Olympique Lyonnais Reserves and Academy

Olympique Lyonnais

Full name	Olympique Lyonnais
Nicknames	Les Gones, Lyon, or OL
Founded	1899/1950[1]
Ground	Stade Gérard Houllier [fr], Décines-Charpieu
Capacity	1,524
Chairman	John Textor
Manager	Gueida Fofana (National 3) Samy Saci (U-19s) Amaury Barlet (U-17s)
League	Championnat National 3 Championnat National Under-19 Championnat National Under-17
2022–23 (National 2)	National 2 Group C, 14th (relegated)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

The Olympique Lyonnais Reserves & Academy are the reserve team and academy of French club Olympique Lyonnais. The reserves squad play in the Championnat National 3, the fifth division of French football and the second highest division the team is allowed to participate in. Lyon have won the reserves title of the Championnat de France Amateur six times. They have won in 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2009, and 2010.

Overview

The U-19 squad participates in their weekly league, the Championnat National U19, which is a league comprising four groups of fourteen clubs who play each other twice during the regular season. This session is dubbed Phase 1. Following the regular season, the four group winners are randomly selected to face each other in semi-final matches (dubbed Phase 2) to decide who will play each other in the Under-18 Championnat National championship match, usually held in Mayenne. There is also a third-place match, which is usually held just before the championship match. The Under-18 squad also regularly participates in the Coupe Gambardella. They have won the title on 4 occasions. They won the cup in 1971, 1994, 1997 and 2022.

The U-17 side participates in a league, the Championnat National U17, a youth league comprising six groups of twelve clubs who play each other twice during the regular season, dubbed Phase 1. Following the regular season, the six group winners and the two best second place clubs are randomly inserting into two groups of four, where they play each other at neutral venues once over a span of four days. This portion is dubbed Phase 2. The two winners of each group will then face each other in the championship match to determine the champion of the Under-17 Championnat National. The Under-17 squad also participates in regional cup competitions.

The current National 3 manager is Gueida Fofana, who played for Olympique Lyonnais before but had his career cut-short due to injuries. He has been the manager of Lyon's reserves team since 2019. The manager of the Olympique Lyonnais U-19s and U-17s are Samy Saci and Amaury Barlet.^[2]

Philosophy

According to Faouzi Djedou-Benabid, the scout for Niort and the co-author of Pourquoi le foot français va dans le mur (lit. 'Why French football goes into wall'; 2015), published by Hugo Sport, the training provided in Olympique Lyonnais academy favors the technical learning of football over match results, like FC Barcelona: thus, "Lyon educators do not hesitate to have defenders play in midfield so that 'they can learn to use their feet better". In addition, the formation does not favor any pattern of play, allowing the players to adapt easily to all positions during the game.^[3]

As a result of this philosophy, since the 2010s, Lyon youth academy gained reputation all around Europe as being one of the top football academies in the continent, producing several players playing in European top tier competitions.^[4] Between 2012 and 2019, Lyon appears successively eight times in top 4 of the International Centre for Sports Studies list of the best football academies in Europe. Lyon was also rated by the French Football Federation as the best football academy in France for six seasons in a row, between 2013 and 2019.^[5]

In February 2014, L'Équipe writes that Olympique Lyonnais ranks second in terms of the number of players trained at the club and playing in the "five major European championships" (Germany, England, Spain, France and Italy) tied with Real Madrid, and the first being FC Barcelona.^[6][7] In 2015, France Football rated Lyon youth academy as one of the best in Europe, as it is used to feed the first team, and also having a pool of players with value on the transfer market, without this being in the heart of the club's policy.^[8] Indeed, the competition level in Lyon's youth team is very difficult for young players, they will regularly, voluntarily or not, emancipate themselves in other very young clubs. Just as regularly, a certain number of them manage to have a good national or international career such as Ludovic Giuly, Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette, Samuel Umtiti, or Nabil Fekir.

