you said.

Jules: Yes, it'll be the big clash. We'll have the opportunity to talk about it later when we talk about the schedule and the results of the international players a little later. But first let's talk about the start to the season. One of the objectives has already been accomplished, it's the Trophee des Championnes, Michael, on September 10 against our favorite enemy, Paris Saint-Germain.

Michael: Exactly, it's a trophy. We're going to watch the highlights right now of the first trophy, the Trophee des Championnes. It was on September 10, Jules, as you pointed out, against Paris Saint-Germain. A 2-0 win with goals from Melchie Dumornay in her first official game with Olympique Lyonnais, and a second goal by Eugenie Le Sommer in the 67th minute. I imagine, Camille, that that first game, right at the beginning of the season, it's always a little strange. Trophee des Championnes, there's a trophy at play, the teams are immediately competing against each other.

Abily: Yeah. It was difficult because they [the players] came back from the World Cup really late, we didn't have a lot of time - but that goes for both teams - to prepare for this game. But it's important from the start of the season to show our supremacy, we can say. We know the season is going to be very complicated but even mentally just showing to Paris [Saint-Germain] that we're going to show up, that's really important.

Michael: Yeah. And it was a game that Lyon controlled pretty well, 2-0. The games are often pretty close, but you were in control pretty much all game. I saw the statistics, 25 shots for Olympique Lyonnais, it was a good showing from the beginning of the season.

Abily: Yeah, it was important. As we said, often the games are really close. We managed it pretty well. It's true that second goal was a bit lucky. Eugenie [Le Sommer] was opportunistic. But it allows us to manage the load a little better. It's really important that Paris [Saint-Germain] doesn't think they can beat us.

Jules: And it's also the third Trophee des Championnes. The third won against Paris Saint-Germain. There was a second clash a few weeks later, if we can say that, in the second day of the league. Another win. You said that it was important to remind them from the beginning of the season that "this is Lyon", as the saying goes.

Abily: Yeah, exactly. That being said, that was a trophy. In the league, with the playoffs, and I'm sure we'll talk about that, it changes things completely. But in any case for us, for our confidence, for the team dynamics, it's important to win there.

Jules: It's interesting that you brought up the playoffs. It's rare to have a Lyon - Paris Saint-Germain or a Paris Saint-Germain- Lyon so early in the season. Before it was the unofficial final in the league. Now there's this new formula with the playoffs. Are the clashes against Paris Saint-Germain still important, or does it become more of a game like any other?

Abily: No, it's always going to be important because it's a big game, it's the type of game we like to play. However, there's much less pressure. We can say as much as we like that, but because of the playoffs, even though Paris lost they can still be champions. But before in the league, if you lost just one of your head-to-head clashes, it could make things much more complicated.

Jules: Exactly. And with this win so early in the season, the direct rival is the other club based in the capital, Michael. We didn't have time to do this in depth yesterday but it's not Paris Saint-Germain who is hot on our heels.

Michael: No, it's Paris FC. We'll see it right now with the ranking. Paris FC have also won all of their matches, five wins in five games. 15 points and a nice goal differential as well, they're +17. We're still first with +19, but it's true that this year, Camille, with this early win against Paris Saint-Germain, it's Paris FC who is right behind us.

Abily: Yeah, and Paris FC is having a really good start to the season. I think everyone knows their results in the Champions League. They shone against Arsenal, against Wolfsburg.

Jules: Semi-finalist and finalist last year.

Abily: Exactly.

Michael: Did those wins surprise you? They were against two big teams who are used to the Champions League.

Abily: Not with Arsenal, no, because that was predictable. That being said Paris FC had more time to prepare, Arsenal had some players in the World Cup, they started the preseason really quickly. So it was a bit more complicated. But I wasn't really surprised. However against Wolfsburg, I was pleasantly surprised. When you look at their start of the season and how they're playing, it's really, really high quality football. So that's why the game coming up in two weeks for us is going to be really important.

Jules: We know that typically the most important game is against Paris Saint-Germain. Paris FC was part of the group of clubs behind, like Reims, Fleury, Montpellier. Is it surprising - well maybe not to be second, five wins out of five maybe. But are you surprised that their start of the season is that good?

Abily: No. They're a hard working team. They're really - well without putting down the others down, the three teams who are really ahead are Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain and Paris FC. I think that Montpellier and Fleury have already dropped points against small teams. So it's really that trio who will be fighting for first place. So it will be important to finish first, because we know the second place team will play the third placed team. So that could be a really important semifinal.

Jules: For the moment we have a six point lead over Paris Saint-Germain, but Paris Saint-Germain has a game in hand because of that incident with fireworks in the game against Reims. There was a similar incident in the men's game, now it's affecting women's football as well. You were talking about the playoffs. Eugenie Le Sommer was on the show a few weeks ago. She told us that it didn't really change anything for her, the goal is to be first at the end of the regular season because as you said, it's usually easier to play the fourth placed team than the second or third.

Abily: That's for sure. It doesn't change things that much for us, but that being said, Eugenie [Le Sommer] is a competitor. She wants to win everything. However, it's obvious that it's a different system. We won't be allowed to make any mistakes [in the playoffs]. It's true that playing the fourth ranked team at home always helps. But what surprises me the most is that it's done over 90 minutes. There's no extra time, it will go straight to penalties. So it doesn't leave - we know that in football, it's difficult. It's not always the best team who wins. So there can be surprises. Now it will be up to us to prepare the best that we can, manage them - win, too - but manage them the best that we can.

Jules: Normally that should work out. But does it mean that if Lyon doesn't finish first at the end of the season, would that be considered as a failure or, since there are the playoffs and that "catch-up", I'm going to put that in quotes, it's all good?

Abily: It's all good. It's acceptable. What's important is to win at the end, even if of course we want to finish first. As I said, we can finish first in the league then lose in the playoffs, we don't score, you lose on penalties, there's a penalty in the last minute. There's - we've been there before [controversial loss against Chelsea in the UWCL]. But things can happen, whereas in a [regular] league -

Jules: It's a bit of a Russian roulette.

Abily: Exactly. Usually in league play, it's always the best team who wins. When there are playoffs, that can be different. But we're lucky to have a really good team, there's a lot of quality, and we'll need to prepare properly. After, it's the type of game as players we like.

Jules: Do you like this playoffs system, that we haven't yet - that we're going to discover.

Abily: No, because there's too much uncertainty. And what it bothers me the most is the qualification for the Champions League. You can finish first in the regular season, you play the fourth placed team, for whatever reason you don't win the game, they can be in the Champions League and not you. You can be Olympique Lyonnais and not play in the Champions League. Now of course we don't think like that, because we can win and we're competitors, obviously, but it's a reality. So it's not a system I like the most, however where I get it, it's in terms of the appeal for the league. For us it's a disadvantage, however for the league it's an advantage because everything gets put back in play. Everything is put back in play, and I think it will be more difficult for teams to be champions like Lyon has done.

