Bernard Lacombe (Lyon)

Who better to assess the French champions’ chances than their director of sport, Bernard Lacombe, the man responsible for piecing this current Lyon squad together. A legendary striker in his day, Lacombe remains the second highest goalscorer in the history of French football, netting 255 Ligue 1 goals during spells at Bordeaux, Lyon and Saint-Etienne. Only Delio Onnis, the former Monaco striker, has scored more. He also represented France 38 times, helping them win the European Championship in 1984.

In this exclusive interview, Lacombe reveals to channel4.com's Matt Spiro the thinking behind the club's recruitment policy and explains why Gérard Houllier could be the man to take Lyon all the way to the Stade de France.

Did you believe Lyon could gain such an emphatic victory over Real?

I would have settled for any kind of win beforehand. I think the fact that Real were missing Ronaldo and Zidane made a big difference. The other thing you have to realise is that the Real Madrid team is some way behind us in terms of physical preparation, because their season started after ours. Plus the start of the game was important. Real had those two free kicks on the edge of our penalty area and they came very close to scoring. If one of them had gone in I think it would have been more difficult for us. We scored from the first real chance we had and that gave us confidence. When you have a bit of luck it makes life much easier.

Expectations are so high at Lyon this season - particularly after that result. Is the biggest problem going to be trying to keep everybody’s feet on the ground?

We have a lot of experience of playing in the Champions’ League these days. Last year we had a big disappointment in our first group match. We were winning 2-0 at half-time against Manchester United and they came back to draw 2-2 with two goals in five minutes. Perhaps we showed against Real that we have learned a lesson. We are learning all the time but I think the players now understand that they cannot afford to relax against top opposition. We are in a mini-championship and of course it was a great boost to get the victory at home to Real. But we know that it is only three points and that there is still work to do. The players will remain concentrated.

Lyon have bought in a lot of new talent recently. What was the club’s transfer policy in the summer?

Well, in the summer Gérard Houllier and I had a look at things. Gérard made it clear that he wanted to expand the squad. We decided we should try to put together a large, high-quality group that is capable of matching the biggest clubs in Europe. Now we have a squad that compares to top clubs in Italy, Spain and England. But we will need all of these players. Last Saturday we played Monaco in Ligue 1, then we played Real on Tuesday, and we will play Bordeaux this weekend. Our fixture list in September is very tough and we will need everybody to contribute in this period.

Two of the new boys, Tiago and John Carew, started against Real. You must be pleased with the speed in which they have integrated.

We’re pleased with the players we’ve brought in. Carew has been exceptional from the first game, Fred scored twice on his debut and, as you say, Tiago slotted in well against Madrid. We have real depth now. When you see international players like Pedretti and (Sidney) Govou coming off the bench, you know you are watching a strong team. But there are also guys like (Hatem) Ben Arfa and little (Karim) Benzema, who people don’t know yet but who has incredible talent.

What has Gérard Houllier brought to the club?

Gérard has great experience of European football. That was the key factor in the President’s decision to appoint him. But on top of that experience, he has some great qualities as a manager. Perhaps the most important thing with Gérard is that he knows how to handle a big group of players. It’s certainly not the easiest thing to do, but the way he has dealt with the players so far this season has really impressed me.