The American has carved out his role despite chaos of headbutting referees, cowboy hats, bullying acquisitions, financial problems
Welcome to Olympique Lyon, European soccer's wildest reality show. Headbutting referees, cowboy hats, bullying acquisitions, financial problems, lengthy suspensions, relegation threats and more – it's all happening at the historic Ligue 1 club. Their ongoing Europa League campaign has taken a backseat to the chaos going on everywhere else.
At the center of it, on the field at least, is Tanner Tessmann, the U.S. men's national team midfielder.
As the chaos has unfolded around him, Tessmann's recent push into the club's starting XI has been overshadowed. After a difficult start to the season, Tessmann is now a regular in Paulo Fonseca's starting XI, having shown his quality for both club and country in recent months. Despite everything threatening the club, Tessmann has seemingly gotten stronger, showing why Lyon spent big to sign him from Venezia this summer.
Suddenly, though, everything is up in the air at Groupama Stadium. Fonseca finds himself in hot water after attacking a referee, earning himself a nine-month ban. The club was threatened with relegation in November and have already served a January transfer ban due to their financial issues. American owner John Textor, who also owns Crystal Palace and Botafogo, has gone to war with PSG brass and continues to poke at French soccer's biggest club.
Meanwhile, Tessmann keeps chugging along as he fights for a World Cup spot. He's already impressed USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, for sure, but surviving the chaos currently engulfing Lyon might just be his biggest test yet.
Getty Images SportTessmann's big move
The summer of 2024 was a life-changing one for Tessmann. He went to the Olympics as transfer rumors swirled. His Venezia exit was imminent; the only question was where he'd end up. Inter were the favorites, but disagreements over loan arrangements halted that idea. In the end, he ended up at Lyon, taking a leap to one of French soccer's most historic clubs.
The transition wasn't easy. Under now-former Lyon boss Pierre Sage, Tessmann rarely got a look, with the coach preferring a 4-3-3 with one holding midfielder, Nemanja Matic. He started just two Ligue 1 matches in 2024, although Tessmann was given fairly consistent minutes during the initial phase of Lyon's Europa League campaign.
Even so, Tessmann was arguably the USMNT's biggest winner during the fall. He was one of the standouts against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League, earning plenty of praise from Pochettino for his efforts.
“Tess today was fantastic," Pochettino said after the win in St. Louis. "If you say to me I need to put a number from 0-to-10, it’s nine… eight or nine. He played a fantastic game. I think it was amazing the way he was in two phases, defensive and offensive, with the ball and without the ball. That’s what we expect."
It's something Lyon is starting to expect, too, now that Tessmann has claimed a more regular role.
AdvertisementgettyFonseca era brings both good and bizarre
Fonseca certainly endeared himself to USMNT fans during his time at Milan. Under the Portuguese manager's leadership, Christian Pulisic reached his best level. Yunus Musah, meanwhile, had a fairly regular role. Fonseca, ultimately, didn't get the job done and was dismissed just before the calendar turned to 2025, but it certainly wasn't due to the play of the Americans he rightfully put his trust in during his stay in Italy.
Upon arriving in Lyon, Fonseca put trust in Tessmann, too. Switching to a setup with a double pivot, Tessmann has regularly been inserted next to Matic, providing the legs in the center of the field that the veteran midfielder no longer has. The American has started each of Lyon's last four Ligue 1 games, winning three while falling to PSG despite a furious late comeback.
The numbers don't jump off the page – they rarely do for defensive midfielders – but Tessmann has very clearly brought stability to Lyon's midfield. With him next to Matic, French international Corentin Tolisso is freed to go forward. Tolisso has amassed three goals and an assist over those four games, clearly benefitting from the new midfield setup.
Still, Fonseca's reign has now been plunged into chaos. On Wednesday, the coach was hit with a nine-month ban from the French Professional Football League for a confrontation with referee Benoit Millot during Lyon's 2-1 win over Brest last weekend. Fonseca nearly headbutted Millot and had to be pulled away from the official by Tolisso and several other Lyon players.
"He rushed toward me with an intimidating attitude and I decided to send him off directly," Millot told L'Équipe. "There was, it seems, a slight contact with the nose. [It was] a particularly intimidating, aggressive attitude, which one can hardly imagine from a professional coach."
Lyon have announced their intention to appeal and Fonseca was on the bench for Thursday's 3-1 Europa League win over Steau Bucharesti, which Tessmann started. Owner Textor, meanwhile, says the club will stick by the coach.
“I stand with you today, and always. You made a mistake… Your apology was sincere… and your punishment is clearly too severe. You are the right man for OL and we shall persevere. Allez l’OL,” he posted on social media.
Textor, though, has been at the center of his own controversy, largely due to his war with PSG.
AFPTextor the cowboy
As he walked into the stadium ahead of Lyon's home match against PSG, Textor sported a cowboy hat. He waved it all around to the home crowd. The hat was a not-so-subliminal shot at the day's opponents, a callback to criticism amid an ongoing battle between two of France's most historic clubs.
Footage recently leaked of a July meeting of Ligue 1 owners and that footage showed just how contentious the relationship between Textor and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi had gotten. An argument over TV rights had gotten personal. Textor accused Al-Khealifi of being a "bully" and a "tyrant". Al-Khelaifi responded quickly.
“John, stop talking," Al-Khelaifi said in the video. "You don’t understand anything, you’re from… I don’t know, cowboy. You’re coming I don’t know (from) where, and you’re talking to us.”
Textor has also previously expressed frustration with PSG's funding and spending. Those accusations come amid Lyon's own financial problems, which came into the spotlight in the fall.
AFPFinancial struggles
In November, Lyon were handed a provisional relegation to Ligue 2 following an audit of their finances. The club has also been prohibited from registering new signings, leading to a January transfer ban. The club has until May to get its finances in order if they want to avoid that ban.
That looming threat is, obviously, massive. Bordeaux, another regular in France's top flight for years, lost their professional status in July after being relegated two tiers due to their own financial problems. Both Sochaux and Nancy have been hit with relegation, too. Lyon's potential punishment, though, would send shockwaves through the European game, as they are routinely a club competing at the top levels of continental competition.
Textor, though, is confident and defiant. Despite reported debts of around €500 million, Textor says the club will have its books in order by May's deadline while also taking aim at PSG once again. Lyon sold off several players in January and may still need to offload a few more to balance the books enough to please authorities. Textor has argued that cash registered from the other clubs he owns, Crystal Palace and Botafogo, could also be used to make up the difference, while reports have said he could sell his stake in Palace as well.
"I am confident in our figures," Textor said in November. "I can never be confident in the way a regulatory body considers these things. I believe that the DNCG is independent of some of the pressures that you see. But we have a lot of enemies, you know, on the board of directors, in the league, a big club from Qatar."