Jules: That's the point of view of Camille Abily, the coach. What is the point of view of Camille Abily, the player, on the playoffs?

Abily: It's similar. It's similar. After, there's the excitement for the playoffs, because there's the adrenaline rush for those types of games. So obviously I would like to play in a final.

Jules: I know you're not going to tell us everything because you're focused on the game against Paris FC. We've already said it's an important game. It's right after the international break. Is that not the worse moment to play Paris FC?

Abily: Yeah, it's never - we always get our players back really late after the international break. There are players who were on the other side of the world. There we have a bit of luck, I would say, with the Chilean National Team and the Australian National Team. We released the players early in order to get them back early. That will allow us to have Ellie [Carpenter] and Christiane [Endler] back a little earlier, because sometimes we only get them back on a Friday and there's a game on Sunday. So we know it's not easy. But it's true it's not the best time to play Paris FC.

Jules: Especially as up until now the calendar was pretty light, you were playing every week, sometimes there was even a bit more time in between because of the international break. Now, as of the month of November, there will be the UWCL, which we will talk about in a bit. Now you're going to be playing every three days. It's not going to be the same thing.

Abily: Yeah. But we also have the team to be able to do it. We have a lot of quality players. Sometimes there are some frustrated players, they're not playing a lot, they're not getting a lot of minutes. And I get them, that's normal, they all want to play. But here we really will need everybody, that's why it's important to have the team that we have.

Jules: We're going to talk about this team and managing game time. But we're going to stay on the almost perfect start to the season. It's what we said in the preview. Why almost? Everything is going well so far, nothing but wins, a trophy.

Abily: We conceded a goal.

Jules: She knows. We have high expectations.

Abily: So do we.

Jules: We both have to be. Michael, we have a statistic. We conceded a goal. We could say, "ah, it's okay." It is okay, because it had been a while since we conceded a goal.

Michael: Exactly. 480 minutes since Olympique Lyonnais Feminin had conceded a goal. We'll see it on the screen. That's why we said almost perfect, because one goal conceded. The last goal we conceded, it was also against Reims, it was May 27th, 2023. And it was a goal from Melchie Dumornay, who is now playing for Olympique Lyonnais. 480 minutes without conceding a goal. Now you did end up conceding, but it's a flattering statistic for your team.

Abily: Yeah, we were still frustrated though. And I think the players were as well, because they wanted their clean sheet record to last as long as possible. Especially as it was a goal we could have avoided. That made it even more frustrating. So yeah. But now, we still won, so we're satisfied. But it's true we would have liked to have a clean sheet a little bit longer.

Jules: I remember, you came on the show last February. Everything had been going well in January. There was a new formation, the 4-4-2 diamond. You hadn't conceded a goal. You said you had a goal, it was to do clean sheets for the rest of the season.

Abily: I jinxed it. It was my fault. We're going to play Paris FC soon, what are you getting at?

Jules: I didn't say anything. But jokes aside it's obviously something you're interested in. Everyone is always interested in the team's offense, you've been scoring a ton since the start of the season. But only have conceded one goal, it's pretty impressive.

Abily: Yeah, of course. But after when we look at the quality of the team, obviously we don't want to concede any goals. We want to leave as little chances as possible to the opponents. And it's important to put forward this defensive solidarity.

Jules: We also had Simon Pouplin on the show, he's the goalkeeper coach and also in charge of free kicks. We asked him how he handled the cases of Christiane Endler and Laura Benkarth, who sometimes don't really have a lot to do over the course of 90 minutes, same as with the defenders. So how do you keep them motivated and tell them, well a little bit like we saw against Reims, it just takes one ball, one minor error, and it can be super costly.

Abily: Yeah. That's the top level, and that's where you be super concentrated, and stay focused throughout the entire game even if you don't see the ball very often. That being said Chris[tiane Endler] is a bit more used to it, because she's been here for a few seasons. Laura, it's her start with us, she's maybe not used to having so little to do. But those are margins of progression for her.

Jules: We'll talk a bit more about Laura Benkarth and the other arrivals. It's a good opportunity to talk about the changes to the team. There were some modifications, shall we say, to the team's roster. There were quite a few departures, a few arrivals. Well going to go into detail about all that and do a recap. Michael, do you want to start us off with the players who left?

Michael: Yes. We saw a lot of changes this summer at Olympique Lyonnais Feminin. We'll talk about the departures first, with the departures of Janice Cayman, Signe Bruun, Catarina Macario, Amandine Henry, Emma Holmgren and Alyssa Paljevic. All those departures, I imagine it was a lot of change at once, even if there were two goalkeepers on that list. It's still players that you have to replace.

Abily: Yeah of course. They were also really quality players, we know that. Now, some were at the end of their contract, they wanted to experience something else. Others, it was just the end of a cycle at Lyon. It's also - it's really important that both parties want to stay.

Jules: A common agreement.

Abily: That's it. That's the most important thing. Now there were also players who wanted more playing time. Last year, we had a lot of players who were injured at the start of the season As such, when everyone came back, some players really didn't get much playing time. That caused them a lot of frustration, they wanted to go play elsewhere. So that's also why they wanted to leave.

Jules: Speaking of players who had playing time at the beginning of the season and then when players started coming back didn't get as much, it's the case of Ines Benyahia, who went out on loan. She isn't the only one. Some players - well, one player - crossed the channel.

Michael: Yes, we're going to see it on the chart we prepared. Two players went out on loan for Olympique Lyonnais. Melvine Malard went out on loan to Manchester United and Ines Benyahia who went to Le Havre. I imagine those are two players who you count on but who wouldn't necessarily get a lot of playing time.

Abily: They are two young players. For Melvine, she's a bit older, she had a season with us a couple of years ago where she was starting a lot, she was really important for the team. Last year it was a bit more difficult for her. There's a lot of competition. I think for her to get going again, it was important for her to regain confidence elsewhere. And that's going really well for her, because she is scoring for Manchester [United], she's been the deciding factor on several occasions. So I think it will be good for her. And as I said, she's a young player who is under contract with us, she needs to progress more to come back stronger.

Michael: Ines?

Abily: And for Ines? For Ines, with her case, she's much younger. She's really part of the future [is she though...] and it's important for her to experience the D1 Arkema, to be an important and major player in a team, because we know that when you're young and a midfielder, there's a lot of competition here at Lyon. It would have been difficult to give her the playing time she deserved.

Michael: How does it work when players go out on loan? Do you watch every game, do you follow everything? Do you have discussion with the other coaches?

Abily: It's more Theo, Theo Rivrin, the assistant coach, who has relations with them and discussions with the opposing staff. Now Ines, she's in the D1 Arkema, so it's easier to follow her. We see a lot of her games. I have to follow the English league, and we saw Melvine in the games against PSG. If I'm not mistaken they just played against Tottenham and she scored there, I think they won 5-0.

