Lucien Gardon, Olympique Lyonnais forward from 1958 to 1961, dies aged 89 | OneFootball

Lucien Gardon, a former Olympique Lyonnais forward, died in Vienne on Sunday 20 September, aged 89. According to Le Progres, he and his twin brother Raymond remain the only twins to have represented OL’s first team in competition, and the outlet offered condolences to the family.

Born in Rive-de-Gier on 25 May 1937, he broke through at OL at the end of the 1950s alongside Raymond. The pair made their senior debuts in 1958.

He might have launched his career at AS Saint-Étienne. A ward of the nation after losing his father in the Second World War, he later recalled in October 2023 that Saint-Étienne had approached him, but their grandfather refused to split the twins.

During national service in Lyon in 1957, at the Sergent-Blandan barracks, both brothers finally signed for OL. The club were seeking a defender and had noticed Raymond Gardon with the garrison team, but their grandfather made his move conditional on Lucien joining too. The striker hit a hat-trick in a trial friendly, then scored in the second minute of his Division 1 debut against Nîmes at Gerland in August 1958, a 2-1 win.

Lucien Gardon played 14 matches for OL before leaving in 1961 for Besançon. He went on to play for Thiers, coached at amateur level around Auvergne and at Noirétable, while working in the cutlery trade.

Source: Le Progres

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”