Olympique Lyonnais play in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League tonight against overwhelming favorites of the competition Bayern Munich but before kick-off the this blockbuster SPORTSWorldGhana.com remembers the two-year successful stint Ghana’s Michael Essien had with the French side.
After establishing himself as one of the best box to box midfielder in France football between 2000 and 2003 Essien was a hot cake in the summer of 2003. Firstly , Paris Saint-Germain made Bastia the best offer and it was accepted. However Essien rejected PSG’s contract offer, instead of agreeing to terms with the two-time defending champions Lyon, who paid Bastia €7.8 million for the transfer.
Upon his arrival at Lyon, Essien was assigned the number 4 shirt and played as a box-to-box midfielder, which allowed him the freedom to protect and assist playmaker Juninho while defensive midfielders Edmílson and Mahamadou Diarra assisted the defence and directed the distribution.
Essien made his club debut in the team’s 2003 Trophée des champions match against Auxerre on 27 July 2003. In just the fifth minute of play, Essien scored his first goal for the club, and four minutes later, Diarra scored a goal. Lyon won the match 2–1, giving Essien his first club honour as a player.
In just the third match of the campaign, Essien scored his first league goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over Monaco.[20] He featured regularly for the rest of the campaign, making 33 more league appearances and scoring two more goals, against Bordeaux and Rennes respectively.
On 23 May 2004, Lyon sealed their third consecutive league title by defeating Lille 3–0 at the Stade Gerland. Essien appeared as a substitute in the match. In the UEFA Champions League, Essien appeared in eight of the ten matches Lyon contested and the club was ultimately eliminated by eventual champions, Porto.
In his final season at Lyon, Essien appeared in all but one league match as Lyon were crowned champions for the fourth straight season. The match he missed was as a result of a red card endured in the previous league match. Essien also scored three goals and collected 11 yellow cards, tied for second-worst in the league.
His performances in the league resulted in him being voted the 2005 Player of the Year by France’s National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP).
Essien also helped Lyon to reach the quarter-finals of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League where he put in dynamic performances and scored five goals in the tournament. Lyon was eventually eliminated from the tournament in a penalty shoot-out against PSV. At the end of the season, he was named Ligue 1 Player of the Year. His honour started a record streak of UNFP Player of the Year awards for Lyon players, with the streak coming to an end in 2008 following Karim Benzema’s victory.
He was also nominated for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year Award. He placed 22nd in 2005.
In all Michael Essien scored 13 goals in 96 appearances for the club of Jean Michel Aulas and helped them to clinch four titles including two Ligue 1 honors.
Essien’s stay at Lyon may not have lasted any longer but everyone at the club still remembers him for he offered the team in those two years.
The talented midfielder move to England to join Chelsea where he went on to achieve more success winning the 2012 UEFA Champions League even though he did not play any minutes in the final match against Bayern Munich.