Jules: Why did you choose to send Melvine out on loan to England rather than in D1 Arkema?

Abily: That was more her. It was the player's choice. On our side, we didn't want to strengthen a direct competitor. In France there weren't a lot of clubs - Melvine is still an international player who has shown a lot of things. It's not like a young player, like Ines, who just arrived. So it was good for her to see other things. And as I said, mentally it will be good for her to see another work method.

Jules: That being said, what had worked in previous years, it's the case of Vicki Becho, she went out on loan to Reims and came back as a transformed player. It was a loan that was really beneficial for her and for you as well in the mid- and long-term.

Abily: Completely. And I hope it will be the same thing with Ines. Vicki, when she went out on loan, it did her a lot of good. We saw a completely different Vicki afterwards.

Jules: Is that what you quickly tell the young players on the team - I'm thinking of Ines Benyahia, but there's also Alice Sombath who is a bit more settled in with the first team, Alice Marques, Liana Joseph. Is that something you bring up to them yourself "hey, why don't you try and get some experience out on loan" or if they want to push themselves and try to beat the competition, then go for it?

Abily: We try to be as honest as possible and we try to see what the possibility of playing time is. That's what interests us, their progression. If we think that they can progress with us and have playing time, then they have to stay with us, obviously. They're with us on a daily basis, we can really work with them. However, last year, Ines was already with us daily, she had a little bit of playing time, but she deserved even more because she is really a quality player. But we couldn't give it to her because we have a lot of players, and other players were in front of her. So it was time for her to go [on loan], and then next year, maybe after some changes in the roster, she'll be able to install herself a bit more [Lyon doesn't have any midfielders up in 2024 so curious on how that will work]. That's also how we work with the young players.

Michael: I imagine that for Melvine and Ines, who already had a good resume - I don't think it's the case at Olympique Lyonnais, but I imagine that for the younger players, the fact that the third division exists and that we have a team in D3, it allows you to give young players some playing time and eventually move up.

Abily: Exactly. Exactly. It's super important to have that team - it's our second team in the third division - because it's those players, it's the U-19s like Liana Joseph, Alice Marques - so if you look at it, they're training daily with the best players in the pro team, and the weekend they can go play in the D3. It's top. It's really top.

Jules: It's a new thing, the D3. Michael told me it started this season. Before the young players, or "reserve" players I could say, they were playing in the R1 or with the U-19s, and that's not best for you. I know that a lot really wanted the creation of this D3. It works out for you.

Abily: Oh yeah, yeah. It was really something Olympique Lyonnais was pushing for. If it had happened, it's because we had been pushing for it for a while, and the fact that the former president, Jean-Michel Aulas, is now at the federation, that helped a lot as well to have that team in D3. It was really something we had been pushing for. And now they can play against more senior players in a national league, and that's interesting for them.

Jules: Do you follow the games in the D3?

Abily: Yeah, of course. Of course. We try to follow along, but we're often playing the same day. But in any case we watch [the games], and we do an analysis at the end of the game.

Jules: Who handles the transitions between the D3 and the D1? Do you make the calls, is it -

Abily: It's Theo [Rivrin]. It's always Theo. Theo does everything. I'm joking but Theo really has that role with the players out on loan and the young players, so he's the one in permanent contact with the academy, his contact there varies depending on what he is after. And we often see each other - well Sonia [Bompastor] used to be Director of the Academy, so she obviously has that relationship with the academy. We often interact.

Jules: We've been talking about the departures, permanent departures, departures on loan. But there were also some arrivals. Three arrivals this summer, well, two plus one, because one was made official in January.

Michael: Yes, one was made official in January, as you said. It was Melchie Dumornay, who came from Stade de Reims. But there were two more arrivals, Laura Benkarth, the backup goalkeeper for Olympique Lyonnais, and the big transfer of the summer, that was Kadidiatou Diani, who came from PSG. How did the players adapt? We saw very quickly for Diani and Dumornay, for example, they were immediately starting in the Trophee des Championnes last September.

Abily: Yeah, well, Melchie Dumornay, Kadidiatou Diani, those are world class players, it must be said. They're part of the best players in the world. So those were two big, big arrivals. Regarding Laura [Benkarth], it was a really nice surprise. In my eyes, she's a really, really top level goalkeeper and we're really happy to have her with us, because we know that if for some reason Chris[tiane Endler] is injured, we have a goalkeeper capable of replacing her. So we had a transfer season with few players but there were really really big players, and we're really satisfied.

Jules: I was going to say that. We saw six departures, they were all at the end of their contract, departures on loan as well. Only three arrivals. I imagine that was a choice based on what you've said. Was it to give the academy players playing time or was the roster enough as it was?

Abily: Both. A little bit of both, a little bit of both because as I said, we had a lot of injuries about a year and a half ago, so obviously -

Jules: There was that game against Arsenal where there was basically an entire team missing.

Abily: Jules likes to bring up bad memories. He really likes to get those digs in.

Jules: Would you prefer talking about that or paddle tennis?

Abily: Paddle tennis. I don't care about what happened in paddle tennis. Losing 5-1 to Arsenal, I do care about that. Anyway - I lost my train of thought.

Jules: There were a lot of injuries.

Abily: There were a lot of injuries, we had a team with 28, 29 players under contract, which is a lot, especially as we knew we had a 2006 generation coming up who had a huge amount of potential, so we wanted to make sure there were spots for them, it's important for us to give them the opportunities to express themselves [I say this as a longtime fan of Alice Marques: no, it's not], have them train with us on a daily basis, and why not try and get some minutes.

Jules: We saw some of the young players play in the preseason, I'm thinking of Liana Joseph who you know quite well, Michael, since you've commented some of her games with the U-19s.

Michael: Yes, I've seen her a lot with the U-19s. But when you see Julie Swierot, Maeline Mendy as well, there's a lot of young players with a bright future ahead of them.

Abily: With a lot of potential. As I was saying before, we're lucky to have top quality players. That's why it's important to open the door for them. We need to find the middle ground. We have a team with a lot of experienced players, huge talent, but to have those young players who have the opportunity to come train and try and get some minutes, that's important.

Jules: You've heard it here first. You have to start when you are seven.

Michael: How does it go with the group then? I imagine the older players must help the younger players a lot. I imagine that's really, really good for them.

Abily: Oh yeah, it's great. We've talked about the three you mentioned, there's also Sangare, she's training - she's a central defender and she's in practice next to Wendie Renard, Griedge M'Bock, Vanessa Gilles.

Jules: There are worse out there. There are worse role models.

Abily: It's exceptional for them.

Jules: I'm not going to name my role models.

Abily: As I was saying, it's exceptional for them. The older players. the more experienced ones, they're top, because they really try to install the team's values, because that's important, but also to give them a lot of guidance on the pitch.

