Pre-Season 2014 - The Perfect Preparation.
So, my first full month as manager of Olympique Lyonnais and my first few games too, albeit they were just friendly games. A positive pre-season could set the tone for my tenure as manager, while a few losses would knock back confidence in the squad considerably and could potentially damage our hopes for the competitive season ahead.
Results.
Our set of pre-season fixtures began with a match against French lower league side
GF 38. Considering our reputation as a club we would have been expected to win by a much bigger margin, and we did dominate proceedings, however out experimental line-up could only manage a 2-1 victory with goals coming from
Alexandre Lacazette and
Clement Grenier. Nonetheless, a win is a win, and it was good to get off to a good start.
Again we faced lower league opposition, this time
CS Sedan Ardennes. The win was by the same scoreline as our previous match, 2-1, but the scorers were different with
Mohammed Yattara and
Maxime Gonalons finding the net on this occasion.
US Senart-Moissy were the next side to matchup to Les Gones. This time we were much more solid at the back, with our clean sheet highlighting this, and looked a better side even if once more our opponents were no challenge at all.
Yoann Gourcuff added his name to the list of scorers so far and
Alexandre Lacazette also struck home for his second of pre-season.
The competition stepped up just that little more in the next game with an encounter against Ligue 2 side
Havre, it didn’t matter though as we cruised to another triumph.
Alexandre Lacazette was a danger all game, scoring two goals within a wonderful performance from the striker, while
Mohammed Dabo added the third goal in stoppage time to end the game at 3-1.
Another fixture against a Ligue 2 team followed, with
Dijon the team to provide us with the opportunity to extend our 100% record. We did just, winning the game 2-0 with the hosts springing no shocks in being incapable to deal with our attacking talent. Unsurprisingly,
Alexandre Lacazette was exactly the man who threatened throughout with his goal putting us into the lead before
Mohammed Yattara extended the advantage later on.
The last game of pre-season and what was supposed to be the game to test us was against Greek giant
Olympiakos. With the challenge of a tougher team, my players upped the ante and we put in a display much more similar as to what to expect in this coming season. The fans witnessed an excellent 3-0 win with goals coming from
Yassine Benzia, yet again
Alexandre Lacazette and
Jimmy Briand.
Player of Pre-Season.
It’s no real surprise that Alexandre Lacazette is the Player of Pre-Season, is it? After bagging 6 goals and 1 assist, he was the obvious choice. He caused huge problems to every defence he came up against, and slotted into my tactic perfectly. If he can carry this form into the new season, then he could single handily bring success to the club as he leads the line, so naturally I am very excited to see what he will do for us.
Juninho’s Judgement.
A 100% record in pre-season, 6 wins out of 6, it could not have gone better. I was delighted with our performances, and we didn’t even hit top gear. The tactic was very effective in all the games played, and the players suited it very well so I am very happy with my decision regarding the system. So, overall I was delighted with the results and am hoping we can continue this standard in competitive games which are forthcoming.