Honours

• Championnat de France Amateurs: 7
  • Champions: 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011
• Championnat National U17: 4
  • Champions: 1994, 2000, 2004, 2014
• Championnat National U19: 3
  • Champions: 1993, 2000, 2005
• Coupe Gambardella: 4
  • Champions: 1971, 1994, 1997, 2022
  • Finalists: 1970, 1992, 2005, 2006, 2015
• Coupe Nationale U16 (with Rhône-Alpes): 2
  • Champions: 1960, 1996
• French Division 3: 1
  • Champions: 1993
• Montaigu Tournament: 2
  • Champions: 2000, 2004
• Premier League International Cup
  • Finalists: 2024–25

Current squad

Reserve squad (Olympique Lyonnais II)

As of 8 September 2025^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 30 GK  CIV Yvann Konan 45 MF  FRA Rémi Himbert 46 MF  POR Tiago Gonçalves — GK  FRA Axel Barreau — GK  POR Matthias Da Silva — DF  FRA Imdad Charifou — DF  FRA Boubakar Diarra — DF  FRA Timothée Dutot — DF  TUN Wassim El Abrougui — DF  FRA Emeric Etondé — DF  CMR Ibrahim Halilou — DF  FRA Ali Ali Hassan — DF  FRA Steeve Kango — DF  COD Prince Mbatshi

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  FRA Melvyn Otobo — DF  TUN Kelyan Yahia — MF  SEN Pierre Dorival — MF  SEN Fallou Fall — MF  SUI Joss Marques — MF  THA Erawan Garnier — MF  COD Billy-Paul Mavudia — FW  FRA Daryll Benlahlou — FW  SEN Ibrahima Fall — FW  FRA Adil Hamdani — FW  ALG Yannis Lagha — FW  FRA Nehemie Lurika — FW  GAB Bryan Meyo

U19 squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  FRA Zaki Atamna — GK  FRA Adrien Danis — GK  FRA Mathis Iwosso — DF  MAR Adam Alioui — DF  FRA Angel Garcia — DF  FRA Kassim Mnandji — DF  FRA Paul-Ianel Moulot — DF  FRA Kylian Negri — DF  FRA Emmanuel Pampi — DF  FRA Aboubacar Sacko — DF  FRA Esteban Thyvent — DF  FRA Nolan Velut

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  FRA Jalis Bouabdellah — MF  FRA Kenan Doganay — MF  FRA Noah Duclieu — MF  ALG Walid Nechab — MF  TUR Haktan Sener — FW  FRA Hocine Boulegroun — FW  FRA Gnadou Gohi — FW  FRA Mathieu Hoareau — FW  TUR Ottman Katirag — FW  FRA Nader Saad — FW  FRA Issiaga Soumah

U17 squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  FRA Ethan Leveneur — GK  FRA Joël Mbala — DF  COM Nizard Ahmed Moussa — DF  FRA Tiago Asse-Bille — DF  FRA Yanis Bah Girondins — DF  FRA Rubio Berliat — DF  FRA Jérémie Mputu — DF  FRA Félix Onana — DF  FRA Aaron Trincat — MF  FRA Naïm Adjimi — MF  ITA Lylian Di Nota — MF  FRA Rayhan Hajjari — MF  FRA Emany Mayulu

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  COD Jason Nkelenda — MF  CTA Edwin Penka — MF  FRA Théo Petan Ranguin — FW  FRA Hedi Chekhab — FW  BEL Ousmane Fofana — FW  FRA Ilan Khadraoui — FW  FRA Amine Lazak — FW  FRA Khalil Mahici — FW  FRA Mohamed Meguenni — FW  FRA Djibril Merouani — FW  FRA Ajdin Muminovic — FW  FRA Farès Tracol — FW  FRA Bojan Zekovic