Jules: But it's important to talk about the academy, because we talked about it a lot with the men's team, but not a lot on the women's side. There are quite a few products, if I can say that, which are coming out of the academy. And as you said, the fact that Sonia [Bompastor] was the Director of the Academy, that helps and that aids that transition. We've talked about the arrivals, we're going to see what it looks like on film. We're going to start with Melchie Dumornay, who came on the show with two trophies - Trophee des Championnes and Player of the Game - and a third trophy, herself. Those were her words, I'm just paraphrasing Melchie Dumornay.

Michael: And we're going to watch Melchie Dumornay's highlights since the beginning of the season. Melchie Dumornay, who started four times this season, scoring twice and three assists. She's already a deciding factor, she adapted extremely fast.

Abily: Yeah, yeah. She's a world class player as I've said. So when you understand football it's easy to adapt to the great players around you. She's a simple girl who wants to learn, which is important because you can't forget she's a really young player as well. So it's gone really, really well.

Michael: She was already performing miracles with Reims. We said it earlier, she was the one who scored the last goal against Olympique Lyonnais, and we see it now, she's really decisive in every game, she really has a capability of eliminating players, her speed really makes a difference.

Abily: Yeah. Her mobility is impressive, she has both power and technical qualities. And she's able to play in different positions, so it's super for us in the staff.

Jules: And she already has an understanding with Eugenie Le Sommer, with her two assists in the derby against ASSE. You were talking about how polyvalent she is, it's just part of Melchie Dumornay's qualities. You recruited her in January, she finished the season with Stade de Reims. How long were you following Melchie?

Abily: Well she had already been with us in the academy. So that's to say it's been a while. She already came to train with Lyon what, five, six years ago maybe. So we had already been following her. But we couldn't do anything because she was too young, she wasn't 18 yet.

Jules: She went back to Haiti.

Abily: Exactly. I followed the U-20s in England in 2018 where she was already exceptional, people were already talking about her and the club had already been following her for a while. And to be honest she's a super, super recruit.

Jules: And you said, Michael said it as well, she adapted super quickly. You can see it with her statistics. You almost get the impression when she's on the field that it's just a game for her. Everything is so easy. She's young, she's 20 years old, same age as Rayan Cherki, but there's an almost carefree aspect to Melchie. Even when she came onto the show, she was enjoying herself. There's no pressure, everything is cool, everything just washes off her. She's nice, Melchie Dumornay.

Abily: The type of carefree that comes with youth. But she's someone who works very hard, who has high expectations for herself. Even if you get that impression from her, she can get very frustrated when she isn't managing to do something on the pitch. We talk about it, sometimes too much, she's very demanding of herself. Unfortunately mistakes happen in football, that's part of football. She has to be able to mentally accept that in order to come back stronger.

Jules: So she's a laidback perfectionist.

Abily: Very laidback off the field, but she can get very frustrated on the field when her performances aren't working out for her.

Jules: The other star recruit this summer, Michael said it, it was the transfer of the summer. It was the case of Kadidiatou Diani who left Paris Saint-Germain to join Olympique Lyonnais. The adaption was a bit more complicated, we're going to put it down as because of the World Cup. But if you look at the statistics, it's going really well.

Michael: Yes, statistically it's going very well for Kadidiatou Diani. Five games played since the start of the league, one goal and three assists. She's also - maybe not yet at full potential but she's already one of the difference makers and is doing a lot of damage.

Abily: Yeah. As I said, Kadi[diatou Diani], it's exceptional that we got her. She had a season last year with PSG which was extraordinary, she kept PSG alive the whole season.

Jules: She was PSG's attacking force, simple as that.

Abily: Exactly. Now it's true that with us, there was an adaption period as well, because it's not the same system, she's playing against teams with a lower block, Paris [Saint-Germain] played more in counter. So it's different. However, I think - and we saw it especially against Reims - we got back a Kadi who was back in form. There was the hangover from the World Cup, physically she wasn't at her best, which is normal. Now it's what we tell them, the most important thing is to be ready now. It's important now but what matters is what is coming next. We're happy to have Kadi back at that level and it must be said, Kadi is really a deciding factor. Three assists, one goal, it's already some nice stats.

Michael: How did the transfer go down? Did you, with Sonia, did you talk to her directly? How did it go?

Abily: Yes, we had her a little bit on the phone. Kadi and I know each other well, we played together on the French National Team and she would be right next to me in the lineup, so I could annoy her a ton. But I called her, we looked back on all that. I still annoy her sometimes.

Jules: It's okay, she signed with us, that doesn't matter now.

Abily: It's all good, it's all good. But it's true we talked a little bit, but we knew she is a world class player. We think she can still progress, and she can still bring a lot of things to Lyon.

Michael: Was it easy for her to integrate the group? I imagine that she knows a lot of the players, both because of the French National Team and because of the D1 Arkema. Did she integrate the group well?

Abily: Yeah, of course. It's easy, she already has all of her national teammates with her and she got along really well with them. It's true that in the beginning it must have been a bit strange, when you come from PSG it's always a bit particular. I think she has integrated the team really well. She's also back with Perle Morroni, who she got along with really well at Paris [Saint-Germain]. So it's going really well.

Jules: You were talking about the World Cup effect with maybe a physical aspect because she played a lot with the French National Team. We said that it was the transfer of the summer. Wasn't there a bit of pressure for Kadidiatou Diani?

Abily: I don't know. I don't think she's really the type to put pressure on herself, Kadi. She's really someone calm -

Jules: Maybe not put pressure, but maybe there was pressure surrounding her. There was a media storm, I've never heard people talk about a transfer as much as they did Kadidatiou Diani's this summer.

Abily: Yeah, even if I think she processed it well. Beyond that, I would say it was more of a physical setback than anything in the mental aspect. But yeah, as I was saying, she's getting better and better, and we're really happy.

Jules: Indeed, Kadidiatou Diani is going to do us a lot of good. She hurt us - I'm going to stop myself there.

Abily: We haven't lost a lot of games, but each time Jules brings up games we've lost.

Jules: It's like that, I'm here to heckle you. Camille, we're going to stay with the recruits. Laura Benkarth arrived. She was in a bit of a difficult situation. She didn't speak any French but she has been taking lessons and she is improving, we can tell. How does that work, the integration of a backup? Because I imagine that when she came in, you didn't give her any false hope, Cristiane [Endler] was the starter.

Abily: Yeah, of course. After, Simon [goalkeeping coach] would be able to answer this better because he talked with her before and works with her daily, but what I will say is that Laura has an exceptional mentality. She's learning French very quickly. We're lucky to have Maro[zsan] and Sara [Dabritz] who are German as well, they help her a lot with the integration. And we can see, she's a really top person, calm, and she wanted to integrate with the group immediately. Laura had the advantage of coming in at the start of preseason. Since the players were coming back one at a time, she really had the time to get to know everyone a little bit. Because when you come in and there's the entire group, it's harder. That was the positive thing about the World Cup, she was able to integrate the group progressively.

