The Olympique Lyonnais–AS Saint-Étienne rivalry, is a football rivalry between French clubs Olympique Lyonnais and AS Saint-Étienne, with matches between them referred to as the Derby rhônalpin or simply Le Derby. Both clubs are located in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The term Derby du Rhône is sometimes mistakenly used by French media, despite the city of Saint-Étienne not being located along the Rhône River nor in the Rhône département.
Background The two clubs first met in 1951 and, due to the clubs' close proximity, being separated by only , a hotly contested rivalry developed. The derby is cited as one of the high-points of the Ligue 1 season and, like other major rivalries, extends outside of the pitch. The rivalry is considered a symbolic challenge between the two cities locally, as the city of Lyon is considered white collar while its counterpart Saint-Étienne is viewed by the locals as more blue collar.
During the 20th century, Saint-Étienne was the most successful club in French football winning ten league titles between 1957 and 1981, a record that stood until Paris Saint-Germain overtook them in 2023. During that span, the club also won six Coupe de France titles and performed well at the European level. However, the club's performance declined in the 1980s and it even suffered relegations to the second division in both 1984 and 2022, causing its stranglehold on the national and regional consciousness to weaken. Lyon began a similar ascension into French football at the beginning of the new millennium when the club won their first-ever Ligue 1 championship in 2002. The initial title started a national record-setting streak of seven successive titles.
Currently, both clubs are among the best-supported in Ligue 1, and each has participated in European competition in recent years.
Head-to-head record
CompetitionMatchesWinnersGoals scoredLyonDrawSaint-ÉtienneLyonSaint-ÉtienneLeagueLigue 1114423240137141Ligue 2411237Coupe de France531Penalty win for Lyon but officially counts as a draw193Coupe Charles Drago100104Trophée des Champions100103Coupe de la Ligue110021Total126473445151159
Switching clubs Due to the clubs' ongoing rivalry, few players have played for Lyon and Saint-Étienne. Since the two clubs first contested each other in 1951, only 27 players have played for both Lyon and Saint-Étienne and only 13 players have transferred directly from Lyon to Saint-Étienne and vice versa. The first player to "commit" the offense was Antoine Rodriguez in 1951, when after having a nine-year spell at Saint-Étienne, he moved to Lyon, where he spent only one season. Other notable players who made the switch were Aimé Jacquet who, after having a successful 13-year career with Saint-Étienne, departed the club for Lyon, where he spent three seasons. Jacquet later went on to manage Lyon and coached the team to the 1973 Coupe de France Final. Similarly, striker Bernard Lacombe established himself as one of Lyon's all-time leading goalscorers before leaving the club for Saint-Étienne in 1978 where he was often booed and jeered, which led to the player departing the club for Bordeaux after one season. The other players who transferred directly between clubs are François Lemasson, Alain Moizan, André Calligaris, Romarin Billong, Jean-Luc Sassus, Christopher Deguerville, Grégory Coupet, Franck Priou, Lamine Diatta and Bafétimbi Gomis. Steed Malbranque, a product of Lyon youth system and a former Lyon first-team regular, signed for Saint-Étienne from Sunderland, but then resigned after one month, allegedly calling quit to his career. He surprisingly signed for Lyon a few months later.
OL, then ASSE
NamePosLyonSaint-ÉtienneCareerAppsGoalsCareerAppsGoals Bernard LacombeFW1969–782301281978–793214 Alain MoizanMF1980–82––1982–84–– Franck PriouMF1980–88––1988–90–– Laurent FournierMF1986–8853151995103 Romarin BillongDF1988–9511151995–20001025 Patrice FerriDF1992–93––1995–96–– Jean-Luc SassusDF1994–97––1997–98–– David HellebuyckMF1996–2000302001–0616714 Laurent MorestinDF1997–98302003–04240 Patrice CarteronDF1997–200010162001–0510016 Lamine DiattaDF2004–064002006–08271 Sylvain MonsoreauDF2005–061902008–12300 Steed MalbranqueMF1997–01110102011–1210 Mathieu BodmerMF2007–109182013162 François ClercDF2005–097812012–15853 Jérémy ClémentMF 2004–065412011–171921 Timothée KolodziejczakDF2008–12140 2018–221227 Lenny PintorFW2018–22202022–23221
ASSE, then OL
NamePosSaint-ÉtienneLyonCareerAppsGoalsCareerAppsGoals Michel CristobalDF1945–49––1950–52–– Antoine RodriguezDF1942–51––1951–52–– Andre CalligarisDF1957–60––1960–61–– Aimé JacquetMF1960–73176121973–76262 André GuyFW1962–6582521967–7111666 José BroissartMF1969–73––1976–80–– Jean-François LariosMF1973–83167361984–85271 Olivier RousseyMF1977–78––1979–80–– Patrice FerriDF1981–88––1992–93–– François LemassonGK1986–87501987–901010 Christopher DeguervilleDF1987–95––1995–97–– Grégory CoupetGK1993–978801997–20085180 Frédéric PiquionneFW2004–0797272008–09264 Pape DiakhatéDF20101812010–1130 Bafétimbi GomisFW2003–09162492009–1424495 Steed MalbranqueMF2011–1210 2012–141299 Mouhamadou DaboDF2005–1012312011–15911 Jordan VeretoutMF2016–174342024–25382
References
External links AS Saint-Étienne Official Site Olympique Lyonnais Official Site