Staff

As of 1 July 2025

Position	Name
General Director	Fabien Caballero
Reserves Manager	Gueïda Fofana
Reserves Assistant Manager	Pierre Chavondrier
Academy Goalkeeper Coach	Olivier Blondel Sébastien Gerin
Academy Fitness Coach	Nicolas Quinault
U-19 Manager	Florent Balmont
U-19 Assistant Manager	Rémy Kaleche
U-19 Fitness Coach	Antoine Maennel
U-19 Athletic Coach	Florian Testard
U-17 Manager	Samy Saci
U-17 Assistant Managers	Mour Paye
U-17 Fitness Coach	Mattéo Cathalot
Preformation Director	Nicolas Brun
Sporting Coordinator	Guy Genet

Notable alumni

Many players from Lyon's youth system have managed to reach the professional level in football, whether at Lyon or at other clubs. As of June 2025, 37 players formed in the Lyon academy had capped for the France national football team.^[10] Below is a non-exhaustive list of notable players who trained in the youth or reserve teams of Olympique Lyonnais:

France Loïc Abenzoar Ghislain Anselmini Leeroy Anton Marcel Aubour Jérémy Aymes Kamal Bafounta Farès Bahlouli Mohamed Bahlouli Florent Balmont Bradley Barcola Melvin Bard Cédric Bardon Xavier Barrau Christian Bassila Karim Belhocine Olivier Bellisi Nicolas Belvito Hatem Ben Arfa Mourad Benhamida Farid Benstiti Karim Benzema Bryan Bergougnoux Olivier Bernard Jérémy Berthod Grégory Bettiol Romain Beynié Maxime Blanc Kayne Bonnevie Gilbert Bonvin Pierre Bouby Jérémie Bréchet Anthony Briançon Maxence Caqueret Alexis Carra Maxime Cassara Alain Caveglia Johann Charpenet Mickael Charvet Yves Chauveau Xavier Chavalerin Rayan Cherki François Clerc Jérémy Clément Timothé Cognat Renaud Cohade Mickaël Colloredo Néstor Combin Gilles Constantinian Yoann Court Laurent Courtois Florent Da Silva Andrea Damiani Stéphane Darbion Maxime D'Arpino Fabien Debec Laurent Debrosse Romain Dedola Romain Del Castillo Sylvain Deplace Jean-Christophe Devaux Fleury Di Nallo Yohan Di Tommaso Jean Djorkaeff Raymond Domenech Belony Dumas Jean-Philippe Durand Franck Durix Alan Dzabana Yann Ekra Mohamed El Arouch Stephen Ettien Sébastien Faure Julien Faussurier Nabil Fekir Yassin Fekir Jordan Ferri Fabrice Fiorèse Maxence Flachez Sébastien Flochon Laurent Fournier Pascal Fugier Rémi Garde Bruno Génésio Alexis Genet Guy Genet Gaël Genevier Willem Geubbels Ludovic Giuly Yohan Gomez Anthony Gomez Mancini Maxime Gonalons Mathieu Gorgelin Hérold Goulon Sidney Govou Fabrice Grange Clément Grenier Sébastien Grimaldi Malo Gusto Joan Hartock Alexandre Hauw David Hellebuyck Kévin Jacmot Warren Jacmot Joris Jehan Franck Jurietti Joseph Kalulu Pierre Kalulu Timothée Kolodziejczak Billy Koumetio Zakarie Labidi Alexandre Lacazette Bernard Lacombe Guillaume Lacour Stéphane Lalaoui Gérard Lanthier Florent Laville William Le Pogam Sekou Lega Esteban Lepaul David Linarès Cyriaque Louvion Castello Lukeba Steed Malbranque Jérémy Manzorro Yoann Martelat Alexis Martial Anthony Martial Boris Mathis Florent Marty Florian Maurice Jonathan Mendes Amine Messoussa Julian Michel Enzo Molebe Anthony Mounier Théo Ndicka Louis Nganioni Bruno Ngotty Camille Ninel Robert Nouzaret Harry Novillo Florent Ogier Abdoulaye Ouattara Sandy Paillot Julian Palmieri Mathieu Patouillet Mour Paye Pascal Pédemonte Florent Perradin Gaëtan Perrin