Jules: And the status of backup, she accepted it pretty easily? Even if she has played already, there were the game when Christiane Endler was out on international duty. And you rotate a lot as well, we'll see it later, so she will get playing time.

Abily: Of course she will get playing time. Not really to the detriment of Chris[tiane Endler] but because we know we need to prepare her in case there is a problem. Chris could have gotten a red card, could have gotten injured. So it's important to keep her focused. There is a hierarchy with the goalkeepers, so obviously they know that. But I think there's a good relationship with Chris and also with Laurine - umm, Feerine. Feerine Belhadj, who is also our third goalkeeper and who is a really good goalkeeper and that's top.

Jules: You were speaking about a turnover with the goalkeepers. We're going to look at the turnover since the beginning of the season with the number of players used. There aren't a lot of surprises there, Michael.

Michael: No, not a lot of surprises but a lot of players used. There's a stacked roster. And we use the players. There's names like Christiane Endler, Selma Bacha, Perle Morroni, but then you have younger players like Alice Sombath. You rotate a lot. There's a stacked roster and you make the most of it.

Abily: I think it''s important to have everyone involved. There will be periods where we don't rotate as much because your "main 11" need to actually play. But we're lucky to have lots and lots of quality on the team. The main 11 isn't always easy to find, because a lot of them deserve to play. Unfortunately, as we sometimes tell them, we can only put 11 players on the field. So there are choices to be made. But we know we can count on the entire team and we have a lot of quality.

Jules: The advantage is that it's a turnover that's chosen and wanted. There aren't really any injuries at the moment. So what is it? Are there tests? Is it load and/or ego management? Which philosophy is it?

Abily: A little bit of everything, honestly. There's a bit of everything in that your game management is about avoiding injuries. That's the most important thing. There are players who play a lot with their national teams, when they come back - we were really scarred by all the injuries we had in the past. So our objective - as an example, Wendie [Renard] didn't play this weekend. She had been playing a lot, it was clear she needed a rest, she had been playing so much since the beginning of the season.

Jules: The international break is coming up.

Abily: The international break is coming up. We know she is going to play 2x90 minutes with the French National Team, and then we have a lot of games scheduled. So it was the only moment - and if we know we can do it, it's because we know we have the quality behind. We have Griedge M'Bock, Vanessa Gilles. You could have even done it with Alice Sombath, who in this case played on the right. We have the quality. So already you have load management. Then you obviously have things you want to see, even if you won, there are things - the main team isn't the best yet, there's still choices to be made. And that's why as well we want to see certain players at certain times.

Jules: And you also have players who can play in different positions. We talked about Melchie Dumornay, who can play on the wings or in a central role, same thing with Kadidiatou Diani, with Selma Bacha who can play as a left back or left winger. So this is more of a test period for you then.

Abily: When we have them play in different positions?

Jules: Yes.

Abily: Yes, a little bit. That being said, Selma, we saw what she was doing with the French National Team, so we know she is capable of playing there [left winger]. We have Perle Morroni in defense as well, who is doing really well. Perle deserves to play, Selma deserves to play, so it does allow us to test both of them together. What we don't want them to think is that it's one of the other. That's not the case. And I don't know if we will talk about it later, but it's like when Eugenie Le Sommer performs well, if Ada [Hegerberg] performs well - the two can play together. What we want is to have the best players to create the best team possible. If in the best eleven there are Perle and Selma, then they will play together.

Jules: Is the starting eleven flexible depending on the opposition or do you have your idea as the staff and that's final?

Abily: No, on the whole we have our firm belief within the staff. That being said, we'll make the decision more based on the space the opposition is leaving us, which we will need to exploit, to give us indications on the game. For the opposition as well, it's where we can hit them the hardest. But on the whole we won't change.

Jules: Right now you've been playing in a 4-3-3 formation since the beginning of the season. There was an experiment with a 4-4-2 diamond in the middle of last season which worked out, here you went back to the 4-3-3. Is it set in stone or can we imagine it will change with the return from injuries? I'm thinking of Delphine Cascarino.

Abily: When - to be sincere, when we changed formations, it was because of the players we had available. What's important is to put the players in the best position possible. When we went to the 4-4-2 diamond formation, we had a lot of midfielders who were performing really well, and we didn't want to pass over those players because they were playing well and deserved to play. For the offense, we had more injured players so it was a little bit harder. So it's mainly for that. Now, we've been playing in a 4-4-3, but there's also a 3-5-2, there's the 4-4-2 diamond. There's a lot of interesting formations and we have the players to be able to do them.

Jules: Problems only a rich team can understand, as we like to say. Staying with players playing in different positions, Alice Sombath played this weekend as a right back. Her natural position is a center back, but there's stiff competition, there's Griedge M'Bock, Wendie Renard, Vanessa Gilles. Could it be an actual solution to have Alice Sombath as a backup for Ellie Carpenter? Janice Cayman left and you didn't buy any right backs.

Abily: Yes. She already did it last season, I don't know if you remember. Alice played a fair amount of times on the right side. We knew that with Alice, we wouldn't have a lot of worries with the defense. Now obviously she doesn't bring the same offensive threat as Ellie Carpenter, because she doesn't have the same qualities. But in any case it's one of the possibilities. And Griedge M'Bock has also played sometimes in that position, because we don't have any pure right backs [other than Carpenter]. However we do have two center backs who can play there. And I like a little bit - well it's in our head at least - Vicki Becho, even if she really doesn't like it. We've already done it on certain plays, she could always help out if we need to be very offensive-minded.

Jules: Doubling as a winger then.

Abily: Yeah. When we're really high up, I think she can bring something as well.

Jules: You were talking about the offensive aspect with Alice Sombath. She scored this weekend, didn't she Michael?

Michael: She did score. She celebrated her 20th birthday on October 16th. She scored her first goal in the D1 Arkema, it was her 30th appearance, which is something, and she scored her first goal. Well you were talking about her being less of an offensive aspect than Ellie [Carpenter], but she is still capable of scoring.

Abily: [laughs] Yes, of course. That being said her vision for the goal was exceptional. She saw the goalkeeper completely anticipated the cross so she decided to take a shot. It was a good play. But it's true that she has less power, she's less capable of doing overlapping runs. But as I said, she has other qualities and she is a player we're working with a lot because she can improve so much more.

Jules: Alice Sombath is also a huge Disney movies fan. I'm not going to tell you why I know that but you'll find out very soon. We were talking about the competition within the team, there's competition in one position, one area, and that's the attack. Michael, I said that when Eugenie [Le Sommer] came on the show that it might be the best offensive line I've seen at Lyon. I'm going to ask you the same question, Camille. I'll give you a second to think back on all of Lyon's offensive lines.

Abily: That's what I was trying to do. I have to think about it.

Jules: There's a lot to think about. Here's the list for this year. Seven players for three spots, Michael.

