Lille 2006/2007 Home Shirt

LILLE OSC - HOME SHIRT 2006/2007

Lille OSC are a French professional football club from the northern city of Lille, formed in 1944 from a merger of Olympique Lillois and SC Fives. Olympique Lillois were crowned the very first champions of French professional football in 1932/1933, and Lille's post-war side took the mantle on with a famous league-and-cup double in 1946. Nicknamed Les Dogues ("The Mastiffs"), they share a fierce rivalry with neighbours Lens in the Derby du Nord.

The 2006/2007 campaign, in which this classic home shirt was worn, was Lille's seventh consecutive year in the top flight under long-serving manager Claude Puel. Domestically it was a mid-table effort - 10th in Ligue 1 on 50 points, a long way short of a Lyon side collecting a sixth straight French title - but the real story of the season unfolded in Europe.

In their Champions League group, Lille beat eventual European champions AC Milan 2-0 at the San Siro on the final matchday, Mathieu Bodmer setting up Peter Odemwingie and Kader Keïta to send Les Dogues into the knockout rounds as runners-up ahead of Anderlecht and AEK Athens. The Round of 16 brought Manchester United, who edged the first leg 1-0 through a controversial Ryan Giggs free-kick - taken before the wall had set, prompting the Lille players to threaten to walk off - and Henrik Larsson settled the return at Old Trafford.

Ivorian winger Kader Keïta finished as Lille's top league scorer with 9 goals across 36 appearances, while Nigerian forward Peter Odemwingie chipped in with 5 of his own - including that unforgettable strike at the San Siro. Midfielder Mathieu Bodmer ran the show in the engine room, with Puel earning wider praise for nursing a modest squad into the Champions League last 16.

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