Ludovic Giuly, a former graduate of the Lyon youth academy. He was the assistant manager of Lyon's first team during the 2022-23 season. Jacques Philip Jérémy Pied Lenny Pintor Alassane Pléa Damien Plessis Nicolas Priet Grégoire Puel Paulin Puel Nicolas Puydebois Nicolas Rabuel Daniel Ravier Enzo Reale Loïc Rémy Gwenaël Renaud Remy Riou Claude-Arnaud Rivenet Thomas Robinet Mickaël Rol Mathieu Salamand Junior Sambia Mamadou Sarr Samuel Umtiti graduated from Lyon youth academy in 2012. He started for France national football team in UEFA Euro 2016 Final and 2018 FIFA World Cup Final. Romain Sartre Ernest Schultz Nicolas Seguin Yoan Severin Stéphane Solomenko Yaya Soumaré Julien Stephan Éric Taborda Kevin Tapoko Hermann Tebily Titouan Thomas Corentin Tolisso Johann Truchet Marvin Tshibuabua Samuel Umtiti Cédric Uras Pierrick Valdivia Julien Viale Roland Vieira Hugo Vogel Daniel Xuereb Yoan Zouma Karim Benzema played for Lyon from 1997 to 2005. He is one of the most successful graduates of the Lyon youth academy and the only person so far from the academy to win the Ballon d'Or. Africa Oussama Amar Houssem Aouar Ishak Belfodil Yassine Benzia Yassine Ben Hamed Abdelkader Ghezzal Rachid Ghezzal Amine Gouiri Yacine Hima Khaled Kharroubi Yannis Lagha Khaled Lemmouchia Karim Maroc Saïd Mehamha Yannis Tafer Hussayn Touati Mehdi Zeffane Nassim Zitouni Jordy Gaspar Nassim Innocenti Vincent Ye Blaise Tohou Yann Mabella Sinaly Diomandé Lossémy Karaboué Éric Tié Bi Sidney Govou joined Lyon youth academy in 1996 at the age of 17. He was promoted to the first team in 2000 and won the 2001 Young Player of the Year Award in his first season in Ligue 1. He is the only academy graduate to have taken part in all of the club's 7 successive league titles. Raphaël Anaba Romarin Billong Joseph-Désiré Job Olivier Kemen Philippe N'Dioro Clinton N'Jie Nasser Chamed Moussa Djoumoi Myziane Maolida Faiz Mattoir Cyriaque Mayounga Dylan Mboumbouni Amos Youga Kelly Youga Aldo Kalulu Gédéon Kalulu Yann Kitala Samuel Moutoussamy Bryan Meyo Emmanuel Danso Elisha Owusu Mouctar Diakhaby Sekou Yansané Mohamed Yattara Formose Mendy Fabien Boyer Thomas Fontaine Jamal Alioui Achraf Laâziri Fahd Moufi Kays Ruiz-Atil Issiar Dramé Frédéric Kanouté Habib Keïta Sidy Koné Bryan Ngwabije Lamine Gassama Abdoulaye Ndiaye Bouna Sarr Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr Demba Touré Sylvain Idangar Ludovic Assemoassa Malcolm Barcola Anice Badri Chaïm El Djebali Habib Oueslati Hamza Rafia Raymond Domenech, former France national football team manager and former graduate of the Lyon youth academy. Rest of World Hamdan Al Kamali Théo Defourny Héritier Deyonge Muamer Aljic Camilo Zachary Brault-Guillard Jérémy Frick Kilian Pagliuca Anthony Racioppi Jian Tao Yu Junwei Zhang Xiuwei Teo Barišić Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez Reo Griffiths Aleksandre Guruli Georges Mikautadze Noam Bonnet Francesco Migliore Kim Shin Philippe Paoli Christopher Martins Pereira Ulrik Yttergård Jenssen Tord Salte Bartosz Talar Mathys De Carvalho Anthony Lopes Erawan Garnier Cenk Özkaçar

Players in bold are those who capped for their National team.