Michael: Yes, seven players for three spots if we're playing in a 4-3-3. There is Eugenie Le Sommer, Ada Hegerberg, Kadidiatou Diani, Melchie Dumornay, Delphine Cascarino, Vicki Becho and Liana Joseph. Since the start of the season it's been Diani, Dumornay and Le Sommer who have started more, but when you look at the bench and you see Hegerberg, Cascarino when she returns from injury, Vicki Becho, and Liana Joseph who is coming up as well. Those are good problems to have, I imagine.

Abily: No, yeah, it's true that it's truly an exceptional attack. Now Delphine [Cascarino] is unfortunately still injured and isn't available, but when we add Delphine to that offensive line, choices will have to be made. It's true that Ada was a little bit injured so the three who have played - who have performed well especially, because we got a Eugenie Le Sommer who is on an incredible run and is more than performing well. And as I said, we had two top recruits, be it Melchie [Dumornay] and Diani, so yeah, it's a really, really good offensive line.

Jules: And when I ask you the controversial question - well it's not really controversial - is this not one of the best offensive lines in the history of Olympique lyonnais Feminin? You who have played for a bit longer than I have.

Abily: [scoffs disapprovingly at being called old] In terms of the numbers and the team, yes. That being said, I think there was a period with Lotta Schelin, Lara Dickenmann, Elodie Thomis as well. That was really top level as well.

Jules: Was there as many [top attacking players] though?

Abily: There weren't as many. There weren't as many, and that's why I said that in terms of the team, then yes [it's the best].

Jules: Was there as much flexibility as well? Because here we have players who can play a little bit anyway.

Abily: Yes, because Melchie [Dumornay] can play in the midfield as well, she does it a lot with the Haiti National Team. She was originally a midfielder at the academy. Eugenie has also played as a 9 1/2, she can do that as a player. So yeah. With that much adaptability, we really have an incredible offense.

Jules: When you look at those seven, we could have also added Amel Majri if we wanted to be selfish. You've been in a 4-3-3 since the start with two true wingers, is that the best formation for that list?

Abily: It depends. No. Because if we're talking about Ada [Hegerberg], when she gets all of her fitness back, because we're being careful with Ada, we're slowly bringing her back. So we know that if Eugenie keeps this up, then we have two central attackers, they're both world class. So we'll see. As I said, we're not dismissing any possibility. The most important thing is that they perform well and that they are in the best positions.

Michael: In any case, I wouldn't like to be in their place. When you look at the list, to only have to choose three names.

Abily: What about ours? Do you think it's easy?

Michael: Exactly. I wouldn't want to be in your place.

Abily: Sorry, I thought you meant you wouldn't want to be in the player's position.

Michael: Choosing between those seven players, well, choosing three out of those seven, it's complicated. Well here you just said that Ada is lacking match fitness and coming back from injury, but putting Ada Hegerberg on the bench, putting players like that on the bench, I can't imagine that it's easy. Tough choices but only one a rich team can have to make.

Abily: It's not easy. We know at Lyon, and they know this really well as well, it's competitive, this is a quality club, we have objectives. We said it before, the calendar is going to have a lot of games and a lot of important games. So we will need everything. Now of course there will be moments - I was a player, I know what's like, you're frustrated because you didn't play a game - but when you have the chance to play, you need to perform well, and that will allow you to play more. But we have a lot of players for sure.

Jules: We said there are seven players in that position but really there are six for the moment because of Delphine Cascarino. You said she's rehabbing. How is she doing? We last saw her last season against Paris Saint-Germain, she missed the World Cup. So there was the injury and then having to miss the World Cup. Did she have a setback, is it going well, where is she at with her rehab?

Abily: No, it's going well. I think mentally she is very, very strong. It's true that she's very positive, she can feel the progress being made. I sometimes ask her "are you okay? it isn't taking too long?" And she tells me "no, it's okay, it's going pretty quickly." So that's cool because sometimes there is that longing for the pitch. And we count on Delphine enormously, she's a player who - and I keep saying this - is a world class player. We have a lot of world class players, both in our offense but also in our midfield and defense. There are choices to be made there as well.

Jules: Lindsey Horan, Damaris, Sara Dabritz. It's pretty good.

Abily: There are a lot. There's a lot of great players and we're eager for her [Cascarino's] return. It's going well.

Jules: Another special case, it's that of Vicki Becho. We were talking earlier about players who went out on loan, she was on loan at Reims, that went well. She came back, but now she has a different status. She's no longer the "young" Vicki Becho. Now she's Vicki Becho, international player. Vicki Becho, who took part in the World Cup. We don't manage her the same way.

Abily: Who performed well at the World Cup. That's what changed. It's true that Vicki participated in the World Cup but she also played and performed well. After, Vicki, we talked about it with her so we can talk about it here. She's a player who each time she comes on is very important and very decisive, and is good when she comes on as a substitute. She still needs a bit of time to be consistent throughout a game. The games where she has started, I've been less satisfied with her performance. But -

Jules: She's often used as a sub.

Abily: She often comes on as a sub, yes. Because each time she comes on she performs well. But it's true that she's a really good player with a lot of qualities, and is capable - it's important that now she processes the World Cup, and keeps improving.

Michael: Were you surprised by her performance at the World Cup?

Abily: Surprised? Yes and no, because I see her daily. And remember last season when we played in the 4-4-2 diamond, she was often in front with the two forwards. And she was really good there.

Jules: It worked really well.

Abily: It worked really well even if she had the tendency to drift out wide on the right. But it worked really well. Not surprised, because she had a really good season last year. Where I was pleasantly surprised was that Herve Renard, the first substitutions he made was always her. He had other players on the bench, Clara Mateo, Amel Majri, which meant that she was performing really well with the French National Team. That's where her status changed for me, because she went from "I'm playing from time to time" to "I'm always coming on [with the National Team]". That's where it happened.

Jules: We're not making things up, the numbers speak for themselves. She was the 12th player used by Herve Renard, 12th player used by Sonia Bompastor as well. We're going to move on to some more individual cases. We looked at the attacking line, with one player whom you had already brought up -

Abily: We have a good communications department, they told me which subjects we would be discussing on the show.

Jules: It was a compliment.

Abily: I was just happy it wasn't a dig for once.

Michael: One player who has been performing really well, who performed really well during the World Cup as well, that's Eugenie Le Sommer. We'll see it with the highlights since the beginning of the season, Eugenie Le Sommer, it's five games played, five league goals and one assist. She turned back time.

Abily: Yeah. She's exceptional really. I'm happy for her first of all, because there were some difficult moments for her last year. We talked about it, she wasn't getting as much playing time, it was a little bit more difficult. But it really shows her mental strength and all her qualities. We all know Eugenie and how good she is, she got her confidence back. The World Cup did her an enormous amount of good. She came back in the same form she was in at the World Cup, she's scoring some great goals, that's important as well.

