The 2008 Coupe de France Final was a
football match that was held at the
Stade de France in
Saint-Denis, France on 24 May 2008. It was the 90th final in the Coupe de France's history. The final was contested between
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
and
Olympique Lyonnais. This was PSG's 10th appearance in the Coupe de France final, having won the cup in
1982,
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
,
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
,
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
,
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
,
2004, and
2006. They also lost in the final twice in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and
2003. With a win in this year's final, PSG would have been granted the rare
cup double with their last double coming in 1998. This was Olympique Lyonnais's 7th appearance in the final having won in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
,
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
, and
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
. They lost in the final three times in
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
,
1971, and
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
.
Road to the Final
Match information
![Virage lyonnais CF 2007-2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Virage_lyonnais_CF_2007-2008.jpg)
In front of a sell-out crowd of 80,000+ fans, Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain stepped on the pitch of the Stade de France to contest the 90th Coupe de France. PSG tore Lyon's defense ragged for most of the game and had a goal by
Sylvain Armand incorrectly ruled offside.
Olympique Lyonnais held on to 0–0 after 90 minutes, winning the match in extra time.
The majority of the first half was mainly dominated by PSG who thrived on Lyon's turnovers using them in order to
counterattack
A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
. Lyon players, becoming frustrated, committed several malicious challenges leading to the likes of
Anthony Réveillère
Anthony Guy Marie Réveillère (born 10 November 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
He spent most of his professional career with Rennes and Lyon, amassing Ligue 1 totals of 426 matches and five goal ...
and
Sébastien Squillaci
Sébastien Jean-Baptiste Squillaci (born 11 August 1980) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. From 2004 to 2010, he played 21 matches for the France national team while also making three appearances for the ...
picking up yellow cards. The second half was partially even with both teams attempting to counterattack each other with both displaying fatigue as the second half moved forward. Both PSG and Lyon had several chances. Lyon's primary chances were as a result of
Juninho's free kicks, while PSG probably had the best chance of the night when
Amara Diané got through in the box and had a great chance, however it was miraculously saved by
Grégory Coupet
Grégory Coupet (born 31 December 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Throughout his playing career, he represented Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as the Franc ...
, who was playing his last match in a Lyon jersey, leaving the match up for grabs as they headed to extra time. One notable moment of the second half was the substitution of
Pauleta
Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes (born 28 April 1973), known as Pauleta (), is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker.
During 18 years as a senior he never played in the Primeira Liga, having spent 12 of those c ...
, who was playing his final match for PSG. He was given a standing ovation by PSG supporters.
The first half of extra time was progressively slow with both clubs trying to get a strategic view of each other. It wasn't until the end of the first half of extra time when a goal was finally conceded. Following a cross by
Karim Benzema
Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid. A creative and prolific forward, Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. ...
,
Sidney Govou
Sidney Rodrigue Noukpo Govou (born 27 July 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played primarily as a winger, but was occasionally deployed as a striker. He holds the record for most Ligue 1 titles won (seven), along with Her ...
pounced on the loose ball in the box after it went off
Kader Keïta Kader may refer to:
* ''Kader'' (film), a 2006 Turkish drama film
*Kader Group, a toy manufacturer of Hong Kong
People with the given name
* Kader Abdolah (born 1954), Iranian-Dutch writer, poet and columnist.
*Kader Asmal (1934–2011), South Af ...
to give Lyon the lead after 102 minutes of play. Following the goal, Lyon finally settled down and opted to a more defensive style of play utilizing the offside trap and holding on to the ball more turning the tables on PSG, who were now becoming frustrated, with
Mario Yepes
Mario Alberto Yepes Díaz (; born 13 January 1976) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is well known for his time in Paris Saint-Germain, where he was considered to be one of the best defenders at the ...
delivering a questionable elbow on Benzema. Sidney Govou's goal would eventually be the only goal of the match giving Lyon their first Coupe de France title victory in 35 years. With the win in the final, Lyon were also granted their first ever
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* ...
having won
Ligue 1 this past season.
Since both clubs have automatically qualified for European competitions, PSG via the
Coupe de la Ligue, Lyon via
Ligue 1, the Coupe de France European place was reverted to the
league. The spot was awarded to
AS Saint-Étienne, ironically Lyon's primary rivals.
Match details
References
Coupe de France official homepage on FFF siteCoupe de France Page on LFP siteCoupe de France Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coupe De France Final 2008
Final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
Olympique Lyonnais matches
Paris Saint-Germain F.C. matches
Coupe De France Final
Sport in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
Coupe De France Final