Alumni in France national football team

The following table shows the current list of Olympique Lyonnais-trained players in the French national team as of 9 September 2025, along with their year of birth, number of caps, and the corresponding period. Players whose international careers are still in progress are shown in bold type.

Players from the French National team trained at Olympique Lyonnais^[11]

Player	Birthyear	Period	Caps	Goals
Ernest Schultz	1931	1961	1	1
Fleury Di Nallo	1943	1962-1971	10	8
Jean Djorkaeff	1939	1964-1972	48	3
Néstor Combin	1940	1964-1968	8	4
Marcel Aubour	1940	1964-1968	20	0
Yves Chauveau	1945	1969	1	0
Daniel Ravier	1948	1973	2	0
Raymond Domenech	1952	1973-1979	8	0
Bernard Lacombe	1952	1973-1984	38	12
Daniel Xuereb	1959	1981-1989	8	1
Jean-Philippe Durand	1960	1988-1992	26	0
Rémi Garde	1966	1990-1992	6	0
Laurent Fournier	1964	1992	3	0
Bruno Ngotty	1971	1994-1997	6	0
Florian Maurice	1974	1996-1999	6	1
Ludovic Giuly	1976	2000-2005	17	3
Jérémie Bréchet	1979	2001-2003	3	0
Sidney Govou	1979	2002-2010	49	10
Franck Jurietti	1975	2005	1	0
François Clerc	1983	2006-2008	13	0
Karim Benzema	1987	2007-2022	97	37
Hatem Ben Arfa	1987	2007-2015	15	2
Loïc Rémy	1987	2009-2014	30	7
Maxime Gonalons	1989	2011-2015	8	0
Clément Grenier	1991	2013-2014	5	0
Alexandre Lacazette	1991	2013-2017	16	3
Nabil Fekir	1993	2015-2020	25	2
Anthony Martial	1993	2015-2021	30	2
Samuel Umtiti	1993	2016-2019	31	4
Corentin Tolisso	1994	2017-present	28	2
Alassane Pléa	1993	2018	1	0
Houssem Aouar	1998	2020	1	0
Malo Gusto	2003	2023-present	5	0
Castello Lukeba	2002	2023-present	1	0
Bradley Barcola	2002	2024-present	16	3
Pierre Kalulu	2000	2025-present	1	0
Rayan Cherki	2003	2025-present	2	1
Total		1961-present	?	?

References

1. "According to Lyon's official website, it suggests that they consider this their foundation date rather than 1900 – (translation: "1950, date of the club's creation")". OLWeb.fr. Archived from the original on 10 December 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2006.
2. "Academy : Notre nouvelle organisation". Olympique Lyonnais. 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
3. "Football français : "L'incompétence est à tous les étages"". Le Point. Retrieved 19 February 2023..
4. "The Talent Factory: How Lyon Built a Production Line for World-Class Talent". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
5. "PRESENTATION D'OL ACADEMY". Olympique Lyonnais. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
6. "OL : l'Équipe vante le deuxième centre de formation européen". L'Équipe. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
7. "Lyon: La fabrique à champions". L'Équipe. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
8. "Umtiti, Tolisso, Lacazette : une fierté lyonnaise". Le Libéro. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2023..
9. "RÉSERVE EFFECTIF & STAFF". OLWeb.fr. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
10. "Aux Pays-Bas, Malo Gusto est devenu le 33e international A français formé à l'OL" (in French). Le Progrès. 14 October 2023. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
11. "L'OL Académie, fournisseur officiel de l'équipe de France depuis 2000". olympique-et-lyonnais.com. 19 August 2022.