Michael: I imagine that her return to the French National Team gave her a boost, which explains why today she is back to her best.

Jules: We really see a before and after.

Abily: I would say she rekindled her passion. It's really that. She always believed, but it was difficult. Of course she loves the club, but she had objectives with the French National Team. When it ended the way it did, that was difficult. But now it's as if she rekindled something inside of her, and it's top because she's performing so well with us.

Jules: Because statistically, it's going so well. We can see she is building off her performance at the World Cup. But even on her face, in her body language, we can see she is a player with the weight off her shoulders. When you are talking about having turned back time, it's a little bit that as well, I feel like. The light is back in her eyes. The passion is back for Eugenie Le Sommer. And that works out fine for us since she can't stop scoring.

Abily: Exactly.

Michael: We saw her goal against Reims. I just want to point out that against Reims, that was her 300th game in D1 Arkema. She had done 35 with Stade Briochin, she has played in 265 games with Olympique Lyonnais. And another status, 222 goals in D1 Arkema.

Abily: It's not bad.

Michael: It's Eugenie Le Sommer.

Abily: She's an attacker. We can see it, she's capable of scoring with her right foot, with her left foot, headers even though she's not very tall. She has a really good aerial game, very good timing. Very complete player. And full of confidence. So really firing at the moment.

Jules: 300th game in D1 Arkema, and soon the objective of 300 goals. It seems crazy that's achievable. 300 goals. Now we know now that it's a possibility, but when you say you could score 300 goals with Olympique Lyonnais, that's Messi, that's Maradona, that's Ronaldo. It's -

Abily: It's enormous. But she has the quality to do it.

Jules: But does that mean that the main competition for Eugenie Le Sommer is Ada Hegerberg?

Abily: If we stay in that formation, yes.

Jules: If we stay in that formation. But in any case the two central attackers who are No. 1 and I guess 1(b), I don't know how to classify it, it's either Eugenie Le Sommer or Ada Hegerberg. Indeed I really wouldn't want to be in your shoes. We know all about choices at OLPlay, it's between Ivan, Michael, and myself. I feel the producer might not be under the same amount as pressure as Camille. We're going to drop down to the midfield now. You said there is also stiff competition there. We're going to talk about the American player who is performing well and is even scoring as well. It's getting a bit complicated, she has everything going for her, Lindsey Horan.

Michael: Yeah, she has everything going for her since she arrived. It's clear that she has established herself in Lyon's midfield. And since the start of the league, it's four games played and four goals. She is getting 100 percent marks as well. And she's simply shining in the midfield.

Abily: Yeah, she makes - when she's performing well, she makes the team better. She's really the driving force behind the team and is capable of making the team play better. When we play badly it's often because Lindsey isn't playing well. Ever since she arrived - I said it the day she arrived, she immediately made the team better. She makes the players around her better. So we're really happy to have her and that she maintains that level.

Jules: There's also a certain stability in the midfield. We know that Lindsey is often a starter, along with Damaris and Danielle van de Donk. They're basically the core, just like the three in front of them. Last week we were talking with Timothee Piron, who comments the women's games, and he used the term "driving force". He also used it to describe Damaris who was really good in the derby [against ASSE]. It's a bit like three similar profiles but complimentary profiles as well. I don't know if you get what I'm saying.

Abily: Ummm -

Jules: Say yes, that will make me happy.

Abily: I see what you mean about complimentary but I don't see the similar in profile, not really.

Jules: Okay maybe less Damaris, that's a bit more difficult, but more for -

Abily: They have different qualities. They have different qualities. It's true that Damaris is really a DM whose role in the team is really important, because she's the first to launch something but also has to stop a lot of the attacks from the opponents since we have a really high block. She is often really well positioned. After, for Lindsey and Danielle -

Jules: I was talking more about Lindsey and Danielle, Sara [Dabritz]. More those profiles.

Abily: Yeah. Lindsey, Sara, Maro[zsan], Danielle. Those are players who have more of a similar profile with different qualities. And there are a lot of choices that have to be made because there's so much talent. There's two German internationals, Lindsey is an American international, and Danielle is an international Dutch player. So lots and lots of quality. But we know at Lyon there has to be competition. Since the start of the season it's been more Lindsey and Danielle who have had more of the playing time. We'll see later on. We aren't closing the door on anybody. If someone is performing well then it pushes the level of the team up even more.

Michael: Circling back to Lindsey, you were talking about her level on the field. But in the locker room I feel she is also someone who really has a leadership role. And since her arrival she has really integrated well with the group, and brings an enormous amount of experience.

Abily: Of course, a lot of experience. She has won the World Cup, she performed really well with the national team. So obviously when those players come into the locker room, they have to bring that experience with them. So yeah. And when you are a technical leader on the field, then it's important to be a leader in the locker room as well.

Jules: You were talking about the World Cup being a factor. Lindsey's World Cup didn't go particularly well. How did she feel about it? Did she say "forget about it, we're starting a new season" or is it still in the back of her mind, because it was really seen as a failure over there?

Abily: It was hard. It was especially hard because she is the captain of that team, and it was the first time she was captain in an official competition. So she really considered it as a failure on her part. So it was hard, we talked about it. Now she is lucky because the club season started really quickly after that, the club has a lot of objectives, we talked about the Trophee des Championnes. So you have to know when you're a player and there's a failure, the best way to get over a failure to keep working and move forward. And to have short term objectives as well, with your club that's important, but also with your national team as well. There's still the Olympic Games in 2024. So it's important for her to perform well and immediately switch over.

Jules: And when we're going to drop back even more and talk about the defense. We've talked about the only goal conceded this season. We're going to talk about one central defender who is playing extremely well at the moment and is also scoring goals, that's Vanessa Gilles.

Michael: Yes, Vanessa Gilles, who also since her arrival last year, who came in to cover for Griedge M'Bock's huge injury. Since the start of the season, it's four league games, two goals. She also experienced a failure at the World Cup with her country. Unfortunately - well watching those clips, I get the impression that she's already moved on to other things.

Abily: Yes, as I said, it was difficult, the return was difficult. Luckily they had some vacation time so they could really disconnect, clear their heads and come back mentally fresh. Because that's what's the most difficult. But yeah, it's true that Vanessa, she's also a great recruit we got. It's not easy to find cover while Griedge M'Bock is injured. She did it really, really well. And now it's up to Griedge to get her old level back because Vanessa has established her place [in the starting 11].

Michael: And when you see Wendie Renard and Vanessa Gilles, who are our center backs, and who score so many goals, it's extraordinary.

Abily: Yeah, we're lucky. We have two really top level center backs. Their aerial play is exceptional. And it's true we often thought of Wendie, but Vanessa, we can see she can be decisive as well. And there's a lot to be happy about.

Jules: From what we understand by listening to you, it's that the starting pair is Wendie and Vanessa.

Abily: As things stand right now, yes. But I think Griedge knows that. She's coming back, she had her first 90 minutes. She still needs match fitness. However, Griedge is an exceptional player. When Griedge is at her best level she's amongst the best center backs in the world. But when you've been out for more than year, you need a little bit of time. And as I said, we're going to have a lot of games coming up, so she will be getting playing time. So she will get her rhythm and her level back. And that's what we want, that she gets back to her level as fast as possible.

Michael: I imagine that when you have three players like that for two spots, three players as talented as they are. It's like with your offense, it's nice to have to make those kind of choices.

Abily: Yeah, of course. After, we can - if all three deserve to play, there's a 3-5-2 which exists, there's different systems. And it depends on how they are performing at that moment. After, you also need stability. The players need a system which they're used to playing in, because what's really important is that we're performing well as a team.

Jules: We're going to talk about objectives now. We've done the recap on the almost perfect start of the season. And amongst the objectives there is obviously the Champions League. There was the elimination last year after the quest to regain the title in 2021-2022. And a few days ago the draw came out, we're in probably the easiest group. We're going to go over it with Michael. It would have been complicated to have an easier group than this one.

Michael: Yes, it's true that we were very lucky with the draw with this group composed of Olympique Lyonnais, Slavia Prague, St Polten and SK Brann. Is it a group where we should have wished for another team closer to our level so it would be a bit more challenging and prepare the players a bit better for the quarter finals? How do you feel about it?

Abily: As soon as Paris FC knocked Arsenal and Wolfsburg, that meant that already in Pot 2, we couldn't play Paris, the other only big team left is Real Madrid and then Rosengaard. By getting Slavia Prague, we got the easiest team in Pot 2. After, we haven't yet studied all the teams, Prague we know a little bit, St Polten is improving, and the Norwegian team, Brann, we'll have to see. Now we're not going to complain, we'd rather have this group than a Group of Death especially as I said we're going to be playing a lot of games. It's going to be important to perform well.

Michael: Yes, it's what we were saying with Jules earlier. Last year we struggled to qualify, we had that -

Jules: It's okay, the group from last year has already been knocked out. I don't mean to bring up bad memories. But we qualified, so that's good.

Abily: Yeah, it was hard.

Jules: So you prefer the group we have this year to what we had last year where it came down to the last day?

Abily: It all depends on how you look at it. As a coach, of course I know this group is easier, as a competitor we have a greater chance of qualifying with this one than the one last year. However in terms of attraction for women's football but also for us in terms of marketing, of course Arsenal, Lyon, Juve is more interesting than Brann and St Polten.

Jules: But in terms of preparation. Do you think - do you prepare as well for the quarterfinals when you're with Arsenal and Juventus than when you're with - in all due respect - the other teams?

Abily: No, for sure. I want to wait and see, because I don't want to speak too soon. We have to play them first and after we've played the games then we can talk about whether there really is a difference. Women's football is evolving in every country. But I hope that we will finish first, and the advantage of finishing first is that you play the second. So your quarterfinal could be more accessible, though once again as you saw with Arsenal, we were up against Chelsea in the quarters. So it's more difficult.

Jules: But when you look at the other pots with the other French teams, Michael, those are really the Groups of Death, especially - maybe Paris Saint-Germain's group is worse.

Michael: Yes, Paris Saint-Germain, who is with Bayern Munich, AS Roma and Ajax. That's a really competitive group and it's not going to be a simple task for the Parisian team.

Abily: No. Especially because I think AS Roma is a really interesting team, we saw it in the past, even though I do think PSG will make it out of the group. But it will be more difficult.

Michael: To come back to our group, there's one thing which is interesting, it's that Ada who will see her sister again and will return to Norway. I imagine that's pretty nice for her.

Abily: Yeah, it's funny because when we were talking about it the night before, I said "I hope we won't have to go to Norway when it's cold and snowing." And I think we're going December 21, December 22, I forget which one. December 21 I think. It's right before the break as well, so Hegerberg was like "well at least I don't have to fly home." That's the only positive.

Jules: We'll need to bring proper clothing.

Abily: Exactly.

Michael: There will be a lot of travel involved with this group.

Abily: Indeed, indeed. And after - as I was saying, for sure on paper it's an easy group, but after - we haven't studied all the teams yet, we'll do it during the international break - and it will be interesting to see the level, how it has improved, because we can see it. Paris FC in principle wasn't favorite at all, managed to eliminate both Arsenal and Wolfsburg. So we still need to take this group seriously.

Michael: You brought up Paris FC. When we see three French teams out of the 16 European teams, the country most represented is France. I imagine that's nice to see.

Abily: I'm so happy. Sincerely, I'm super happy because everyone is talking about the English league, blah blah, Spanish league. It's all we hear about, even when it comes to recruiting players. "Ah but blah blah." But in the mean time, the only country with three teams in it is us. Of course there is a ton of progress to be made in the league, but we can see there is quality in France. And what Paris FC did, as I said, it's exceptional.

Jules: I said that there could be three French teams in the quarterfinals. Do you think so as well? Paris FC's group is Chelsea, Real Madrid and Hacken. They're in Pot 4, Paris FC.

Abily: Yes, it's normal that they're in a group that difficult. But - well, Chelsea could be difficult, even if they did beat Arsenal and Wolfsburg. But however against Real Madrid and Hacken, I think that's doable.

Michael: It's true that when you look at the group, you could say it's complicated for Paris FC. But after having eliminated Wolfsburg, last year's finalist, and Arsenal, semi-finalist, you could really say anything is possible. And we could potentially have three French teams in the quarterfinals.

Abily: After, the hardest thing is for that kind of team, they're not used to having to play every three days. Whether their team - and that's something we will find out - whether they will have a roster capable of playing every three days, I don't know.

Jules: You're playing Paris FC right before the first day of the UWCL, so there wouldn't be that impact yet. And if Lyon goes all the way, which we hope they do, then we can thank Paris FC for taken care of the nuisance.

Abily: We can thank them enormously. As I said, they - when we saw the draw and the pots, knowing that we can't play a French team, the biggest team left was PSG. So they eliminated two favorites in the competition. It's exceptional what they did.

Jules: So really quickly. The objective is the D1 Arkema with these playoffs, the UWCL, and the Coupe de France. That will come a little bit later. This is a bit of a traditional question, but is the objective to win all four titles? There's already one down, only three left.

Abily: Of course. We know that when you're at Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, be it as a player or part of the staff, we know the objectives are to win everything. That's it. Last year it was difficult in the Champions League because the manner in which we were eliminated was difficult, but we have to take our revenge this year.

Jules: We hope to get our revenge this year. In any case, thank you, Camille, for having come on the show. Thank you, Michael. We'll see you tomorrow.

Abily: Always a pleasure.

#all good love stories start in the rain #Camille abily #god I need a glass of wine #and by glass i do mean bottle #if you think this takes forever to read try being the one translating it

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